Asking questions
The verb first for a yes or no, Hast du einen Hund?, and the question words wann, wo, wohin, woher, warum, wer and welcher.
Learn
Asking questions, explained point by point
Everything the GCSE specification expects you to be able to do, and how to actually do it - the same lesson a signed-in student studies from.
Put the verb first for a yes or no question
Swap the subject and the verb: Du hast einen Hund becomes Hast du einen Hund? Kommt Paul mit? With a second verb, it stays at the end: Kannst du schwimmen?
Put the question word first and the verb second
A question word is followed by the verb and then the subject: Wann beginnt der Film?, Wo wohnst du?, Warum lernst du Deutsch?
Learn the question words
was what, wann when, wie how, wo where, wohin where to, woher where from, warum why, wer who, wie viel how much, wie viele how many, wie lange how long, um wie viel Uhr at what time.
Ask where with wo, wohin or woher
Wo asks where something is (Wo ist der Bahnhof?), wohin where to (Wohin fährst du?) and woher where from (Woher kommst du?).
Ask which with welcher, and who with wer, wen or wem
Welch- takes the endings of der: Welcher Film?, Welche Farbe?, Welches Buch? Wer changes for its case: Wen besuchst du?, Mit wem spielst du?
Asking questions key terms
The words the specification and the mark schemes use, each defined the way an examiner wants it.
- Question word
- A word that opens a question: wann, wo, warum, wie, wer.
- Inversion
- Putting the verb before the subject, as in Spielst du for do you play.
- wohin
- Where to, for movement towards a place, as in Wohin gehst du.
- woher
- Where from, as in Woher kommt sie, where does she come from.
- welcher
- Which, with the endings of der, as in welches Kleid.
Common mistakes in Asking questions
The slips that cost marks year after year, and what to do instead.
Keeping statement order in a question, as in Du hast Hunger?
For a yes or no question, put the verb first, as in Hast du Hunger.
Using wo for where to, as in Wo fährst du? for where are you going?
For movement, where to is wohin, as in Wohin fährst du.
Confusing wer and wo.
Keep them apart: wer means who, and wo means where.
Putting the subject before the verb after a question word, as in Wann du kommst?
After a question word, the verb comes next: Wann kommst du.
Practice
Try a Asking questions question
A GCSE-style original question from this topic. Have a go before you open the working - deciding on an answer first is what makes the working stick.
Which question means 'Where are you going after school?'
- Wo gehst du nach der Schule?
- Wohin gehst du nach der Schule?
- Wohin du gehst nach der Schule?
- Woher gehst du nach der Schule?
Show the answer and the working
Answer: Wohin gehst du nach der Schule?
Going somewhere needs wohin, and the verb comes straight after it: Wohin gehst du nach der Schule?
- Going somewhere: wohin.
- The verb comes next: gehst.
- Then du and the rest.