W-Fragen

Word order

Questions with questions word

These questions start with question words (W-Wörter) like wer (who), was (what), wo (where), wann (when), warum (why), etc. The verb remains in the second position, but the question word comes before it.

• Wie spät ist es? (What time is it?)
• Wer ist das? (Who is it?)
• Wo wohnst du? (Where do you live?)
• Woher wohnst du? (Where do you kome from?)
• Wohin will er gehen? (Where does he want to go?)
• Wann kommt er? (When is he coming?)
• Um wie viel Uhr geht er? (At what how much time does it leave?)
• Wie viel Taschen hat er? (How many bags does he have?)
• Was hat er? (What does he have?)
• Mit wem spricht er? (With who is he talking?)
• Wen sucht er? (Whom is he looking for?)
• Warum bist du traurig? (Why are you sad?)

Wo - Woher - Wohin

Wo (Where)? → Static location

• Used when asking about a place where something or someone is.
  • Wo bist du (Where are you)?
  • Wo arbeitet er (Where does he work)?

Woher (From where)? → Origin

• Used when asking where something or someone is coming from.
  • Woher kommst du (Where do you come from)?
  • Woher hast du das (Where did you get that from)?

Wohin (To where)? → Direction

• Used when asking where someone or something is going.
  • Wohin gehst du (Where are you going)?
  • Wohin fährt dieser Bus (Where is this bus going)?

Wer - Wen - Wem

Wer (Who)? → Nominative

• Used when asking about the subject of a sentence (the person doing the action).
  • Wer kommt heute (Who is coming today)?
  • Wer hat das gesagt (Who said that)?

Wen (Whom)? → Accusative

• Used when asking about the direct object (the person receiving the action).
  • Wen siehst du (Whom do you see)?
  • Wen hast du eingeladen (Whom did you invite)?

Wem (To whom/For whom)? → Dative

• Used when asking about the indirect object (the person receiving something).
  • Wem gibst du das Buch (To whom are you giving the book)?
  • Wem hast du geholfen (Whom did you help)?

Created: 18 Feb 2025

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