CEFR B1
What you will learn
- Recognise the pattern taught in “darauf, worauf and verbs with a fixed preposition” in a short example.
- Choose the appropriate form from “darauf, worauf and verbs with a fixed preposition” using explicit evidence.
- Apply and justify the rule from “darauf, worauf and verbs with a fixed preposition” in a new case.
Before you start
- Recognise the vocabulary and forms shown in this lesson’s key idea and paradigm.
The idea
Many German verbs select a preposition that is learnt as part of their government. To refer back to or ask about things and propositions, standard German forms words with da(r)- or wo(r)-: darauf, damit, worauf, womit.
First learn the complete government pattern: warten auf, sich freuen auf, denken an, sprechen über, sich interessieren für, sich kümmern um, bitten um, teilnehmen an. The preposition is not copied automatically from another language; it is learnt with the verb, as gender is learnt with a noun.
In these combinations, government also fixes the case: warten auf takes the accusative even though nobody moves, and teilnehmen an takes the dative. Movement does not decide the case of a fixed verb-preposition pattern.
For neutral pronominal reference to a thing or proposition, use the prepositional adverb: «Ich warte auf den Bus» becomes «Ich warte darauf». An explicit group such as auf das may occur with demonstrative force, but it is not the default neutral pronoun. If the preposition begins with a vowel, r appears —darauf, daran, darüber—; before a consonant it does not —damit, dafür—. With people, keep the preposition separate: «Ich warte auf ihn».
To ask about a thing, use wo(r)-: «Worauf wartest du?», «Womit fährst du?». If an infinitive clause or subordinate clause completes the governed pattern, a da(r)- form can announce it: «Ich freue mich darauf, dich zu sehen».
Formation becomes regular after the lexical government has been learnt. For a thing or proposition, da(r)+preposition refers back and wo(r)+preposition asks; for people, keep the preposition separate with a pronoun or wen/wem.
da- and wo- pairs
| Item | Form |
|---|---|
| 1 | an · daran · woran |
| 2 | auf · darauf · worauf |
| 3 | aus · daraus · woraus |
| 4 | bei · dabei · wobei |
| 5 | für · dafür · wofür |
| 6 | gegen · dagegen · wogegen |
| 7 | mit · damit · womit |
| 8 | nach · danach · wonach |
| 9 | über · darüber · worüber |
| 10 | von · davon · wovon |
| 11 | zu · dazu · wozu |
| 12 | um · darum · worum |
People versus things
| Item | Form |
|---|---|
| 1 | thing with auf · worauf? · darauf |
| 2 | person with auf + accusative · auf wen? · auf ihn |
| 3 | thing with mit · womit? · damit |
| 4 | person with mit + dative · mit wem? · mit ihr |
How it sounds
- Ich warte auf den Bus.warten takes auf and the accusative, with no movement involved.
- Ich warte darauf.The bus is a thing, so the preposition attaches to da-.
- Worauf wartest du?The question uses the same piece with wo- in front.
- Ich freue mich darauf, dich zu sehen.The da- announces the clause that follows.
Check objective 1Another case
A proposed answer is “darüber” for this case: “Woran denkst du? – Ich denke darüber, dass morgen Feiertag ist.”. Choose the only valid form.
A proposed answer is “damit” for this case: “Woran denkst du? – Ich denke damit, dass morgen Feiertag ist.”. Choose the only valid form.
Answer available without interaction
Answer: daran — denken governs an; a proposition is referred back to with da-r-an: daran.
denken governs an; a proposition is referred back to with da-r-an: daran.
Answer: daran — denken governs an; a proposition is referred back to with da-r-an: daran.
denken governs an; a proposition is referred back to with da-r-an: daran.
Check objective 2Another case
A proposed answer is “Worauf” for this case: “Worauf wartest du vor dem Kino? – Auf Frau Roth.”. Choose the only valid form.
A proposed answer is “Woran” for this case: “Woran wartest du vor dem Kino? – Auf Frau Roth.”. Choose the only valid form.
Answer available without interaction
Answer: Auf wen — The answer is a person, so auf is kept and the question uses wen.
The answer is a person, so auf is kept and the question uses wen.
Answer: Auf wen — The answer is a person, so auf is kept and the question uses wen.
The answer is a person, so auf is kept and the question uses wen.
Check objective 3Another case
A proposed answer is “darüber” for this case: “Wir warten darüber, dass das Licht grün wird.”. Choose the only valid form.
A proposed answer is “davon” for this case: “Wir warten davon, dass das Licht grün wird.”. Choose the only valid form.
Answer available without interaction
Answer: darauf — warten selects auf; before the subordinate clause that supplies the awaited content, the correlative form is darauf.
warten selects auf; before the subordinate clause that supplies the awaited content, the correlative form is darauf.
Answer: darauf — warten selects auf; before the subordinate clause that supplies the awaited content, the correlative form is darauf.
warten selects auf; before the subordinate clause that supplies the awaited content, the correlative form is darauf.
When it doesn't hold
What breaks the rule, said out loud. Hiding it is what makes you feel cheated in the exam.
- If you are asking about a person you do not use wo-, but the preposition plus wen or wem.An wen denkst du?
- denken an takes the accusative, but denken über does not exist: sprechen über does.Ich denke an meinen Urlaub.
- damit doubles as «with that» and as the purpose conjunction, and only word order tells them apart.damit
What your own language pushes you to say
Wrong Worauf denkst du?
Right Woran denkst du?
English uses «think about», and about maps most easily onto über or auf, so the wrong da-word gets built. German pins denken to an and nothing else.
Challenge: apply every rule
Solve every case and justify each choice: 1) A proposed answer is “darüber” for this case: “Woran denkst du? – Ich denke darüber, dass morgen Feiertag ist.”. Choose the only valid form. 2) A proposed answer is “Worauf” for this case: “Worauf wartest du vor dem Kino? – Auf Frau Roth.”. Choose the only valid form. 3) A proposed answer is “darüber” for this case: “Wir warten darüber, dass das Licht grün wird.”. Choose the only valid form.
Answer available without interaction
- Recognise the pattern taught in “darauf, worauf and verbs with a fixed preposition” in a short example.
- Choose the appropriate form from “darauf, worauf and verbs with a fixed preposition” using explicit evidence.
- Apply and justify the rule from “darauf, worauf and verbs with a fixed preposition” in a new case.
Answer: daran · Auf wen · darauf
denken governs an; a proposition is referred back to with da-r-an: daran. The answer is a person, so auf is kept and the question uses wen. warten selects auf; before the subordinate clause that supplies the awaited content, the correlative form is darauf.
Continue along this corridor
Practise this: warten auf, denken an: verbs with a fixed preposition, and the da- and wo- that go with themN-declension: der Student, den Studenten