German questions: yes/no and question words
CEFR A1
What you will learn
- Recognise the pattern taught in “German questions: yes/no and question words” in a short example.
- Choose the appropriate form from “German questions: yes/no and question words” using explicit evidence.
- Apply and justify the rule from “German questions: yes/no and question words” in a new case.
The idea
German does not add an auxiliary equivalent to do: a yes/no question begins with the finite verb; an information question begins with the interrogative element and places the verb after it.
For a ja/nein answer, use finite verb + subject + remainder: Wohnst du hier? Hat Lea Zeit? Kommen Sie morgen? The already conjugated verb changes position; German does not add a separate form of machen or tun.
To ask for information, use W-element + finite verb + subject + remainder: Wo wohnst du? Wann beginnt der Film? Wie heißt ihr? If the interrogative is itself the subject, no second subject follows: Wer wartet draußen?
There is no universal list of “only seven W-words”. A functional A1 repertoire includes wer for a person as subject, was for a thing, wo for static location, wohin for destination, woher for origin, wann for time, wie for manner or a detail, warum for cause and wie viel/wie viele for quantity. Welch- acts as a determiner and inflects: welcher Tag, welche Straße, welches Buch, welche Bücher.
wer also changes by function: nominative wer, accusative wen, dative wem; possessive wessen is an extension. At A1 it is enough to recognize that the form depends on case, without claiming that wer is the only changing interrogative.
pregunta total
| elemento | forma |
|---|---|
| 1 | verbo finito |
| 2 | sujeto |
| 3 | resto |
pregunta W
| elemento | forma |
|---|---|
| 1 | elemento interrogativo |
| 2 | verbo finito |
| 3 | sujeto si no es el interrogativo |
| 4 | resto |
wer por caso
| elemento | forma |
|---|---|
| nominativo | wer |
| acusativo | wen |
| dativo | wem |
| posesivo | wessen (ampliación) |
welch nominativo
| elemento | forma |
|---|---|
| masculino | welcher |
| femenino | welche |
| neutro | welches |
| plural | welche |
How it sounds
- Arbeitet Niko heute? — Ja.The yes/no question begins with finite arbeitet.
- Woher kommt Farah? — Aus Rabat.woher asks for an origin, not a static location.
- Welche Farbe magst du? — Grün.welche accompanies Farbe and takes the matching form.
Your turn
Two or three, to check that the bit above landed.
___ kommt aus Salzburg?
Wer — The question asks for the person doing kommen, so the subject form is wer.
___ kaufst du auf dem Markt?
Was — The expected answer is a thing being bought; was asks about things.
___ fährt der Zug? — Um acht Uhr.
Wann — Um acht Uhr expresses time, so the appropriate question word is wann.
When it doesn't hold
What breaks the rule, said out loud. Hiding it is what makes you feel cheated in the exam.
- To contradict a negative question you say doch, not ja.Kommst du nicht mit? – Doch!
- With nicht wahr at the end, a statement becomes a question without changing the order.Du kommst mit, nicht wahr?
- welcher declines like the article, because it goes with a noun.Welchen Film willst du sehen?
What your own language pushes you to say
Wrong Tust du mitkommen?
Right Kommst du mit?
English needs the auxiliary do to build a question, and the habit is to look for a German equivalent. There is none: tun is a real verb and never an auxiliary here.
Curriculum alignment and sources
- CEFR A1 · ask and answer simple questions about personal details and concrete needs; the formal inventory is editorial · Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Companion Volume
- German interrogative elements cross-checked against language-specific reference description · Reference Level Descriptions developed so far