Questions in German Grammar
Questions, also known as interrogative sentences, are used to get information about something. There are two different kinds of questions: closed questions, also called yes/no questions or Entscheidungsfragen in German; and open questions, also called w-questions or Ergänzungsfragen in German. The structure of open and closed questions is different.
Closed Questions
Closed questions or, Entscheidungsfragen in German, are questions that we can answer with the words “yes” or “no”.
- Example: Habe ich dir das Buch gegeben?
In these questions, the finite verb comes first followed by the subject. The rest of the sentence (object, time, place, etc.) come in the same order as they would in a main clause.
Open Questions
Open questions, or Ergänzungsfragen in German, are questions that use an interrogative pronoun or question word. We cannot answer open questions with “yes” or “no”.
- Example: Wann habe ich dir das Buch gegeben?
-
Gestern habe ich dir das Buch gegeben.
The interrogative pronoun comes at the beginning of the sentence followed by the finite verb and then the rest of the sentence.
If we’re asking about an object with a preposition, the preposition comes before the question word.
- Example: Mit wem gehst du ins Kino?
-
Für wen ist das Geschenk?
If we’re asking about the subject, the finite verb takes the third person singular.
- Example: Wer hat dir das Buch gegeben?
Typical German Question Words
The chart below provides an overview of typical question words in German and their usage along with English translations and examples.
German | English | Usage – asking about… | Example |
---|---|---|---|
wer | who | subject (person) | Wer hat dir das Buch gegeben? – Der Lehrer. |
wem | whom/ who |
dative object, indirect object (person) | Wem hast du das Buch gegeben? – Meiner Freundin. |
wen | whom/ who |
accusative object, direct object (person) | Wen habt ihr gesehen? – Unseren Trainer. |
was | what | subject or object, if not a person/action | Was ist das? – Das ist ein Handy. Was habt ihr gesehen? – Einen Regenbogen.Was machst du da? – Ich lese. |
wessen | whose | possession/belonging | Wessen Auto ist das? – Das ist Toms Auto. |
wo | where | place (position) | Wo ist der Bahnhof? – Gleich um die Ecke. |
wohin | where (to) | place (direction) | Wohin geht ihr? – Wir gehen zum Bahnhof. |
woher | where (from) | place (origin) | Woher kommst du? – Ich komme aus Deutschland. |
wann | when | time | Wann habt ihr gefrühstückt? – Um 7 Uhr. |
wie | how | manner (adjective) | Wie geht es dir? – Gut. |
warum weshalb wieso |
why | reason for an action | Warum kommst du so spät? – Weil der Zug Verspätung hatte. |
wozu wofür |
what | purpose of an action | Wozu brauchst du die Schere? – Ich möchte ein Bild ausschneiden. |
welche(r/s) | which | selection | Welches Auto gefällt dir besser? – Das rote. |
Questions with Wo + Preposition: woran, wofür, womit
If in English we often use what with prepositions in questions. In standard German, we contract wo and the preposition to make wo-compouns. We can also use prepositions with was, but this is very colloquial and casual.
- Example:
- Mit was kann ich helfen?
- better: Womit kann ich helfen?
If the preposition begins with a vowel, we add an r between wo and the preposition.
- Example:
- An was denkst du?
- better: Woran denkst du?
Indirect Questions
We use indirect questions in dependent clauses.
- Example: