German Grammar
German Questions (Fragen)
Questions in German fall into two main categories: Yes/No questions (Entscheidungsfragen) which can be answered with ja or nein, and W-questions (Ergänzungsfragen) which begin with a question word and require specific information as an answer. The key difference lies in their word order patterns.
Examples:
- • Yes/No: Kommst du heute? (Are you coming today?)
- • W-question: Wann kommst du? (When are you coming?)
→ See related topic: Interrogative Pronouns
Yes/No Questions (Entscheidungsfragen)
In Yes/No questions, the finite verb moves to the first position, followed by the subject and then any objects or other elements. This is called verb-first word order or inverted word order.
To form a Yes/No question, simply take a statement and swap the positions of the verb and subject:
| Statement | Question | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Du trinkst Bier. | Trinkst du Bier? | Do you drink beer? |
| Sie wohnt in Berlin. | Wohnt sie in Berlin? | Does she live in Berlin? |
| Ihr habt Zeit. | Habt ihr Zeit? | Do you (pl.) have time? |
| Das Kind spielt im Garten. | Spielt das Kind im Garten? | Is the child playing in the garden? |
For compound tenses (perfect, future, etc.), only the auxiliary verb moves to first position. The participle moves to the end of the sentence:
| Statement | Question | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Er hat das Buch gelesen. | Hat er das Buch gelesen? | Has he read the book? |
| Wir werden morgen kommen. | Werden wir morgen kommen? | Will we come tomorrow? |
| Sie ist gestern angekommen. | Ist sie gestern angekommen? | Did she arrive yesterday? |
| Du kannst gut schwimmen. | Kannst du gut schwimmen? | Can you swim well? |
W-Questions (Ergänzungsfragen)
W-questions start with a question word (Fragewort), followed by the finite verb in second position, then the subject and any other elements. All German question words begin with the letter "W".
The word order pattern is: Question word + Verb + Subject + Other elements
| Question Word | English | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Was | What | Was machst du? | What are you doing? |
| Wann | When | Wann beginnt der Film? | When does the movie start? |
| Wo | Where | Wo wohnst du? | Where do you live? |
| Wohin | Where to | Wohin gehst du? | Where are you going? |
| Woher | Where from | Woher kommst du? | Where are you from? |
| Warum | Why | Warum lernst du Deutsch? | Why are you learning German? |
| Wie | How | Wie heißt du? | What is your name? (How are you called?) |
| Wie viel | How much | Wie viel kostet das? | How much does that cost? |
| Wie viele | How many | Wie viele Kinder hast du? | How many children do you have? |
| Welcher/e/es | Which | Welches Buch liest du? | Which book are you reading? |
Note: The question word wer (who) doesn't follow the above pattern because it acts as the subject itself. In questions with wer, the word order is simply: Wer + verb + other elements.
| Question Word | English | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wer | Who | Wer kommt heute? | Who is coming today? |
Indirect Questions
Indirect questions are questions embedded within statements or other questions. They use subordinate clause word order, where the verb moves to the end of the clause. They are introduced by ob (yes/no questions) or question words.
The word order pattern is: Main clause + ob/question word + subject + other elements + verb
| Direct Question | Indirect Question | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Wo wohnt er? | Ich weiß nicht, wo er wohnt. | I don't know where he lives. |
| Wann kommt sie? | Er fragt, wann sie kommt. | He asks when she is coming. |
| Hat er Zeit? | Ich frage mich, ob er Zeit hat. | I wonder if he has time. |
| Was macht ihr? | Sie will wissen, was ihr macht. | She wants to know what you are doing. |
Negative Questions and "Doch"
Negative questions contain nicht (not) or kein (no/not any) and often expect confirmation. The word order follows the same pattern as regular questions, with the negation word placed according to standard German negation rules.
Negative question examples:
- • Kommst du nicht? (Aren't you coming?)
- • Hast du keine Zeit? (Don't you have time?)
- • Ist das nicht schön? (Isn't that beautiful?)
German has a special word doch that is used to contradict a negative statement or question. When someone asks a negative question expecting "no" as an answer, but the answer is actually "yes," use doch instead of ja.
Answering negative questions with doch:
- • Kommst du nicht? → Doch, ich komme. (Yes, I am coming)
- • Magst du keinen Kaffee? → Doch, ich mag Kaffee. (Yes, I do like coffee)
- • Hast du das nicht verstanden? → Doch, ich habe es verstanden. (Yes, I did understand it)
If the answer to a negative question is "no" (confirming the negative), use nein as usual:
Confirming negative questions:
- • Q: Kommst du nicht? A: Nein, ich komme nicht. (No, I'm not coming.)
- • Q: Hast du keine Zeit? A: Nein, ich habe keine Zeit. (No, I don't have time.)