A1 · Section 7

Questions

How a German question is built: the question word first and the finite verb second, the interrogative phrase that counts as one element, wer and was against wo, wann, warum and wie, wie viel against wie viele, the question word that is its own subject, the yes/no question that opens with its verb, and what each kind is answered by.

The question word opens the question

69.A question asking after one particular piece of information opens with its question word, and the finite verb follows directly after it. The verb therefore stands second, as it does in a statement (¶66).

Wann kommt der Zug?: When does the train come?
Wo arbeitet der Lehrer?: Where does the teacher work?
Was kostet das Buch?: What does the book cost?
Wie heißt das Kind?: What is the child called? — German asks after a name with **wie**, not with **was**.

[1] The German name for this kind of question is Ergänzungsfrage: it asks for the one element that completes the sentence.

The whole interrogative phrase stands first

70.What occupies the first position is the complete interrogative phrase, not a single word. Where the question word carries a noun with it, that phrase counts as one element and the finite verb follows the whole of it.

Wie viele Äpfel sind hier?: How many apples are here? — *wie viele Äpfel* is one element, so *sind* is the second — not the fourth word counted singly.
Wie viel Zeit hast du?: How much time do you have?
Wie viele Jahre lernst du Deutsch?: How many years have you been learning German?

wer and was

71.wer asks after a person and was after a thing. Both are pronouns, and each stands where the noun it asks about would stand.

Wer ist der Lehrer?: Who is the teacher?
Was ist das?: What is that?
Wer arbeitet hier?: Who works here?

[1] wer has a form for each case. The nominative wer is the form in play until the accusative and the dative are taken up.

wo, wann, warum and wie

72.wo asks after a place, wann after a time, warum after a reason and wie after a manner. All four are adverbs rather than pronouns.

Wo wohnt Anna?: Where does Anna live?
Wann fährt der Zug?: When does the train go? — *fährt* carries the vowel change of ¶61.
Warum lernt er Deutsch?: Why is he learning German?
Wie heißt du?: What is your name?

[1] woher and wohin ask after an origin and a destination, and belong with the local prepositions.

wie viel and wie viele

73.wie viel asks after an amount that is not counted, and stands with no plural noun. wie viele asks after a number of countable things, and stands with the plural.

Wie viel kostet die Fahrkarte?: How much does the ticket cost?
Wie viel Geld hast du?: How much money do you have?
Wie viele Kinder sind hier?: How many children are here?
Wie viele Bücher sind neu?: How many books are new? — *Bücher* is the plural of *das Buch*, with the umlaut and **-er** of ¶38.

Where the question word is itself the subject

74.Where wer or was is the subject of its own sentence, the subject position is already filled and no further subject follows the verb. The verb stands in the third person singular.

Wer kommt?: Who is coming?
Was kostet das?: What does that cost?
Wer spricht Deutsch?: Who speaks German? — *spricht* carries the vowel change of ¶61.

The verb stands first in a yes/no question

75.A question answerable by yes or no carries no question word, and its finite verb stands first, before the subject.

Gehen wir ins Kino?: Are we going to the cinema?
Trinkst du Kaffee?: Do you drink coffee?
Arbeitet Anna heute?: Is Anna working today? — *arbeitet* carries the inserted **-e-** of ¶57.
Ist der Stuhl neu?: Is the chair new?

[1] The German name is Entscheidungsfrage, a question to be decided.
[2] In speech the same question is also put with the word order of a statement and a rising intonation: Du trinkst Kaffee?

What each kind of question is answered by

76.A question with a question word is answered with the element it asks for, and not with yes or no. A yes/no question is answered with ja or nein.

Wann kommt der Zug? — Heute.: When does the train come? — Today.
Wer ist Ärztin? — Anna.: Who is a doctor? — Anna.
Trinkst du Kaffee? — Ja.: Do you drink coffee? — Yes.

Vocabulary

wer: who · pronoun; Asks after a person (¶71). Declines for case; the accusative and dative forms come with those cases.
was: what · pronoun; Asks after a thing (¶71).
wo: where · adverb; Asks after a place (¶72).
wann: when · adverb; Asks after a time (¶72).
warum: why · adverb; Asks after a reason (¶72).
wie: how · adverb; Asks after a manner (¶72), and after a name: *Wie heißt du?*
wie viel: how much · adverb; With no plural noun (¶73).
wie viele: how many · adverb; With a plural noun (¶73).
ja: yes · particle; Answers a yes/no question (¶76).
nein: no · particle; Answers a yes/no question (¶76).
heute: today · adverb
kosten: to cost · verb; kostest, kostet; The stem ends in **-t**, so the **-e-** of ¶57 is inserted.
Fahrkarte: ticket · noun; die Fahrkarte, die Fahrkarte, der Fahrkarte, der Fahrkarte, die Fahrkarten
Zug: train · noun; der Zug, den Zug, dem Zug, des Zuges, des Zugs, die Züge; Plural with the umlaut and **-e** of ¶37.
Kaffee: coffee · noun; der Kaffee, den Kaffee, dem Kaffee, des Kaffees, die Kaffees; As a substance the plural is not used; *die Kaffees* counts cups or sorts.

Drill this section Next: The Accusative