What you’ll be able to do
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to ask for information using German question words and form yes/no questions by putting the verb first. You will also be able to spot these question patterns in simple German texts.
The idea
German questions come in two main types. The first type uses a W-Fragen (W-question words) like Wer (who), Was (what), Wo (where) and Wie (how). The second type is a simple yes/no question with no question word at all.
Both types share one rule: the verb always comes first. This is called Verb-Erst-Stellung (verb-first position). In a normal statement, the verb is second. In a question, it moves to the front.
Compare: Du bist Maria. (You are Maria.) becomes Bist du Maria? (Are you Maria?) The verb bist jumps to position one, and the subject du follows.
For W-questions, the pattern is: question word + verb + subject + rest. For example: Wo wohnst du? (Where do you live?) The question word wo takes position one, the verb wohnst takes position two, and the subject du follows.
See it in German
Here are real questions you can use today. Each one follows the verb-first pattern.
- Wer ist das? (Who is that?)
- Was ist das? (What is that?)
- Wo ist der Bahnhof? (Where is the train station?)
- Wie heißt du? (What is your name? / Literally: How are you called?)
- Wie geht es dir? (How are you?)
- Was kostet das? (What does that cost? / How much does that cost?)
- Wo wohnst du? (Where do you live?)
- Wer ist dein Lehrer? (Who is your teacher?)
- Hast du einen Stift? (Do you have a pen?)
- Kommst du aus England? (Do you come from England?)
Notice the last two examples. They have no question word, but the verb still comes first. Hast and kommst are in position one. These are yes/no questions. The answer is either Ja (yes) or Nein (no).
Read it in the wild
Now find these patterns in a real German text. Every news article on this site has an A1-A2 German version with a vocabulary box. Go to any article in the Living in Germany or Daily Life & Culture section and open the A1 version.
Your task: find three questions in the text. They might be in a dialogue, a headline or a pull quote. Write each one down and identify whether it is a W-question or a yes/no question. Check that the verb is in first or second position.
For example, you might find a sentence like Was kostet eine Fahrkarte? (What does a ticket cost?) or Ist das Museum geöffnet? (Is the museum open?) Both follow the rules from this lesson. The more you read, the more natural this pattern will feel.
Common mistakes
Here are the errors learners make most often with German questions.
Putting the subject first. In English, you say “Where you live?” is wrong; you say “Where do you live?” In German, you cannot say Wo du wohnst? That is a statement, not a question. The correct form is Wo wohnst du? The verb must come before the subject.
Forgetting to invert after a question word. Some learners write Wo du bist? because they know du bist from statements. Remember: the question word pushes the verb to position two and the subject to position three. Wo bist du? is correct.
Using “do” as a helper verb. English uses “do” and “does” to form questions: “Do you have…?” German has no equivalent. You simply put the main verb first: Hast du…? (Have you…?) There is no extra word.
Confusing Wo, Wohin and Woher. Wo asks about location (where someone is). Wohin asks about direction (where someone is going). Woher asks about origin (where someone comes from). At A1 level, Wo will get you far, but keep the distinction in mind as you progress.
Where you are now
This is lesson 16 of 49. You have just moved from talking about your family to actively asking questions about the world around you. Your previous lesson was Talk About Your Family and the People You Know. Your next lesson is Saying No in German: Nicht vs Kein, where you will learn to negate statements and questions. Together, these skills let you hold a basic conversation: ask a question, understand the answer, and say no when you need to.
