Two question types, one inversion rule.
German has two question patterns: yes/no questions (Ja/Nein-Fragen) and content questions (W-Fragen). Both follow a single underlying rule — the conjugated verb always moves forward. In yes/no questions it moves to position 1; in W-Fragen a question word takes position 1 and the verb sits in position 2. One rule, two patterns.
TL;DR
Ja/Nein questions: verb moves to position 1 — "Kommst du?" not "Du kommst?". W-Fragen: question word in position 1, verb in position 2 — "Wann fährt der Zug?". Wo / Wohin / Woher: German forces three separate words where English uses one "where" — static vs. destination vs. origin. Indirect questions: W-word (or ob) stays first in the subordinate clause, verb goes to the end — same as all Nebensätze.
One inversion rule, two question types
In a German statement the conjugated verb sits in position 2: "Du kommst." (You are coming.) Ask a yes/no question and the verb jumps to position 1: "Kommst du?" Ask a W-question and a question word takes position 1 instead, pushing the verb to position 2: "Wann kommst du?" (When are you coming?)
Most textbooks treat Ja/Nein questions and W-Fragen as two separate chapters. They share one root: the verb always moves forward from position 2. In a yes/no question nothing else competes for position 1, so the verb lands there. In a W-question the question word claims position 1 and bumps the verb to position 2. Same movement, different trigger.
Ja/Nein-Fragen vs. W-Fragen
Both are questions. The difference is whether you need a specific piece of information or just a yes/no confirmation.
Verb in position 1, subject in position 2. No question word.
Kommst du morgen?
Are you coming tomorrow?
Question word in position 1, verb in position 2, subject in position 3.
Wann kommst du?
When are you coming?
Use Ja/Nein when a yes or no is the answer. Use a W-Frage when you need specific information — who, what, when, where, why, or how.
The 9 W-question words
These are the building blocks of every W-Frage. Each word claims position 1; the verb follows in position 2, then the subject.
W-Fragen reference table
TABLE| Question word | Asks about | Example question | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wer | Person (subject) | Wer kommt? | Who is coming? |
| Was | Thing (subject/object) | Was machst du? | What are you doing? |
| Wann | Time | Wann fährt der Zug? | When does the train leave? |
| Wo | Static location | Wo bist du? | Where are you? |
| Wohin | Destination (motion to) | Wohin gehst du? | Where are you going? |
| Woher | Origin (motion from) | Woher kommst du? | Where are you from? |
| Warum | Reason / why | Warum lernst du Deutsch? | Why are you learning German? |
| Wie | Manner / degree | Wie heißt du? | What is your name? |
| Welcher | Selection from a set | Welches Buch liest du? | Which book are you reading? |
Welcher declines like a der-word — see the declension table below for all four cases.
Ja/Nein questions: verb to position 1
Take any German statement. Move the conjugated verb to the front. You have a yes/no question. German never uses a dummy auxiliary like English "do/does" — the main verb itself does the work. Intonation rises at the end.
English parallel: English auxiliary inversion ("Do you…? / Are you…? / Have you…?") follows the same logic — the auxiliary moves forward. German applies this directly to the main verb every time, with no additional auxiliary required.
W-Fragen: question word → verb → subject
The question word occupies position 1. The conjugated verb takes position 2. The subject comes in position 3. This is the same V2 word-order principle as in statements — the question word just pushes the subject out of position 1.
One important exception: when Wer itself is the subject, it already fills the subject slot and the verb follows naturally at position 2 — no extra inversion needed. "Wer kommt?" — Wer is the subject, kommt is the verb. But when Wer is the object (accusative), you use Wen and normal inversion applies: "Wen rufst du an?" (Whom are you calling?)
Wo, wohin, woher — three "where" words
English uses one word "where" for location, destination, and origin. German forces you to be specific. This is the same motion-vs-static distinction that drives the dative-vs-accusative split with two-way prepositions (in/an/auf/über…).
Quick test: if the verb describes motion toward a place (gehen, fahren, fliegen…), use Wohin. If motion is away from a place (kommen, stammen…), use Woher. If there is no motion at all (sein, bleiben, wohnen…), use Wo.
Two-way prepositions connection: "Wo wohnst du?" takes dative (static location); "Wohin legst du das?" takes accusative (placing into a location). The same motion distinction drives preposition case choice — master it here and you have it everywhere. Read the Cases guide →
Welcher declension
Welcher follows the der-word (strong) declension — its endings mirror the definite article exactly. No new table to memorise: you already know it from "der/die/das/die".
Welcher — der-word (strong) declension
TABLEEndings mirror der/die/das/die exactly.
| Kasus | Maskulin | Feminin | Neutrum | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominativ | welcher | welche | welches | welche |
| Akkusativ | welchen | welche | welches | welche |
| Dativ | welchem | welcher | welchem | welchen |
| Genitiv | welches | welcher | welches | welcher |
Examples: Welchen Film siehst du? (Akk. masc.) · Welche Bücher liest du? (Nom./Akk. pl.) · Mit welchem Bus fährst du? (Dat. masc.)
Wo-compounds: wofür, womit, worüber…
When a preposition normally follows a verb and you want to ask about a thing, German fuses the preposition with wo- (or wor- before vowels). When the referent is a person, keep the preposition separate and use the appropriate case of wer.
Thing → wo(r)+prep · Person → prep + wen/wem
TABLE| Thing (wo + prep) | Example | Person (prep + wen/wem) | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wofür | Wofür interessierst du dich? | Für wen | Für wen kaufst du das? |
| Womit | Womit schreibst du? | Mit wem | Mit wem gehst du? |
| Worüber | Worüber sprichst du? | Von wem | Von wem hast du das gehört? |
| Wovon | Wovon träumst du? | Für wen | An wen denkst du? |
wor- is used before vowels: worüber, woran, worauf, woraus, worin, worum, worunter, wovor, wozwischen
Embedded questions (indirect questions)
An indirect question is a subordinate clause. The question word (W-word) or ob (for embedded yes/no) stays at the front of the subordinate clause. The conjugated verb moves to the very end — exactly like in any other Nebensatz. The main-clause verb stays in position 2 as usual, and a comma separates the clauses.
ob = embedded yes/no. When the embedded question is a yes/no type, introduce it with ob (whether/if): "Ich weiß nicht, ob er kommt." — never with a W-word. If the direct question had no question word, use ob.
The verb-final rule is identical to any other subordinate clause. Read the full subordinate clauses guide →
Doch: answering negative questions
When someone asks a negative yes/no question and the real answer contradicts the negative premise, German uses Doch — not Ja.
Doch has no direct English equivalent. It is one of the most practically important one-word answers in German — learn it early.
4 mistakes to fix first
Wer / Wen / Wem case mismatch
Wen ist das? → Wer ist das?
"Wer" is nominative (subject). "Wen" is accusative ("Wen siehst du?" — Whom do you see?). "Wem" is dative ("Wem gibst du das?" — To whom are you giving that?).
Wo used for destination
Wo gehst du? → Wohin gehst du?
"Wo" asks about a static location. "Wohin" asks about destination (motion toward). German forces this distinction where English uses one word.
Statement word order in yes/no question
Du kommst morgen? → Kommst du morgen?
In written and formal German the verb must be in position 1. Rising intonation with subject-first order is colloquial, not standard.
Verb not final in indirect question
Ich weiß nicht, wann kommt er. → Ich weiß nicht, wann er kommt.
An indirect question is a subordinate clause. The conjugated verb goes to the very end — same rule as all Nebensätze.