Forming Questions in the Present Tense in German

This section explains Forming Questions in the Present Tense in German. In German, questions in the present tense can be formed in several different ways. The key to forming questions is word order. There are two main types of questions:

• Yes/No Questions (Ja/Nein Fragen)
• W-Questions (Fragen mit Fragewörtern)

Yes/No Questions (Ja/Nein Fragen)

These are questions that can be answered with yes or no (Ja oder Nein). The structure of these questions usually begins with the verb.

Structure:

• Verb + Subject + Rest of Sentence
  (Verb + Subjekt + Rest des Satzes)

Example 1:

• Statement:
  • Du spielst Fußball. (You play football.)
• Question:
  • Spielst du Fußball? (Do you play football?)

Example 2:

• Statement:
  • Er geht zur Schule. (He is going to school.)
• Question:
  • Geht er zur Schule? (Is he going to school?)

Key Points:

• The verb comes first in yes/no questions in the present tense.
• In German, the subject is placed after the verb in a question.

W-Questions (Fragen mit Fragewörtern)

W-questions begin with a question word (Fragewort) and require more specific information than yes/no questions. These words are similar to "wh-" questions in English (who, what, where, when, why, how).

Common W-Question Words:

• wer (who)
• was (what)
• wo (where)
• wann (when)
• warum (why)
• wie (how)

Structure:

• Question Word + Verb + Subject + Rest of Sentence
  (Fragewort + Verb + Subjekt + Rest des Satzes)

Examples:

• What are you doing?
  • Was machst du?
    (Was + machst + du?)
• Where does she live?
  • Wo wohnt sie?
    (Wo + wohnt + sie?)
• When do you start school?
  • Wann fängst du mit der Schule an?
    (Wann + fängst + du + mit der Schule an?)
• Why are you learning German?
  • Warum lernst du Deutsch?
    (Warum + lernst + du + Deutsch?)
• How do you get to school?
  • Wie kommst du zur Schule?
    (Wie + kommst + du + zur Schule?)

Key Points:

• The question word comes first, followed by the verb and then the subject.
• The word order changes slightly when forming a question, but the structure is very regular.
  • Statement:
    • Du spielst Tennis. (You play tennis.)
  • Question:
    • Spielst du Tennis? (Do you play tennis?)
  • What do you do in the evening?
    • Was machst du am Abend?
      (Was + machst + du + am Abend?)
  • Statement:
    • Wir gehen ins Kino. (We are going to the cinema.)
  • Question:
    • Gehen wir ins Kino? (Are we going to the cinema?)
  • Why are you not coming to the party?
    • Warum kommst du nicht zur Party?
      (Warum + kommst + du + nicht + zur Party?)
  • How can you help?
    • Wie kannst du helfen?
      (Wie + kannst + du + helfen?)

Examples for Foundation Tier:

Yes/No Question:

W-Question:

Examples for Higher Tier:

Yes/No Question:

W-Question:

W-Question with a Modal Verb:

Important Notes:

• In yes/no questions, the verb always comes first in the sentence.
• In w-questions, the question word (wer, was, wo, etc.) comes first, followed by the conjugated verb, and then the subject.
• The rest of the sentence (object, place, time, etc.) comes at the end.

Summary:

• To form yes/no questions, simply place the verb at the beginning of the sentence.
• To form w-questions, use the appropriate question word (e.g., was, wo) followed by the verb, subject, and any other information.

Key Vocabulary:

• Yes/No Question: Ja/Nein Frage
• W-Question: Frage mit Fragewort
• Question Word: Fragewort (e.g., wer, was, wann, wo)
• Verb: Verb (the action word)