W-questions Part I

W-questions are open questions and cannot be answered with “yes” or “no”.

They are called "W questions" because they begin with the letter W.

Examples:

WOHER kommst du? (Where do you come from?) - Ich komme aus Deutschland. (I come from Germany)

WAS machst du gerade? (What are you doing right now?) - Ich lese die Zeitung. (I'm reading the newspaper)

The different W-questions

Question	Ask for:	Example
Wer? (Who?)	Subject	Wer ist das? Das ist Anna. (Who is this? This is Anna)
Was? (What?)	Subject/Object	Was ist das? Das ist ein Rucksack. (What is it? It's a backpack)
Wie? (How?)	Manner	Wie geht es dir? Gut, Danke! (How are you? Good, thanks)
Wo? (Where?)	Position	Wo Wohnst du? Ich wohne in München. (Where do you live? I live in Munich)
Wohin? (To where?)	Direction	Wohin gehst du? Ich gehe ins Einkaufszentrum. (Where are you going? I'm going to the mall)
Woher? (From where?)	Origin	Woher kommst du? Ich komme aus Frankreich. (Where do you come from? I'm from France)
Wann? (When?)	Time	Wann gehst du in die Arbeit? Um 7 Uhr. (When do you go to work at 7 clock)
Warum? (Why?)	Reason	Warum bist du so müde? Ich habe schlecht geschlafen. (Why are you so tired? I did not sleep well)
Wieviel? (How much/many?)	Quantity	Wieviel Geld hast du dabei? Ich habe 20 Euro dabei. (How much money do you have? I have 20 Euros with me)