Genau
Topic test · A1

Questions test

13questions
8minutes
60%pass mark
Start the test Read the topic first

One question at a time, the clock runs. Answers stay closed like a real exam: you see every correct answer with its explanation at the end. Score 60% to finish the topic.

Topic test

13 questions, easy to hard

Pick an option and press «Next». You can go back and change it. Anything left blank counts as wrong.

Where do you live? →

Wo wohnst du? The verb follows the question word, and the subject drops to third place.

Where are you going on holiday? →

Wohin — there is movement, so you ask for the direction. wo asks for a place, woher for a source.

— Hast du keinen Hunger? — , ich habe Hunger!

Aren’t you hungry? — Yes I am, of course!

Doch. You are contradicting a negative question, and German has a separate word for that.

Who are you helping? (to whom) →

Wem. helfen takes the Dative, so the question word is in the Dative too.

When will you call me? →

Wann rufst du mich an? With a separable verb the prefix goes to the end of the sentence.

How many siblings do you have? →

Wie viele — with countable nouns, the plural form is used.

How do you form a yes/no question? — “Are you coming?”

With no question word, the verb moves to the front: Kommst du? Statement intonation does not make a question in writing.

“How much is this?” →

Question word + verb + subject: Was kostet das? The verb never moves out of second position.

warum · wie · woher — which one means “where from”?

The direction trio: wo where · wohin where to · woher where from. Woher kommst du? is the first question everyone learns.

“Whose bag is this?” →

gehören takes the Dative, so the question pronoun goes into the Dative: wem. (Wessen Tasche ist das? is also a correct alternative construction.)

“Wo du wohnst?” is a correct sentence for asking where someone lives.

False. Right after the question word (wo) the verb (wohnst) has to come: Wo wohnst du?.

— Kommst du nicht mit? — , ich komme!

— Aren’t you coming? — Yes I am, of course!

Doch. Used to contradict a negative question with a positive answer.

Build the sentence: Do you live in Berlin?

Tap the pieces to build the sentence

In yes/no questions the verb comes at the very beginning.
Quick rules

The rules in three lines

The full topic lives on its own page. This is only the core you need for the test.

  1. W-question: word + verb + subject

    Wo wohnst du? · Was kostet das? — the verb never moves out of second position.

    Wo wohnst du?

  2. Yes/no: verb to the front

    With no question word, the verb moves to the front: Kommst du? · Hast du Zeit?

    Kommst du morgen?

  3. The trio wo · wohin · woher

    Where · where to · where from. English gets by with one “where” (or adds “to” and “from”); German uses three separate words.

    Woher kommst du?

  4. The question pronoun takes a case

    wer (who, nominative) · wen (whom) · wem (to whom). The pronoun takes whatever case the verb demands: Wem hilfst du?

    Wem gehört diese Tasche?

Traps

Commonly mixed up

Where a direct translation breaks. The hard questions come from here.

  • Wo fährst du im Urlaub?

    Wohin fährst du im Urlaub?

    A question about direction needs wohin; wo is only for location.

  • Wer hilfst du?

    Wem hilfst du?

    helfen takes the Dative, so the question pronoun goes into the Dative too.

  • Hast du keinen Hunger? — Ja, ich habe Hunger.

    — Doch, ich habe Hunger.

    A positive objection to a negative question is given with doch.

  • Was das kostet?

    Was kostet das?

    In a direct question the verb is in second position; only an INDIRECT question sends the verb to the end.