W-Fragen in German are questions that begin with the question words--in English: who, what, when, where, why, and how. To contrast, yes/no questions in German begin with the verb ("Arbeiten Sie heute?" "Kommen Sie aus Bayern?").
In most books you usually see a list like this, it's just the German and English translations. But is that really enough? Take a close look.
| German | English |
| was | what |
| wann | when |
| wo | where |
| wie | how |
| warum | why |
| wer | who |
If you simply memorize this list, that's one technique for learning it. But what if you had an example sentence?
An example sentence here would be really helpful! You could attach meaning to the words and you would have a sentence that functions like a touchstone--you can always go back to it to help you with other sentences and questions. That's why, in this Quick Guide to the W-Fragen, you have a Vorlage, an example sentence, for each word. And my list is longer than that one up above.
The Tough Parts Explained:
This is why the Vorlagen will help you: it gives you a strong association with which to learn the toughest German question words. One tough part is the false friend of wer, because wer means "who," not "where." Here the Vorlage is Wer ist er? Memorize the rhyming sentence Wer ist er? (Who is he?) to help you remember that wer refers to a he--a person. Once again: Wer ist er?
The other tough part is the word wann, because wann is the question word, but wenn also means "when." The Vorlage here is Wann ist die Frage! So associate the 'a' sound of wann with the 'a' sound of Frage, and you'll remember it every time!
Want the Free, Printable Guide?
Here's the Quick Guide to the W-Fragen using Vorlagen, model sentences. Print and keep this Quick Guide to help you learn German, learn the Vorlagen, and always know which Fragewort to use!
Click the button to download the Quick Guide:
Download the Quick Guide to the W-Fragen
You can also email this article to your fellow German classmates or your German teacher using the "email" button below.
How to use the Quick Guide to the W-Fragen
After you've downloaded the Quick Guide to the W-Fragen, print it out as many times as you like. You can hang it where you'll see it often or if you have a folder or binder for your German materials, you can add it to the resources section.
In the free eBooks I offer, you'll find multiple techniques to help yourself learn these words, one of them being to rewrite the Vorlagen. Rewrite them once, rewrite them a second time, rewrite them a third time. And the next day, do it again--you'll be surprised how quickly you learn the W-Fragen, false friends, cognates, and all!
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