Quick Guide to the «W-Fragen» in German and English

The W-Fragen in German are question words.

They are also known as 'open-ended questions. In English the W-Fragen also begin 'w':  who, what, when, where, why, and how.

You begin learning the W-Fragen at the A1 level in German.

(These questions are different from the ja/nein Fragen or 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.

If you simply memorize this list, that's one technique for learning it. And that would probably be kind of boring.

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.

It takes real, concerted effort combined with the right resources to internalize it.

N.B. The A1-A2-B1 German Sentence Structure Guide has been retired, as as such, is no longer available.