Questions and Word Order

W-questions and word order

German W-questions use question words that all begin with W. The rule is simple: W-word → verb → subject → rest. The verb always stays in second position.

W-word	Meaning	Example
Wer	Who (subject)	Wer ist das? (Who is that?)
Was	What	Was machst du? (What are you doing?)
Wo	Where (location)	Wo wohnst du? (Where do you live?)
Woher	Where from	Woher kommst du?
Wohin	Where to	Wohin gehst du?
Wann	When	Wann beginnt der Kurs?
Wie	How	Wie heißt du?
Warum	Why	Warum lernst du Deutsch?
Wie viel/viele	How much/many	Wie viel kostet das?

Word order rule (V2)

The verb always comes second: W-word [1] → verb [2] → subject [3] → rest [4]

Was macht er heute? — NOT Was er heute macht?

⚠️ Common mistake: do not leave the verb at the end in a main question clause. That only happens in indirect questions (subordinate clauses).