German Questions, Days, Months and Telling the Time
Questions are the key to real conversation. German has two simple question types, and the time system has one tricky feature that confuses almost every beginner: halb.
Yes or no questions
Put the verb first: Du kommst aus Italien becomes Kommst du aus Italien? Answer with Ja or Nein. If the question is negative, as in Kommst du nicht aus Italien?, use Doch to say yes against the negative (Doch, ich komme aus Italien) and Nein to agree with it.
W-questions
A W-question starts with a question word, followed directly by the verb, then the subject: Wo wohnst du? The question words you need now are in this table.
| German | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| wer | who | Wer ist das? |
| was | what | Was machst du? |
| wo | where | Wo ist der Bahnhof? |
| woher | where from | Woher kommst du? |
| wohin | where to | Wohin gehst du? |
| wann | when | Wann beginnt der Kurs? |
| warum | why | Warum lernst du Deutsch? |
| wie | how | Wie alt bist du? |
Days and months
The days are Montag, Dienstag, Mittwoch, Donnerstag, Freitag, Samstag and Sonntag, all masculine (der). The months are Januar, Februar, März, April, Mai, Juni, Juli, August, September, Oktober, November and Dezember, also masculine. Use am with days (am Montag), im with months (im Mai) and um with clock times (um acht Uhr).
Telling the time
Ask Wie spät ist es? or Wie viel Uhr ist es? Full hours are easy: Es ist drei Uhr. For quarters, say Viertel nach drei (3:15) and Viertel vor vier (3:45).
Now the tricky part. Halb means half to the next hour, not half past. Halb vier is 3:30, because it is half way to four. So 7:30 is halb acht, and 12:30 is halb eins.
Common mistakes
- Reading halb vier as 4:30. It is 3:30.
- Saying Wo kommst du? instead of Woher kommst du? when you want to ask where someone is from.
- Answering a negative question with Ja. Use Doch to contradict it.
Practice
Ask a friend or write answers to eight questions, one with each question word. Then say what time you get up, eat lunch and go to bed.
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