Was ist eine W-Frage?
A W-Frage (or Wortfrage) is an open-ended question that asks for a specific piece of information (as opposed to just "yes" or "no" for a Satzfrage). For instance, examples in English are "What is that?" or "Where do you live?". A W-Frage always starts with a W-Wort (or Wh-Word or interrogative pronoun in English), followed by the conjugated verb and the subject.
Examples:
- Woher <Wh-Word> kommst <Verb> du <Subject> ?
- Wo wohnt Klaus?
- Wie heißen Sie?
- Welche Wörter lernen wir heute?
was - what
wo - where
woher - where from
wie - how
(* Do note that in German, when you ask for a name or address or telephone number you use "wie" instead of "was"; e.g. Wie heißt du? Wie ist dein Name? Wie ist deine Telefonnummer?)
wann - when
wer - who
welche - which
(* "Welche" is always followed by a noun; e.g. Welche Sprachen? Welche Wörter?)
