Wortstellung und Fragen
You now have verbs (Lesson 3) and nouns with articles (Lesson 4). Today's lesson is the glue: one rule that governs where the verb goes in almost every German sentence, and how to turn statements into questions - both yes/no and W-questions like "where" and "when."
Not the second word - the second logical chunk. Whatever comes first pushes the verb into slot two, and if something other than the subject leads, subject and verb swap places:
| Ich | wohne | in Berlin. |
| Heute | lerne | ich Deutsch. |
In the second example, "Heute" (today) takes slot one, so the verb lerne stays in slot two and "ich" gets bumped to slot three. Full explanation: Reference - Word Order.
Du wohnst in Berlin. → Wohnst du in Berlin?
No extra question word needed - the verb moving to position one is what signals a question, same as English "Do you..." does the job of "You do..." reversed.
Wo wohnst du?
Was lernst du?
Wann kommen Sie?
Core question words (wo, was, wer, wann, warum, wie, woher): full table in the reference.
1. Turn into a yes/no question: "Du kommst aus Thailand." → ______ du aus Thailand?
2. "Where do you live?" - ______ wohnst du?
3. Fix the word order: "Heute ich lerne Deutsch." → Heute ______ ich Deutsch.
4. "When are you coming?" - ______ kommen Sie?
5. "Where from" (one word) is: wo______?
Structure cross-checked against the Goethe-Institut A1 practice materials, which use both question types throughout the Hören section.
Want to practice building your own sentences and questions? Ask your teaching agent - it can check your word order live.