Nuts & Bolts of German: Questions: Lisa is playing hopscotch

Very often you need to ask a question with a question word instead of a simple yes-no-question. After all, it would take quite a lot of yes/no-questions and a lot of guessing to find out somebody's name. So how do you form questions with question words? Study the examples and complete the rule underneath. Then press [Check] to see whether you got it right. Use the [Hint] button to get a free letter if you need help.

 

Lisa spielt Himmel und Hӧlle.
yes/no-question question with a

question word

statement
Ist das Lisa?

Wer

ist das?
Das ist Lisa.

 

Heißt sie Lisa?

Wie

heißt sie?
Sie heißt Lisa.

 

Ist ihr Nachname Müller?

Wie

ist ihr Nachname?
Ihr Nachname ist Müller.

 

Wohnt Lisa in Hamburg?

Wo

wohnt Lisa?
Lisa wohnt in Hamburg.

 

Spielt Lisa Himmel und Hölle?

Was

spielt Lisa?
Lisa spielt Himmel und Hölle.

 

How to create questions with question words?

Form a yes/no question, i.e. start with the verb and continue with the (i.e. who or what performs the action expressed by the verb), then put the necessary question word(s) (e.g. what, who, where, how many) in of the verb.

         

 

Wörterbuch (LEO) Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS) Wörterbuch (Linguee) Wörterbuch (dict.cc)  Wörterbuch (PONS) Terminologie A - Z

 

Tip: If you don't belong to the lucky few who possess a photographic memory, write down what you learnt while doing this exercise.   

photo: © Dagmar Fischer