Basic place and time questions | Learn German in English

German lesson set in a contemporary Berlin everyday setting: A beginner practices six useful English phrases about basic place and time questions..

EN → DE / Level: A1

About This Lesson

Use Basic place and time questions to practice German conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

Wo ist es?

VOH ist ess? Where is it?
B

Wo bist du?

VOH bist DOO? Where are you?
A

Was ist hier passiert?

VAHS ist heer pah-SEERT? What happened here?
B

Wie spät ist es?

VEE SHPAYT ist ess? What time is it?
A

Wann kommst du?

VAHN komst DOO? When will you come?
B

Warum bist du zu spät?

vah-ROOM bist DOO tsoo SHPAYT? Why are you late?

Word by Word

Wo “Wo” means “where” in the questions “Wo ist es?” and “Wo bist du?”. It asks about a place and comes at the beginning of a direct question. A new example is “Wo wohnst du?” (“Where do you live?”).
ist “Ist” means “is” in “Wo ist es?”. It is the form of sein used with es, and it comes after the question word Wo. A reusable pattern is “Wo ist …?” for asking where something is.
es “Es” means “it” in “Wo ist es?”. It is the thing being located and appears after ist in this question. Use the same pronoun when referring to a thing or situation already understood from context.
bist “Bist” means “are” in “Wo bist du?”. It is the form of sein used with du. In a question, it follows Wo and comes before du; a reusable pattern is “Wo bist du?” when asking a person’s location.
du “Du” means “you” when addressing one person in “Wo bist du?” and “Warum bist du zu spät?”. It is the person being asked about and appears after the verb in these questions. Use du when speaking directly to one person in an informal context.
Was “Was” means “what” in “Was ist hier passiert?”. It asks which thing or event is being referred to and stands at the beginning of the question. A reusable pattern is “Was ist …?” when asking what something is or what occurred.
hier “Hier” means “here” in “Was ist hier passiert?”. It points to the place understood as the speaker’s current location or the place being discussed. A new example is “Ich bin hier.” (“I am here.”).
passiert “Passiert” means “happened” in the expression “ist hier passiert”. Together, “Was ist hier passiert?” asks what event happened here; passiert is the form used with ist in this question. The related verb form is passieren, and a reusable pattern is “Was ist passiert?” when asking what happened.
Wie In “Wie spät ist es?”, “Wie” contributes the question meaning “how” within the expression asking the time. It combines with spät rather than forming the time question by itself. A reusable pattern is “Wie …?” when asking about a degree or manner, when the surrounding words make the meaning clear.
spät “Spät” means “late” in “Wie spät ist es?”. With Wie, it forms the question about how late it is, which is the usual way this dialogue asks for the time. A new example is “Es ist spät.” (“It is late.”).
Wann “Wann” means “when” in “Wann kommst du?”. It asks about the time of an event and comes at the beginning of the question. A reusable pattern is “Wann kommst du?” for asking one person when they will come.
kommst “Kommst” means “come” in “Wann kommst du?”. It is the verb form used with du and appears before du in this question. The related verb form is kommen; a reusable pattern is “Wann kommst du?” when asking about someone’s arrival.
Warum “Warum” means “why” in “Warum bist du zu spät?”. It asks for a reason and stands at the beginning of the question. A reusable pattern is “Warum bist du …?” when asking one person for the reason for a situation.
zu In “zu spät”, “zu” contributes the meaning “too”, so “zu spät” means “too late”. The two components must stay together in this expression; “Warum bist du zu spät?” asks why someone arrived or is late. A new example is “Du bist zu spät.” (“You are too late.”).

Grammar Points

W-Frage: Fragewort + Verb + Subjekt

Warum kommst du zu spät?

VAH-room komst DOO tsoo SHPAYT?

Why are you too late?

In German questions with a question word, the conjugated verb comes before the subject.

German Vocabulary

bist verb
bist are
du pron
DOO you
es pron
ess it
hier adv
heer here
ist verb
ist is
kommst verb
komst come
passiert verb
pah-SEERT happened
spät adj
SHPAYT late
Wann adv
VAHN when
Was pron
VAHS what
Wie adv
VEE how
Wo adv
VOH where

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

Where is it?

Show AnswerWo ist es?

Where are you?

Show AnswerWo bist du?

What happened here?

Show AnswerWas ist hier passiert?

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

happened

Show Answerpassiert

are

Show Answerbist

here

Show Answerhier

come

Show Answerkommst