Interrogative Pronouns (Fragepronomen) ❓

Interrogative Pronouns ❓

Used to ask questions about people or things. (Who? What? Which? etc.)

✅ Tip:

• Use wer / wen / wem for people.
• Use wessen for asking possession
• Use was for things.
• Use welch- and was für ein when choosing or describing types.

German	English	Usage
wer	who	for people (subject)
wen	whom	for people (accusative object)
wem	to whom	for people (dative object)
was	what	for things (subject or object)
welcher / welches / welche	which	to specify one among several options
was für ein / eine / ein	what kind of	asks about the type or kind
wessen	whose	possession

• 🟥 Akkusativ (Akk) → direct object
• 🟩 Dativ (Dat) → indirect object
• 🟦 Neutral → general usage

#	🇩🇪 German	🇬🇧 English	💬 Example	🧭 Notes
1	👤 wer	🟦 who	Wer bist du? → Who are you?	Used for the subject of a sentence
1.1	🧐 wen	🟥 whom (Akk)	Wen siehst du? → Whom do you see?	Used for the object (Akkusativ)
1.2	🤝 wem	🟩 to whom (Dat)	Wem gibst du das Buch? → To whom are you giving the book?	Used for Dativ (receiver)
2	📍 wo	🟦 where	Wo wohnst du? → Where do you live?	Static location (no movement)
2.1	➡️ wohin	🟦 where (to)	Wohin gehst du? → Where are you going?	Direction / destination
2.2	⬅️ woher	🟦 where from	Woher kommst du? → Where do you come from?	Origin / source
3	🤔 wie	🟦 how	Wie geht’s dir? → How are you?	Used for manner / condition
3.1	💰 wie viel	🟦 how much	Wie viel kostet das? → How much does it cost?	For uncountable nouns
3.2	🔢 wie viele	🟦 how many	Wie viele Geschwister hast du? → How many siblings do you have?	For countable nouns
4	💁‍♂️ welche(r/s)	🟦 which	Welches Buch liest du? → Which book are you reading?	Changes by gender & case
5	❓ was	🟦 what	Was machst du? → What are you doing?	Used for things / actions
5.1	📂 was für ein(e) 🟦	🟦 what kind of	Was für ein Film ist das? → What kind of movie is that?	Used to ask for type or category
6	🤷‍♂️ warum	🟦 why	Warum lernst du Deutsch? → Why are you learning German?	Asks for reason
7	📅 wann	🟦 when	Wann hast du Geburtstag? → When is your birthday?	Time reference
8	🚗 wessen	🟦 whose	Wessen Auto ist das? → Whose car is that?	Possession / ownership

Welche vs Was für ein

• Welche Farbe magst du? --> Which color do you like? |
• Was für ein Auto hast du? --> What kind of car do you have? |

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⚙️ Declension of wer (who)

wer Changes by Case

Case	Question	English	Example
👤 Nominativ	wer?	who	Wer hilft dir?
🎯 Akkusativ	wen?	whom	Wen suchst du?
🎁 Dativ	wem?	to whom	Wem gibst du das Buch?
🧩 Genitiv	wessen?	whose	Wessen Auto ist das?

Examples: wer Declension

German	English
Wer ist das?	Who is that?
Wen siehst du?	Whom do you see?
Wem gibst du das Buch?	To whom are you giving the book?
Was machst du?	What are you doing?
Wessen Tasche ist das?	Whose bag is that?

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Related: Pronouns Overview · Direct Questions · Indirect Questions · Grammar Roadmap