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Wo

Wo-compounds are used in German to ask questions about the object of a preposition, and correspond to "what" questions in English. They follow the same rules as da-compounds - wo-compounds are used when the object is a thing, while forms of "wer" (who) are used when the object is a person. Some examples are provided to illustrate how to use wo-compounds and wer-forms in questions, and how they correspond to English questions that put the preposition at the end of the sentence. Exercises are included to practice forming questions using wo-compounds and wer-forms with both people and things as objects.

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95 views

Wo

Wo-compounds are used in German to ask questions about the object of a preposition, and correspond to "what" questions in English. They follow the same rules as da-compounds - wo-compounds are used when the object is a thing, while forms of "wer" (who) are used when the object is a person. Some examples are provided to illustrate how to use wo-compounds and wer-forms in questions, and how they correspond to English questions that put the preposition at the end of the sentence. Exercises are included to practice forming questions using wo-compounds and wer-forms with both people and things as objects.

Uploaded by

valentina Damnjanovska
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Wo-Compounds

Wo-compounds are used in questions when asking about the object of the preposition ('for what',
'about what', etc.). Wo does not mean 'where' in these compounds; instead, in English we use 'what' in
these questions. Wo-compounds follow the same rules as da-compounds, in particular the difference
between people and things. When the object of the preposition is a thing, we must use a wo-compound
when asking a question about it. For example:

Womit rasierst du dich? What do you shave with?

Ich rasiere mich mit dem Rasierapparat. I shave with an electric razor.

Worüber sprichst du? What are you talking about?

Ich spreche über das Buch. I'm talking about the book.

Worauf freust du dich? What are you looking forward to?

Ich freue mich auf das Wochenende. I'm looking forward to the weekend.

Note that the German wo-compound corresponds to two English words, 'what' at the beginning of the
sentence and the preposition 'with/about/to' at the end. In English, you can also put both 'about' and
'what' at the beginning ('About what are you talking?'), although this is not very common in everyday
speech.

Also note the -r- added when the preposition begins with a vowel.

Like the da-compounds explained above, German differentiates between people and things when using
wo-compounds. When asking about a person, German uses forms of the who-word, wer: these are wen
(accusative) and wem (dative).
Auf wen wartest du? Who are you waiting for?

Ich warte auf Karl. I'm waiting for Karl.

Mit wem fährst du nach Chicago? Who are you going to Chicago with?

Ich fahre mit meinem Freund. I'm going with my friend.

Again, English speakers usually put the preposition at the end of the sentence, but other than word
order, German and English are essentially the same here. Remember that when the object is a person,
you must use wen/wem, and this means you need to know whether the preposition takes the accusative
or dative case! When the object is a thing, use a wo-compound.

Üben wir!

A. Write a question asking for the underlined information (things).

1. Ich habe Angst vor Prüfungen. Wovor hast du Angst?

2. Er bittet um ein bisschen Zeit. Worum bittet er?


______________________________________________________________

3. Sabine hofft auf eine gute Note. Worauf hofft Sabine?


______________________________________________________________

4. Werner hat sich für ein Motorrad entschieden. Wofur hat sich Werner entscheiden?
______________________________________________________________

5. Das Buch handelt von der Nazizeit. Wovon handelt da Buch?


______________________________________________________________

6. Ich ärgere mich über meine Note in Mathe. Worüber argere ich mich?
______________________________________________________________
B. Write a question asking for the underlined information (people). Check the case of the preposition!

1. Hans hat sich in Sabine verliebt. In wen hat Hans sich verliebt?

2. Reinhard hat sich von seiner Freundin getrennt. Von wem hat Reinhard getrennt?
______________________________________________________________

3. Die Kinder lachen über den jungen Mann. Über wen lachen die Kinder?
______________________________________________________________

4. Wir erinnern uns an unsere Freunde. An Wen erinnern wir?


______________________________________________________________

5. Ich muss heute mit meinem Vater sprechen. Mit wem muss ich heute sprechen?
______________________________________________________________

6. Maria achtet nie auf ihre Eltern. Auf wen achtet nie Maria?
______________________________________________________________

C. Same as above, but people and things are mixed. Watch out!

1. Ich warte auf den Bus. Worauf warte ich?


______________________________________________________________

2. Wir haben Angst vor Schlangen (=snakes). Wovor haben wir Angst?
______________________________________________________________

3. Sie sprechen über den Professor. Uber wen sprechen sie?


______________________________________________________________

4. Die Studenten haben mit ihrer Arbeit angefangen. Womit haben die Studenten
angefangen? ______________________________________________________________

5. Wir sind böse auf Karl. Auf Wen sind wir böse?
______________________________________________________________

6. Ich ärgere mich über meinen Bruder. Uber wen ärgere ich?
______________________________________________________________
7. Elke denkt an ihre Kindheit. Woran denkt Elke?
______________________________________________________________

8. Du hast auf meine Frage nicht geantwortet. Worauf hast du nicht geantwortet?
______________________________________________________________

9. Es hängt von der Zeit ab. Wovon hangt es ab?


______________________________________________________________

10. Sie hat nach meiner Mutter gefragt. Nach wem hat sie gefragt?
______________________________________________________________

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