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### Indirect W-questions

Just as you can embed yes/no questions into sentences, you can also embed open-ended questions. This is useful for reporting news or politely asking for information. 

Instead of a conjunction like *ob* (whether), you use the original question's W-word—such as **was** (what), **warum** (why), **wo** (where), **wann** (when), or **wie** (how)—to connect the two clauses.

### Word order

An indirect W-question is a subordinate clause. Separate it from the main clause with a comma. The W-word sits right after the comma and sends the conjugated verb to the very end of the sentence.

{{item:870611}}

{{item:870617}}

### Separable verbs and the perfect tense

If the verb at the end of the indirect question is a separable verb, its prefix does not split off. It stays attached to the main verb.

{{item:870615}}

In a compound tense like the *Perfekt*, the conjugated helping verb (**haben** or **sein**) goes to the very end, directly after the past participle.

{{item:870608}}

{{item:870620}}

### W-word phrases

Sometimes a W-word pairs with another word to form a question phrase (like "how late" or "how current"). The entire phrase acts as the question word, sitting together directly after the comma.

{{item:870625}}

Indirect W-questions

adjective

adverb

auxiliary verb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Definite articles and gender (der, die, das)

Indefinite articles (ein, eine)

Regular verbs and statement word order (ich -e, er -t)

The second person (du -st, Sie -en)

Yes/No questions

The verb 'to have' (habe, hast, hat)

Plural pronouns and regular verbs (wir, ihr, sie)

Plural 'to be' and 'to have' (sind, haben)

Plural nouns and the plural article (die)

Sentence negation (nicht)

Noun negation (kein, keine)

Question words (wer, was, wo, wie)

Numbers 0 to 12 (null, eins, zwei)

The accusative case (den, die, das)

Indefinite accusative articles (einen, keinen)

Direct object pronouns (mich, dich, ihn)

There is / there are (es gibt)

Vowel changes: e to i/ie (er spricht, sie liest)

Vowel changes: a to ä (er fährt)

Weather and conditions (es regnet)

First- and second-person possessives in the nominative (mein, dein, Ihr)

First- and second-person possessives in the accusative (meinen, deinen, Ihren)

Third-person and plural possessives (sein, ihr, unser, euer)

Possession with names (Annas Auto)

Demonstrative pronouns (dieser, diese, dieses)

Expressing preference (gern, lieber)

Asking about direction and origin (woher, wohin)

Expressing ability (können)

Polite requests (möchten)

Expressing intention (wollen)

Modal verbs of obligation and permission (müssen, dürfen)

Separable prefix verbs

Adverbs of frequency (immer, oft, manchmal, nie)

The Dative case and definite articles (dem, der, den)

Dative indefinite and negative articles (einem, einer, keinem)

Dative personal pronouns (mir, dir, ihm, ihr...)

Dative verbs (helfen, danken, gefallen, schmecken)

Dative prepositions (aus, bei, mit, nach...)

Accusative prepositions (für, ohne, gegen)

Two-way prepositions for location (in, an, auf...)

Informal singular imperative (mach, komm)

Plural and formal imperative (macht, machen Sie)

Coordinating conjunctions (und, oder, aber, denn)

Simple past of sein and haben (war, hatte)

The perfect tense: regular verbs (gemacht, gespielt)

Past tense: irregular verbs (ge-...-en)

The perfect tense: mixed verbs (gebracht, gekannt)

The perfect tense with sein (ist gegangen)

The perfect tense: separable verbs (eingekauft)

The perfect tense: inseparable and -ieren verbs (besucht, studiert)

Informal singular commands (mach, lern)

Numbers 13 to 20 (dreizehn to zwanzig)

Counting by tens to 100 (dreißig, vierzig)

Telling time (Uhr, halb, Viertel, vor, nach)

Numbers 21 to 99 (einundzwanzig, zweiunddreißig)

Greetings and farewells

Thank you, sorry and good wishes

Everyday replies

Numbers 100 to 1,000,000 (hundert, tausend...)

Becoming and getting (werden)

The impersonal pronoun (man)

Indefinite pronouns (jemand, niemand...)

Time sequence prepositions (vor, nach, bei)

Time span prepositions (von... bis, seit, für)

Adverbs of sequence (zuerst, dann, danach)

Two-way prepositions for direction (in, auf, an...)

Directional adverbs (hin, her)

Placement verbs (setzen, stellen, legen)

Months of the year (Januar, Februar)

The four seasons (Frühling, Sommer)

Time prepositions and indefinite pronouns (an, in, um)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 19th (am ersten)

Ordinals 20th and beyond (-ste, -sten)

Placement vs. location verbs (stellen vs. stehen)

Accusative reflexive pronouns (mich, dich, sich)

Accusative reflexive verbs (sich freuen)

Dative reflexive pronouns (mir, dir, sich)

Dative reflexive verbs (sich etwas merken)

Ordinal numbers 11th to 19th (-te)

Temporal prepositions (an, in, um)

Double objects with nouns

Double objects with pronouns

The modal verb for advice (sollen)

Simple past of modal verbs (musste, wollte...)

Simple past of common irregulars (wurde, wusste, es gab)

Adverbial connectors of consequence (deshalb, darum...)

Subordinate clauses for statements (dass)

Question	Answer
the journalist (male)	der Journalist
to research (gather information)	recherchieren
The journalist is researching why the accident happened.	Der Journalist recherchiert, warum der Unfall passiert ist.
the journalist (female)	die Journalistin
the topic	das Thema
I ask the female journalist what the topic is.	Ich frage die Journalistin, was das Thema ist.
current	aktuell
the interview	das Interview
The topic is very current, therefore we are planning the interview.	Das Thema ist sehr aktuell, deshalb planen wir das Interview.
Nobody knows when the interview takes place.	Niemand weiß, wann das Interview stattfindet.
the article	der Artikel
The article shows how the journalist researches these numbers.	Der Artikel zeigt, wie der Journalist diese Zahlen recherchiert.
to confirm	bestätigen
the detail	das Detail
The boss confirms where he found the details.	Der Chef bestätigt, wo er die Details gefunden hat.
to inform	informieren
The female journalist informs me why the report is not up-to-date.	Die Journalistin informiert mich, warum der Bericht nicht aktuell ist.
I thank him because he tells me what he is writing the article for.	Ich danke ihm, weil er mir sagt, wofür er den Artikel schreibt.
We inform the audience when the game begins on the weekend.	Wir informieren das Publikum, wann das Spiel am Wochenende anfängt.
Can you confirm how current this news is?	Können Sie bestätigen, wie aktuell diese Nachrichten sind?
The journalist researches why the detail is important.	Der Journalist recherchiert, warum das Detail wichtig ist.

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