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Questions & Answers about Kommt der Besuch heute?
Why does the English translation say "visitors" (plural) when the German sentence uses the singular der Besuch?
In German, der Besuch literally means "the visit", but it is very commonly used as a collective noun to mean "the visitors", "the guests", or "company". Even though it might refer to multiple people in real life, the noun itself is singular. This is why it uses the singular verb kommt.
Why does the sentence start with Kommt?
To ask a yes/no question in German, you simply move the verb to the very first position. English adds helper words like "Are" or "Do" (as in "Are the visitors coming?"), but German just swaps the subject and the verb. A statement like Der Besuch kommt becomes the question Kommt der Besuch?.
The English translation says "Are coming". How do we know kommt means "are coming" instead of "comes"?
German doesn't have a separate "-ing" form (present continuous tense) like English does. The single word kommt translates to both "comes" and "is coming" / "are coming". You rely on the context of the sentence to know which one sounds better in English. Here, asking about plans for today (heute) makes "are coming" the most natural fit.
Could we put the word heute earlier in the sentence?
Yes, you could also say Kommt heute der Besuch?. Both are grammatically correct. Putting the time word heute (today) at the end is very standard here, but moving it right after the verb is also perfectly fine, especially if you want to put more emphasis on the word "today".