Breakdown of Wann musst du aufstehen?
du
you (informal singular)
wann
when
müssen
to have to, must
aufstehen
to get up
Questions & Answers about Wann musst du aufstehen?
Why is aufstehen at the very end of the sentence?
When you use a modal verb like müssen (must / have to), the conjugated modal verb takes the second position (here, right after the question word Wann). The main action verb (aufstehen) gets pushed to the very end of the sentence in its basic dictionary form.
Wait, isn't aufstehen a separable verb? Why isn't it split up here?
You're right! Normally, you would split it: Du stehst auf (You get up). However, modal verbs are powerful—they force the main verb to the end of the sentence in its full, unseparated dictionary form. So, aufstehen stays in one piece.
Why is it musst and not müsst?
Most modal verbs change their vowel for the singular forms (I, you, he/she/it). For müssen, the ü with the two dots changes to a regular u. That is why it becomes du musst.
Can I translate this as "When must you get up?"
Yes, absolutely. In German, müssen means both "must" and "to have to". We often translate it as "have to" here because that usually sounds more natural in everyday English questions, but the German meaning is exactly the same.