Questions & Answers about Wann fängt das Konzert an?
Why is an at the very end of the sentence?
The verb for "to start" is anfangen, which is a separable verb. In a direct question, the verb splits. The core part (fängt) goes right after the question word, and the prefix (an) gets pushed to the very end of the sentence.
Why does fängt have an umlaut here if the dictionary form is anfangen?
anfangen is an irregular verb. When used with "he", "she", or "it", the stem vowel a changes to ä. Because das Konzert acts as an "it" (third-person singular), the verb changes to fängt.
Where is the word for "does" in this German sentence?
German doesn't use helper verbs like "do" or "does" to form questions! Instead of asking "When does the concert start?", the German structure is essentially "When starts the concert?" (with the separated prefix an dropped at the very end).
If I answer this question and say "The concert starts at 8", does an still go at the end?
Yes! In a normal statement, the core verb takes the second position and the prefix still waits at the very end. You would say Das Konzert fängt um 8 Uhr an. No matter how much extra information you add in the middle, the prefix anchors the end of the sentence.
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