Breakdown of Was willst du am Wochenende machen?
du
you (informal singular)
machen
to make, to do
was
what
wollen
to want
am Wochenende
at the weekend
Questions & Answers about Was willst du am Wochenende machen?
Does willst mean 'will' in English, like 'What will you do?'?
No, the verb wollen is a false friend! In German, wollen means 'to want', not 'will'. So Was willst du translates to 'What do you want'. If you want to express the future tense ('will'), German uses a completely different verb.
Why is machen at the very end of the sentence?
This is a strict rule when using modal verbs like wollen (to want). The modal verb (willst) takes the regular verb position right after the question word, and the main action verb (machen) gets pushed to the very end of the sentence in its original dictionary form.
Why do we say am Wochenende instead of just an Wochenende?
The word am is a contraction, combining the preposition an (at/on) and the word dem (the). German uses am for days of the week and the weekend, much like we say 'at the weekend' or 'on the weekend' in English.
Learn Was willst du am Wochenende machen and more in German
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free