Question 1

Why does the question start with Womit instead of just asking "Mit was"?

Accepted Answer

When asking a question about a thing (not a person) that involves a preposition like mit (with), German uses a "wo-compound". Instead of combining mit and was (with what), you combine wo and mit to make womit. If the preposition started with a vowel, like auf, you would add an "r" in the middle to make it easier to say (worauf).

Question 2

Why is the verb haben at the very end of the sentence?

Accepted Answer

The word weil (because) creates a subordinate clause. In German, a subordinate clause always pushes the conjugated verb—in this case, haben—to the very end of that clause.

Question 3

Why do we use kein Holz here instead of nicht Holz?

Accepted Answer

German uses kein (meaning "no" or "not any") to negate nouns that don't have an article, like Holz (wood) in this sentence, or nouns that use the indefinite article (ein / eine). You use nicht to negate verbs, adjectives, or specific nouns that have a definite article (der, die, das).

Question 4

Why is it am Wochenende? What does the am stand for?

Accepted Answer

am is a contraction of the preposition an (on) and the dative article dem. Time expressions for days of the week and the weekend always use an in the dative case. Since Wochenende is a neuter noun (das Wochenende), its dative article is dem, which shrinks down with an to become am.

Womit bastelt ihr am Wochenende? Wir basteln mit Papier, weil wir kein Holz haben.

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