Breakdown of Auf wen wartest du?
du
you (informal singular)
warten
to wait
auf
on / to (down/up to a level)
wen
whom (accusative)
Questions & Answers about Auf wen wartest du?
Why do we say "Auf wen" when the English translation is "Who are you waiting for"?
In German, certain verbs are locked to specific prepositions. To express "waiting for", German uses the combination warten auf (which literally translates closer to "to wait on"). Because of this, you must use auf in your question rather than a word like für.
Why is it "wen" and not "wem" or "wer"?
wer is the subject form (who), but here the person being waited for is the object of the preposition auf. When auf is used in this kind of abstract way to complete a verb, it requires the accusative case. The accusative form of wer is wen.
How do I ask "What are you waiting for?" if I am not asking about a person?
If you are waiting for a thing or an event, you cannot use wen, which is strictly for people. Instead of saying auf was, German merges wo and auf (inserting an "r" to connect the vowels) into the single word worauf. So, "What are you waiting for?" becomes Worauf wartest du?.
Can I move "auf" to the end of the sentence like we do with "for" in informal English?
No, German never allows prepositions to dangle at the end of a question. The preposition auf must always stay glued to the front of the question word wen.
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