Posted by When you talk about personal pronouns, it is quite easy to understand and use. After all, they are mostly used for illustration of verb conjugation. But when it comes to interrogative pronouns in German, it often creates a sense of concern even though they are fewer in number. Maybe because they require a certain level of tactics and mastering in order for one to navigate between when they should be used as subject or object in relation to their grammatical cases. All of these you’ll find out here.
What Are Interrogative Pronouns?
Interrogative pronouns unlike the other categories of pronouns such as prepositional pronouns, reflexive pronouns and possessive pronouns etc., are members of the question word family that are specifically used to ask direct and indirect questions about unknown objects so that it does not point directly to a particular person or thing. Each one of them belong to the third person category of verb conjugation which corresponds to the “er/sie/es”.
The use of these pronouns is distinct between animate and inanimate objects in German as well as in English and often require some level of explanation as a response. Hence, prior knowledge of the grammatical case is necessary. This is because there are individual pronouns at least one for each of the four grammatical cases as listed below.
| Case | Pronouns | English |
|---|---|---|
| Nom/Akk Nom Akk Dat Gen All cases | was wer wen wem wessen welch- | what who who (to) whom whose which/ what |
The Interrogative Pronoun WAS
Was as an Interrogative pronoun may be used to ask about a matter or a thing as the subject (Nominativ) or the direct object (Akkusativ) in the sentence. As the subject, the verb is conjugated to was while as the object, it is not. This distinguished usage can be seen in the exemplary sentences below.
| Question Type | Nominativ | Akkusativ |
|---|---|---|
| Direct | 1. Was passiert heute? (What is happening today?) | Was machst du heute? (What are you doing today?) |
| Indirect | 2. Ich habe keine Ahnung, was heute passiert. (I have no idea what is happening today.) | Ich habe keine Ahnung, was du heute machst. (I have no idea what you are doing today.) |
The Interrogative pronoun WER
Wer which means “who” in English is a subject or Nominativ interrogative pronoun that is used to enquire about a person only. The verb is always conjugated to it when used as shown in the examples below.
| Question Type | Nominativ |
|---|---|
| Direct | 1. Wer bist du? (Who are you?) 2. Wer möchte Kartoffel essen? (Who would like to eat potatoes?) |
| Indirect | 1. Darf ich fragen, wer du bist? (May I ask who you are?) 2. Ich möchte genau wissen, wer dich eingeladen hat. (I would like to know exactly who invited you.) |
The Interrogative pronoun WEN
In the case of wen, it is rather the direct object (Akkusativ). Since the Akkusativ is the direct recipient of the action, it therefore indicates that it is questioning the action performer (subject/Nominativ) of its action which is usually a transitive verb. This can be seen in the examples below.
| Question Type | Akkusativ |
|---|---|
| Direct | 1. Wen triffst du? (Who are you meeting?) 2. Wen müssen wir besuchen? (Who do we have to visit?) |
| Indirect | 1. Darf ich fragen, wen du besuchst? (May I ask who you are visiting?) 2. Ich möchte genau wissen, an wen sie schreibt. (I would like to know exactly who she is writing to.) |
The Interrogative Pronoun WEM
This particular interrogative pronoun is of Dativ. It questions about the benefactor or indirect receiver/object of the action being performed. Since Dativ usually contains the inscribed preposition “for” and “to” in German, it is often best used in English. Hence, wem is best translated as either “to whom” or “for whom”. This variation is dependent on the verb- whether it is an Akkusativ or a Dativ verb as illustrated below.
| Question Type | Dativ |
|---|---|
| Direct | 1. Wem kaufst du eine Tasche? (For whom are you buying a bag?) 2. Wem schenkst du den Rock? (To whom are you gifting the skirt?) |
| Indirect | 1. Darf ich fragen, wem du die Tasche kaufst? (May I ask who you are buying the bag for?) 2. Ich möchte genau wissen, wem du den Rock schenkst. (I would like to know exactly who you are gifting the skirt to.) |
The Interrogative pronoun WESSEN
The Genetiv interrogative pronoun “wessen” questions about the possessor or owner of something or someone irrespective of its case. That is to say it can possess the Nominativ, Akkusativ or even the Dativ in the question.
| Question Type | Sentences |
|---|---|
| Direct | 1. Wessen Kind weint? (Whose child is crying?) 2. Wessen Kuchen frisst die Maus? (Whose cake is the mouse eating?) 3. Wessen Kindern kaufst du die Spielzeuge? (Whose children are you buying the toys for?) |
| Indirect | 1. Darf ich fragen, wessen Kind weint? (May I ask whose child is crying?) 2. Ich möchte wissen, wessen Kuchen die Maus frisst? (I would like to know whose cake the mouse is eating?) Ich möchten wissen, wessen Kindern du die Spielzeuge kaufst? (I would like to know whose children you are buying the toys for?) |
The Interrogative pronoun WELCH-
Just like demonstrative pronouns “dies-“, the interrogative pronoun “welch-” is declined according to the grammatical case of the supposed nouns they stand in for. This declension is similar to those of the definite articles. Welch– unlike all other members of the interrogative pronouns is the only pronoun that can either stand alone or be used together with nouns like adjectives. When it stands alone, it means “which” but when used with nouns, it becomes “what” as illustrated below.
| Question Type | Welch- as “which” | Welch- as “what” |
|---|---|---|
| Direct | 1.-A: Ich möchte Schuhe kaufen. (I would like to buy shoes) -B: Welche möchtest du? (Which (one) would you like?) | Am welchen Stock wohnt ihr? (On what floor do you stay?) |
| Indirect | 2. Darf ich fragen, welche du möchtest? (May I ask which (one) you would like?) | Darf ich fragen, am welchen Stock ihr wohnt? (May I ask on what floor you stay?) |