German Yes/No Questions (Verb First)

Level: A1. A yes/no question (German Ja/Nein-Frage or Entscheidungsfrage) is a question you can answer with yes or no. German builds it with one small change: the conjugated verb jumps to the front.

The rule

A statement in German puts the subject first and the conjugated verb (the verb form that agrees with the subject) in second place: Du wohnst hier. (“You live here.”)

To turn that statement into a yes/no question, you move the conjugated verb to position one, in front of the subject. Everything else keeps its order:

Statement: Du wohnst hier. → Question: Wohnst du hier?

That is the whole rule. The subject (du) now comes right after the verb, and the sentence ends with a question mark. German does not add a helper word — there is no equivalent of the English do in “Do you live here?”. You simply swap the first two words.

Because only the position changes, the verb keeps the same ending it had in the statement. Du wohnst stays wohnst in Wohnst du …?; er kommt stays kommt in Kommt er …?. The subject still decides the ending.

Statement vs question word order

Answering: ja, nein and doch

German has three short answers, not two:

• ja — yes, to a normal (positive) question: Kommst du? — Ja.
• nein — no, to any question: Kommst du? — Nein.
• doch — yes, to contradict a negative question or statement. English has no single word for this.

Kommst du nicht? (“Aren’t you coming?”) — if you are coming, you answer Doch!, not Ja. Using ja here would be unclear, so German uses doch to mean “yes, actually”.

How to say it

A rising tone at the end helps, but a few sounds matter more:

• w sounds like English v: Wohnst ≈ “VOHNST”, Willst ≈ “VILST”.
• st / sp at the start of a word are “sht / shp”: Spielst du? ≈ “SHPEELST”.
• ö / ü: round your lips — Hörst du? ≈ “HÖRST”, Übst du? ≈ “ÜBST”.
• Final -st is a crisp “st” cluster; do not drop the t: bist, hast, kommst.

Example sentences

1. Bist du müde?
   Are you tired?
   sein, verb first
2. Hast du Zeit?
   Do you have time?
   haben
3. Kommst du heute?
   Are you coming today?
4. Wohnst du in Berlin?
   Do you live in Berlin?
5. Sprichst du Deutsch?
   Do you speak German?
6. Trinkst du Kaffee?
   Do you drink coffee?
7. Ist das Anna?
   Is that Anna?
8. Hat er ein Auto?
   Does he have a car?
9. Arbeitet sie hier?
   Does she work here?
10. Lernen wir heute?
    Are we studying today?
11. Spielt ihr Fußball?
    Do you (all) play football?
12. Sind Sie der Lehrer?
    Are you the teacher?
    formal Sie
13. Kannst du mir helfen?
    Can you help me?
    modal verb
14. Möchtest du einen Tee?
    Would you like a tea?
15. Gehen wir jetzt?
    Shall we go now?
16. Kaufst du das Brot?
    Are you buying the bread?
17. Kommt der Bus bald?
    Is the bus coming soon?
18. Hast du keinen Hunger?
    Aren't you hungry?
    negative; answer Doch if you are
19. Stehst du früh auf?
    Do you get up early?
    separable verb aufstehen
20. Ist der Kaffee heiß?
    Is the coffee hot?

Common mistakes

• ❌ Du wohnst hier? (as the normal question) → ✅ Wohnst du hier? The verb must move to the front; keeping the subject first only works as a surprised echo.
• ❌ Tust du hier wohnen? → ✅ Wohnst du hier? German has no do; never add a helper verb.
• ❌ Wohnst du hier. → ✅ Wohnst du hier? A yes/no question ends with a question mark, not a full stop.
• ❌ Kommst du nicht? — Ja! (meaning “yes, I am”) → ✅ Doch! Contradict a negative question with doch.
• ❌ Hast du Zeit? answered Komme → ✅ Ja, ich habe Zeit. Answer with the matching verb, not a different one.

A short conversation

Im Café: — Hast du Hunger? — Nein, aber ich habe Durst. Trinkst du einen Kaffee? — Ja, gern. Magst du keinen Kaffee? — Doch! Ich nehme auch einen.

Usage notes

• doch is special. It answers “yes” against a negative. Learn it as a set with ja and nein from day one.
• Rising intonation helps but is not the rule. In writing, the verb-first order is what makes the question correct; the question mark and tone follow.
• Modal verbs go first too. With können, wollen, möchten, the modal is the conjugated verb and moves to the front: Kannst du schwimmen? The main verb stays at the end as an infinitive.
• Separable verbs split. The prefix still goes to the end: Stehst du früh auf? (aufstehen = to get up).
• Formal Sie. With Sie (formal you), the pattern is identical: Sprechen Sie Englisch?

Compared with W-questions

A W-question asks for information and starts with a question word (wer, was, wo, wann, wie, warum); you cannot answer it with ja or nein. A yes/no question has no W-word, so the verb itself goes first:

• W-question: Wo wohnst du? → “In Berlin.” (needs information)
• Yes/no question: Wohnst du in Berlin? → Ja / Nein / Doch.

In both, the conjugated verb sits early — second after a W-word, first in a yes/no question. See German W-Questions for the open-question pattern, and revisit German present tense: regular verbs for the verb endings.

Quick recap before the quiz.

Practice

Practice

Yes/no questions practice

Try each one, then press Check. No sign-up, nothing is sent anywhere — it all runs in your browser.

1 How do you ask 'Do you live here?'

Du wohnst hier? Wohnst du hier? Tust du hier wohnen? Hier du wohnst?

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Wohnst du hier? — Move the verb to the front: Wohnst du hier? No do is added.

2 Make it a question: 'Sie ist müde.' → ____ sie müde?

Check

Hint: the verb goes first

Show answer

Ist — The conjugated verb ist moves to position one: Ist sie müde?

3 Order the words: 'Do you have time?'

ZeitduHast

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Show answer

Hast du Zeit — Verb first, subject second: Hast du Zeit?

4 Match each question to its best answer.

• Kommst du? Match for Kommst du? — choose — Doch!Ja, das bin ich.Ja.Nein.
• Kommst du nicht? Match for Kommst du nicht? — choose — Doch!Ja, das bin ich.Ja.Nein.
• Trinkst du Tee? Match for Trinkst du Tee? — choose — Doch!Ja, das bin ich.Ja.Nein.
• Bist du der Lehrer? Match for Bist du der Lehrer? — choose — Doch!Ja, das bin ich.Ja.Nein.

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• Kommst du? → Ja.
• Kommst du nicht? → Doch!
• Trinkst du Tee? → Nein.
• Bist du der Lehrer? → Ja, das bin ich.

Use doch to say yes against a negative question.

5 Which answer means 'yes, I am' to 'Hast du keinen Hunger?'

Ja Nein Doch Nicht

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Doch — Doch contradicts a negative question to mean yes, actually.

Quiz

Check yourself

German yes/no questions quiz

12 questions · pick an answer and you'll see straight away if it's right.

0/12 0 answered

1. 1To make a yes/no question, the conjugated verb goes…

   A at the end B to the front, before the subject C in second place D it is dropped
   Show answer

   to the front, before the subject — The verb moves to position one, before the subject.

2. 2'You speak German.' as a question is…

   A Du sprichst Deutsch? B Sprichst du Deutsch? C Tust du Deutsch sprechen? D Deutsch sprichst du?
   Show answer

   Sprichst du Deutsch? — Verb first: Sprichst du Deutsch?

3. 3Which is correct for 'Do you have a car?'

   A Du hast ein Auto? B Hast du ein Auto? C Habst du ein Auto? D Tust du ein Auto haben?
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   Hast du ein Auto? — Hast du ein Auto? — verb first, correct du form hast.

4. 4How do you answer 'yes' to the negative question 'Magst du keinen Tee?'

   A Ja B Nein C Doch D Kein
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   Doch — Doch says yes against a negative question.

5. 5What does German add that matches the English 'do' in questions?

   A tun B machen C nothing D haben
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   nothing — German adds nothing; it only moves the verb.

6. 6'Shall we go now?' is…

   A Wir gehen jetzt? B Gehen wir jetzt? C Tun wir jetzt gehen? D Jetzt gehen wir?
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   Gehen wir jetzt? — Verb first: Gehen wir jetzt?

7. 7With the modal verb in 'Can you help me?', which word comes first?

   A helfen B du C Kannst D mir
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   Kannst — The modal Kannst is the conjugated verb and goes first: Kannst du mir helfen?

8. 8A yes/no question ends with…

   A a full stop B a comma C a question mark D nothing
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   a question mark — It ends with a question mark: Wohnst du hier?

9. 9Which sentence is a correct yes/no question?

   A Kommt der Bus bald. B Der Bus kommt bald? C Kommt der Bus bald? D Bald der Bus kommt?
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   Kommt der Bus bald? — Verb first and a question mark: Kommt der Bus bald?

10. 10Turn 'Er hat Zeit.' into a question: ____ er Zeit?
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    Hat — The verb hat moves to the front: Hat er Zeit?

11. 11Why can you NOT answer 'Wo wohnst du?' with ja?

    A It is rude B It is a W-question asking for information, not yes/no C wo means yes D You can
    Show answer

    It is a W-question asking for information, not yes/no — W-questions need information; only yes/no questions take ja/nein/doch.

12. 12Complete the answer: 'Trinkst du Kaffee?' — '____, gern.' (yes)
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    Ja — A positive question takes Ja.

Recap cheat-sheet

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