German for English speakers House · Lesson 7

What? Why!

Question words in German — Was machst du? (What are you doing?) — direct question structure.

Conversation

  1. Yaya Yaya

    Hallo, was machst du?

    Hey! What are you doing?

    Tip: <was machst du?> = "lit. what do you do? ". There is no difference between the present and the present progressing in German.

  2. Pishi Pishi

    Ich zerstöre deinen Kuchen.

    I'm breaking your cake.

  3. Yaya Yaya

    Nein, warum machst du sowas?

    Nooo! Why?

  4. Pishi Pishi

    Weil ich geschlafen hatte.

    Because I was sleeping.

    Tip: <Weil> = It is very common in spoken speech to start sentences off with "Weil".

  5. Pishi Pishi

    Aber du redest zu laut.

    But you are talking too loudly

Common questions

Quick answers about this lesson's grammar and vocabulary.

Does German have a present continuous?

Not really. The simple present (Ich mache) covers both. For emphasis on ongoing action: gerade + verb (Ich mache gerade = 'I'm doing right now').

Common German question words?

Was (what), wer (who), wann (when), wo (where), warum (why), wie (how), wie viel/viele (how much/many).

What does zerstören mean?

'To destroy'. Du zerstörst meinen Kuchen = 'you're destroying my cake'.

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