German Yes/No Questions — Flipping the Word Order
After this lesson you can turn any statement into a question by moving one word.
Do this first: W-questions
Übungen
Eight exercises on what you just watched. Get 80% and the lesson is marked done and added to your A1 progress.
1 / 8 · Type the missing word
2 / 8 · Type the missing word
3 / 8 · Word order
Put the words in the right order.
Do you speak German?
4 / 8 · Word order
Put the words in the right order.
Do you live here?
5 / 8 · Choose
Turn "Du sprichst Deutsch." into a question.
6 / 8 · Choose
In a yes/no question the verb goes to position…
7 / 8 · Choose
Turn "Er kommt heute." into a question.
8 / 8 · Choose
Which is correct?
In short
To make a yes/no question in German, move the conjugated verb to position one and put the subject straight after it. "Du sprichst Deutsch" becomes "Sprichst du Deutsch?" — no extra word is needed.
How it works
A yes/no question — a Ja/Nein-Frage — is one you can answer with ja or nein. Forming one in German requires no new vocabulary at all: you take a statement and swap the first two elements. Du sprichst Deutsch becomes Sprichst du Deutsch? Er kommt heute becomes Kommt er heute?
That is the entire rule. The verb jumps from position two to position one, the subject slides in behind it, and everything else stays where it was. German needs no equivalent of the English "do" — there is no word standing in for the "do" in "Do you speak German?", because the word order alone does the job.
The trap is thinking that intonation is enough. In spoken English you can turn a statement into a question just by raising your voice, and German speakers will usually understand you if you do the same. But Du sprichst Deutsch? is a statement said with surprise, not a neutral question — and in writing it is simply wrong. Move the verb.
| Statement | Question | English |
|---|---|---|
| Du sprichst Deutsch. | Sprichst du Deutsch? | Do you speak German? |
| Er kommt heute. | Kommt er heute? | Is he coming today? |
| Du wohnst hier. | Wohnst du hier? | Do you live here? |
| Du hast Zeit. | Hast du Zeit? | Do you have time? |
| Ihr trinkt Tee. | Trinkt ihr Tee? | Do you drink tea? |
| Sie ist müde. | Ist sie müde? | Is she tired? |
| Type | Verb position | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Statement | two | Du sprichst Deutsch. |
| Yes/no question | one | Sprichst du Deutsch? |
| W-question | two, after the W-word | Was sprichst du? |
Examples
- Sprichst du Deutsch?Do you speak German?
- Wohnst du hier?Do you live here?
- Kommt er heute?Is he coming today?
- Hast du Zeit?Do you have time?
- Trinkt ihr Tee?Do you drink tea?
- Ist das Ihr Auto?Is that your car?
- Kannst du mir helfen?Can you help me?
- Arbeitest du morgen?Are you working tomorrow?
- Haben Sie eine Reservierung?Do you have a reservation?
- Trinken wir noch einen Kaffee?Shall we have another coffee?
Mistakes to avoid
✗ Du sprichst Deutsch?
✓ Sprichst du Deutsch?
Rising intonation is not enough. For a neutral question the verb must move to the front.
✗ Tust du sprechen Deutsch?
✓ Sprichst du Deutsch?
There is no German "do" in questions. Inventing one is a direct translation from English and always wrong.
✗ Sprichst Deutsch du?
✓ Sprichst du Deutsch?
The subject comes immediately after the verb. Only then does the rest of the sentence follow.
✗ Answering nein when contradicting a negative
✓ Answering doch
If someone asks Sprichst du kein Deutsch? and you *do*, the answer is doch, not ja. German has a dedicated word for contradicting a negative question, and English has nothing like it.
Wortschatz
The words from this lesson.
| ja | yes | |
| nein | no | |
| doch | yes (contradicting a negative) | |
| vielleicht | maybe | |
| natürlich | of course | |
| sprechen | to speak | |
| wohnen | to live, reside | |
| trinken | to drink | |
| die Frage | question | |
| die Antwort | answer |
Kulturnotiz
Doch is the word English speakers miss most once they know it exists. It is the answer to a negatively phrased question when you want to contradict it: "Hast du keine Zeit?" — "Doch!" meaning "yes, I do". Answering ja there would be ambiguous and answering nein would agree with the negative. There is no way to say this in one English word, which is why German speakers learning English find its absence maddening.
Common questions
+Do I need a word like "do" to ask a question?
No. German has no auxiliary for questions — the word order carries the meaning by itself. Sprichst du Deutsch? is complete as it stands.
+Can I just raise my intonation like in English?
You will be understood in speech, but it reads as surprise or disbelief rather than a neutral question, and in writing it is incorrect. Move the verb.
+What is doch and when do I use it?
It contradicts a negative question or statement. Hast du keine Zeit? — Doch, ich habe Zeit. It means "yes, actually" and exists precisely because ja would be ambiguous.
+How is this different from a W-question?
In a yes/no question the verb is first. In a W-question the question word is first and the verb is second: Was sprichst du? Both are covered by the same underlying slot rule from lesson 13.