A2 · Pronouns
Question words and which case they take
wer, wen, wem, wessen, welcher, was für ein
wer changes for case exactly like der, and two different words ask which.
The question word for a person declines: wer in the nominative, wen in the accusative, wem in the dative, wessen in the genitive. It follows the same pattern as der, so learning one settles the other. The question word for a thing, was, does not decline at all.
Asking "which" has two forms with different jobs. Welcher asks for a choice out of a known set — Welchen Wein möchtest du? with the wine list in front of you — and it declines like dieser. Was für ein asks what kind of thing something is: Was für ein Wein ist das?
In was für ein, the für is not a preposition and does not govern anything. The case of ein comes from the role the whole phrase plays in the sentence: Was für einen Wagen fährst du? is accusative because it is the object of fahren.
Die Form
| wer | Wer ist das? |
| wen | Wen hast du gesehen? |
| wem | Wem gehört das? |
| wessen | Wessen Tasche ist das? |
| welcher, welche, welches | Welches Buch meinst du? |
| was für ein | Was für ein Auto ist das? |
Die Regeln im Einzelnen
wer declines for case exactly like der.
Wem hast du geholfen?Who did you help?
was does not decline.
Was hast du gesagt?What did you say?
welcher asks for a choice from a known set and declines like dieser.
Welche Farbe gefällt dir?Which colour do you like?
was für ein asks what kind, and the case comes from the sentence.
Was für einen Film habt ihr gesehen?What sort of film did you see?
Genauer hingesehen
Asking about a thing after a preposition
A preposition cannot be followed by was. Instead German fuses the two into a wo(r)- form: Worauf wartest du?, Womit schreibst du?, Wovon redest du? The r appears when the preposition begins with a vowel.
For a person, the ordinary forms stay: Auf wen wartest du?, Mit wem schreibst du? Thing gets a wo- form, person keeps the pronoun — the same split that governs the da- forms in answers.
Ausnahmen und Sonderfälle (2)
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was für stands with a plural or a mass noun
the ein disappears.
Was für Bücher liest du?What kind of books do you read?
Ein has no plural, so the phrase is simply was für.
-
wessen is used in speech
German usually rephrases with wem gehört.
Wem gehört das Fahrrad?Whose bicycle is that?
The genitive question word is formal and mostly written.
Woran man es erkennt
- wer
- wen
- wem
- wessen
- was
- welch
- was für
Beispielsätze
Wer kommt heute Abend?Who is coming tonight?
Wen soll ich fragen?Who should I ask?
Wem gehört der Mantel?Whose is the coat?
Welchen Zug nimmst du?Which train are you taking?
Was für Musik hörst du?What kind of music do you listen to?
Noch 6 Beispielsätze
Mit wem sprichst du?Who are you talking to?
Worüber lachst du?What are you laughing about?
Welches Zimmer ist frei?Which room is free?
Was für ein Tag!What a day!
Wessen Idee war das?Whose idea was that?
Wen hast du eingeladen?Who did you invite?
Besonderheiten (2)
-
Was für ein! as an exclamation
Without a question mark the same phrase becomes an exclamation: <z>Was für ein Glück!</z>, <z>Was für ein Unsinn!</z> The word order stays as in a statement, and only the intonation and the punctuation mark the difference.
-
welcher also introduces relative clauses
In formal writing <z>welcher</z> can replace the relative pronoun <z>der</z>: <z>das Buch, welches ich gelesen habe</z>. It is correct, it is heavy, and it is mostly used to avoid two <z>der</z> forms colliding in one sentence.
Die typisch deutsche Falle
Aufgepasst
English lost the distinction — "whom" survives only in careful writing and most speakers use "who" for both — so nothing in the mother tongue signals that a case has to be chosen. German keeps all four forms in daily use, and using wer as an object is as noticeable as using er instead of ihn.
wer, wen, wem, wessen — the same four as der, den, dem, dessen.
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