Introduction: Asking for Details

While Yes/No questions are useful, often we need more specific information. To get these details, we use question words. These words signal what kind of information we are looking for (a person, a place, a time, a reason, etc.). This chapter introduces the most common Dutch question words used at the A1 level.

Common Question Words

Here are the key question words and how they are used:

• Wie? (Who?)
• Used to ask about people (identity).
• Examples:
• Wie is die man? (Who is that man?)
• Wie heeft mijn pen? (Who has my pen?)
• Met wie spreek je? (With whom are you speaking? - Note: Preposition met comes before wie)

• Wat? (What?)
• Used to ask about things, ideas, or actions.
• Examples:
• Wat is dat? (What is that?)
• Wat doe je? (What are you doing?)
• Wat wilt u drinken? (What do you want to drink? - formal)

• Waar? (Where?)
• Used to ask about location or place.
• Examples:
• Waar is de supermarkt? (Where is the supermarket?)
• Waar wonen zij? (Where do they live?)
• Waar gaan we heen? (Where are we going (to)? - heen indicates direction)

• Wanneer? (When?)
• Used to ask about time.
• Examples:
• Wanneer vertrekt de trein? (When does the train depart?)
• Wanneer heb je tijd? (When do you have time?)
• Wanneer begint de film? (When does the film start?)

• Hoe? (How?)
• Used to ask about manner, condition, or method. Also used in specific phrases like asking for a name or age.
• Examples:
• Hoe gaat het? (How is it going? / How are you?)
• Hoe maak je dat? (How do you make that?)
• Hoe kom ik bij het station? (How do I get to the station?)
• Hoe heet je? (What is your name? - lit. How are you called?)
• Hoe oud ben je? (How old are you? - lit. How old are you?)

• Waarom? (Why?)
• Used to ask for a reason.
• Examples:
• Waarom ben je te laat? (Why are you too late?)
• Waarom leert hij Nederlands? (Why is he learning Dutch?)

• Welke? (Which? / What?)
• Used before a noun to ask someone to specify from a set of options or a category.
• Examples:
• Welke bus neem je? (Which bus are you taking?)
• Welke kleur vind je mooi? (Which color do you find beautiful?)
• Welke dagen werk je? (Which days do you work?)

Word Order Reminder

As covered in Chapter 10, the standard word order for information questions is:

Question Word --- Verb (Conjugated) --- Subject --- (Rest of Sentence)?

• Waar woont hij? (Where does he live?)
• Wanneer begint de cursus? (When does the course begin?)

If the question word is the subject (usually Wie or Wat), the structure is simpler:

Question Word (as Subject) --- Verb (Conjugated) --- (Rest of Sentence)?

• Wie woont hier? (Who lives here? - Wie is the subject)
• Wat gebeurt er? (What is happening? - Wat is the subject)

Memorizing these question words (Wie, Wat, Waar, Wanneer, Hoe, Waarom, Welke) is crucial for asking for the information you need. Practice forming questions using the correct word order: Question Word - Verb - Subject.