W-Questions (W-Frage)
W-questions (question words starting with “W”) require a more detailed answer. The question word (wer, wie, wo, woher, etc.) comes first, followed by the verb in the second position and then the subject.
Examples:
- Wo wohnen Sie? — Where do you live?
- Wer ist das? — Who is that?
- Wie heißen Sie? — What’s your name? (Literally “How are you called?”)
- Woher kommen Sie? — Where do you come from?
Note: The word wie usually means “how,” but in Wie heißen Sie? it is translated as “what” for this common phrase.