Translation
what
Test yourself on was
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Cases
| Case | what |
|---|---|
| Nominativethe subject | was |
| Accusativethe direct object; after für, durch, ohne | was |
| Dativethe indirect object; after mit, von, zu, bei | - |
| Genitiveof; after wegen, während | wessen |
Was has no dative of its own. Where one is needed German reaches for wo- plus the preposition: womit, with what; wovon, of what.
Examples
?
What are you doing there?
, .
I do not know what he actually wants.
!
What a lovely day!
Where this fits
Used in
Stories
(17)Auf dem Markt: Kuchen und ein Geschenk
2 min read · Core 5000
Das Gespräch für den Job
2 min read · Core 5000
Der Austausch in der Kantine
2 min read · Core 5000
Der Brief an mich
2 min read · Core 1000
Die Frau im Zug
2 min read · Core 1000
In Wien: Wo ist das Museum?
2 min read · Core 5000
Zimmer frei
2 min read · Core 1000
Zwei Tickets für das Konzert
2 min read · Core 5000
Der Ausflug am Freitag
3 min read · Core 5000
Die Cola-Woche
3 min read · Core 5000
Die Tür ist offen
3 min read · Core 1000
Eine Überraschung für Oma
3 min read · Core 5000
Im Geschäft: Das Handy ist kaputt
3 min read · Core 5000
Die Uniform-Frage
4 min read · Core 5000
Die Straße vor der Schule
5 min read · Core 5000
Nicht vor den Leuten
5 min read · Core 1000
Wer hat den Garten zerstört?
5 min read · Core 5000
Grammar articles
(26)German Big Numbers: Million, Milliarde, Prices and Years
German Colours: rot, blau, grün and Welche Farbe hat...?
German Compound Nouns: Connecting Letters (Fugenelemente)
German Filler Words and Modal Particles: also, halt, doch
German 'Used To': früher + Perfect Tense, and the Historical Present
German man, einen, einem and jemand: Talking About 'One' and 'Someone'
German Irregular Verbs: The Strong Verb Patterns That Repeat
German laut and bei/am + Infinitive: Two Higher-Tier Prepositions
German letzter, nächster and wenig: Last, Next and Little
German Modal Verbs: All Six Conjugated as One Block
German Negation: Nicht or Kein, and Where Nicht Goes
Ordering in German: Ich hätte gern, Was kostet das?, Zahlen, bitte
German Passive Voice: werden Plus a Participle, Again
German Past Participles: gemacht, gesprochen, verstanden
German Perfect Tense: haben or sein, Plus a Past Participle
German Plurals: Eight Patterns and the Rules That Predict Them
German Prepositions: Which Case Each One Takes, in One Chart
German Question Words: wer, was, wo, wann, warum and wie
German Reflexive Verbs: sich, mich, mir and When to Use Each
German Relative Pronouns: der, die, das Do a Second Job
German Separable Verbs with Modals and werden: Word Order
German Simple Past (Präteritum): war, hatte and the Written Past
German Conjunctions: weil, dass, wenn and the Verb That Goes Last
War and Hatte: How to Say Was and Had in German
German Sentence Structure: Why the Verb Always Comes Second
German zu + Infinitive: um zu, ohne zu, statt zu Explained
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German · Free printables
was: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the German word "was" (what): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
This word is taught in chapter 1, lesson 4: was, wir, zu and 7 more words.