German A1.6 Listening Practice: Ask Yes-Or-No Questions With Sein
Listen to a A1 German dialogue about ask yes-or-no questions with sein, with audio, transcript, and grammar notes for language learning.
Podcast listening pages are in beta while chapter audio, transcripts, and discussion flows are still being completed.
Level
A1.6
Audio
Segmented audio
Transcript
16 segments
A short German listening chapter with transcript.
Turn a statement into a question by placing the known verb first, without adding an English helper.
Read while you listen.
1. Hanna · Teacher
Welcome to ChickyTutor! I'm Hanna. Today we are learning how to ask direct yes-or-no questions in German with the verb 'sein'. Let's listen to a short conversation between Felix and Clara.
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2. Felix · Native Speaker 1
Bist du hier, Clara?
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3. Clara · Native Speaker 2
Ja, ich bin hier.
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4. Felix · Native Speaker 1
Ist Sarah auch müde?
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5. Clara · Native Speaker 2
Ja, sie ist müde.
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6. Felix · Native Speaker 1
Sind Sie hier, Herr Weber?
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7. Hanna · Teacher
Let's look at that first sentence: Felix asked Clara, 'Bist du hier?'. This means 'Are you here?'. Notice how 'Du bist' flipped to 'Bist du?' to form a question.
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8. Lukas · Student
So to make a yes-or-no question, I just put the verb first?
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9. Hanna · Teacher
Exactly, Lukas! Move the finite verb right to the front.
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10. Hanna · Teacher
Next, Felix asked, 'Ist Sarah auch müde?'. This means 'Is Sarah also tired?'. 'Ist' comes first because Sarah is 'sie', or 'she'.
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11. Lukas · Student
What does 'müde' mean again?
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12. Hanna · Teacher
'Müde' means tired. So 'Sie ist müde' becomes 'Ist sie müde?' in a question.
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13. Hanna · Teacher
Finally, Felix asked, 'Sind Sie hier, Herr Weber?'. This is the formal address meaning 'Are you here, Mr. Weber?'.
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14. Lukas · Student
Does formal 'Sie' keep its capital letter in questions too?
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15. Hanna · Teacher
Yes, always! 'Sie sind hier' becomes 'Sind Sie hier?' with a capital S.
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16. Hanna · Teacher
That's all for today's lesson. Practice flipping your verbs to front position whenever you want to ask a question!
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