Da-Compounds and Wo-Compounds

When asking about or referring back to things (not people), German uses special compound forms instead of preposition + pronoun (which is common in English for example "on it").

Wo-Compounds (Questions)

To ask "what" + preposition about things, combine wo- with the preposition. Add -r- if the preposition starts with a vowel.

Question	Formation	Example	Translation
About what?	wor + über	Worüber sprichst du?	What are you talking about
For what?	wo + für	Wofür interessierst du dich?	What are you interested in
On what?	wor + auf	Worauf wartest du?	What are you waiting for
Of what?	wo + von	Wovon träumst du?	What do you dream of
To what?	wo + zu	Wozu gehört das?	What does that belong to

Da-Compounds (Statements)

To refer back to things already mentioned, combine da- with the preposition. Add -r- if the preposition starts with a vowel.

Reference	Formation	Example	Translation
about it/that	dar + über	Ich spreche darüber	I'm talking about it
for it/that	da + für	Ich interessiere mich dafür	I'm interested in it
on it/that	dar + auf	Ich warte darauf	I'm waiting for it
of it/that	da + von	Ich träume davon	I dream of it
to it/that	da + zu	Das gehört dazu	That belongs to it

People vs. Things

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Da- and wo- compounds are only used for things, never for people. For people, use preposition + wen/wem (questions) or preposition + pronoun (statements). Check the lesson on interrogative pronouns.

	Things	People
Question	Worauf wartest du?	Auf wen wartest du?
Answer	Ich warte darauf.	Ich warte auf ihn.
Question	Wovon träumst du?	Von wem träumst du?
Answer	Ich träume davon.	Ich träume von ihr.