A2 → Grammar · Lesson 13 of 22

German da- and wo-Compounds: Darauf, Worauf & More

das Pronominaladverb

Before this lesson: make sure you've covered Sentences with Two Objects first.

You know German prepositions from A1. At A2, you learn a shortcut: instead of repeating a preposition + "es" (it) to refer back to something, German fuses them into one word starting with da- (dar- before a vowel). Questions work the same way with wo- (wor-).

Types you should know

da- + Präposition

refers back to a thing already mentioned

wo- + Präposition

asks a question about a thing

See it in action

Preposition	da-form	wo-form
auf	darauf	worauf
an	daran	woran
mit	damit	womit
für	dafür	wofür
über	darüber	worüber

Examples

German	English
Ich freue mich auf die Party. — Ich freue mich darauf.	I'm looking forward to the party. — to it.
Worauf freust du dich?	What are you looking forward to?

Memory trick: da-/wo- compounds only replace THINGS and IDEAS, never people. For a person, keep the normal preposition + pronoun: "Ich freue mich auf ihn".

⚠ Common mistake: Don't use da- compounds for people — "Ich denke oft daran" is for a thing/idea; for a person say "Ich denke oft an ihn/sie".

🎯 Quick check

Which is correct for a THING (not a person)?

German da- and wo-Compounds: Darauf, Worauf & More

Types you should know

See it in action

Examples

🎯 Quick check

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