Decoding the Da- and Wo-Compounds with Accusative Prepositions in German

Hallo, Deutschlerner. You have seen words like “dafür”, “dadurch” or “wofür” in your German learning and aren’t quite sure how to use them. I learned German in an American high school and at an American university. Since then I’ve been teaching German to a new generation of German learners in a different American high school. I have decoded these words and in this video I will share this knowledge with you. 

In a previous lesson I explained how da- and wo-compounds work in general in German. If you haven’t read that lesson yet, please go read that first, as today’s video assumes you already know everything from that video. Click here for the overview about da- and wo-compounds.

If you are really wanting to put your German learning on track, consider joining Herr Antrim’s Deutschlerner Club! For just $14.99 per month you will get access to his full A1 and A2   courses plus new materials as he creates them. You will go from knowing zero German to being able to have a short conversation in a short few weeks. Before you know it, you will be conversational in German on a variety of important topics, all while mastering German grammar.

What are Da- & Wo-Compounds & How to Make Them

If you don’t feel like going back to that post right now, here is a quick rundown of the idea. Take a preposition and add da- in front of it to say something like “for that” or “around that”. Add wo- instead of da- to get something like “for what” or “around what”. In many instances, these words take on new translations instead of just the preposition translation plus “that” or “what”. If the preposition starts with a vowel, add an R between da- or wo- and the preposition. 

Which Accusative Prepositions Can Be Da- & Wo-Compounds?

Today we are going to tackle how to use the accusative prepositions in da- and wo-compounds. These include: dafür, darum, dadurch and dagegen along with their question word counterparts wofür, worum, wodurch and wogegen. You can’t use da- and wo-compounds with ohne, bis, entlang or wider, so we will ignore those. I have a link at the bottom of this post that is just about the accusative prepositions without da- or wo- being added, if you want to learn all about them. 

On the chart below you will see a quick rundown of each preposition and its combination options. The first column is what the preposition generally translates to in English. The second is the da-compound and its translation followed by the third column, which is the same, but for wo-compounds. 

für, dafür, wofür

First up we have “für”, which means for and is often used when explaining the reason for doing something. This is why we often see “dafür” and “wofür” translated as “that’s why” and “what for” or “why”. For example: 

Wofür brauchst du die Schaufel? –
Why do you need the shovel?
(For what do you need the shovel?)

Ich baue einen neuen Zaun hinter meinem Haus. Ich benutze die Schaufel dafür. –
I am building a new fence behind my house. I need it for that. 

You can, of course, also use it with more traditional translations. For example: 

Wofür kämpfst du? –
For what are you fighting? 

Ich kämpfe für Menschenrechte. –
I fight for human rights. 

Wie lange kämpfst du schon dafür? –
How long have you been fighting for that? 

Seit meiner Geburt. –
Since my birth. 

um, darum, worum

“Um” is a bit more complicated than “für”, as the translation is not used as “around that” and “around what”. The most common use of “darum” is actually an answer to “warum”, not “worum”. You don’t necessarily even have to ask the question “warum” in order to use “darum”. For example: 

Mein Chef kommt heute Nachmittag, um mein neues Projekt zu sehen. Darum räume ich mein Büro auf. –
My boss is coming this afternoon to see my new project. That’s why I am cleaning up my office. 

Mein Schatz ist ein Jäger. Darum liebe ich alles, was grün ist. –
My darling is a hunter. That’s why I love everything that is green. 

Worum gehört die Hülle? –
Around what does the shell belong? 

Er bestand die Prüfung, worum ich ihn beneide. –
He passed the test, which is why I envy him. 

What’s the deal with “worum”?

“Worum” is not a very commonly used wo-compound. If you do encounter “worum”, it will likely be used in the phrase “Worum geht’s?”, which is a slightly formal sounding phrase that means something like “What’s it about?” This is used to respond to someone when they reach out to you and you want to know why. You can also use this phrase to ask about the context of a book. For example: 

Worum handelt das Buch? –
What is the book about? 

Das Buch handelt sich um ein kleines deutsches Mädchen. –
The book is about a small German girl. 

durch, dadurch, wodurch

The preposition “durch” is generally translated with “through”. When used as a da- or wo-compound, the meaning is closer to “by means of” and “by which means” respectively. It also explains why you can use “dadurch, dass” as a sort of two-part conjunction, which I covered in my subordinating conjunction lesson, linked here. 

Wodurch wurde das Lagerfeuer gelöscht? –
By what means was the campfire put out? 

Wir haben das Feuer mit Erde bedeckt. Dadurch wurde das Lagerfeuer gelöscht. –
We covered the fire with dirt. Thereby the fire was put out. 

Wie kann ich meine Deutschkenntnisse verbessern? –
By what means can I improve my German skills? 

Ich bin Mitglied im Herrn Antrims Deutschlerner Club. Dadurch verbessere ich meine Deutschkenntnisse. –
I am a member of Herr Antrim’s Deutschlerner Club. I improve my German skills through that. 

I also mentioned that you can use “dadurch, dass” as a conjunction to connect two clauses. Here is a quick example of that: 

Man kann sehr viel Deutsch dadurch lernen, dass man Videos von Herrn Antrim schaut. –
One can learn a lot of German while watching videos from Herr Antrim.

gegen, dagegen, wogegen

The last of the accusative prepositions is “gegen”, which is pretty straight forward in its translation. It doesn’t have any special meaning behind it. You can simply use “against that” and “against what” to translate “dagegen” and “wogegen”. For example: 

Wogegen kämpft er? –
Against what is he fighting? 

Es gibt Kinder, die jeden Tag hungrig sind. Dagegen kämpft er. –
There are children who are hungry every day. He is fighting against that. 

Wogegen wirft er den Ball? –
Against what is he throwing the ball? 

Er hat einen Zaun hinter seinem Haus. Er wirft den Ball dagegen. –
He has a fence behind his house. He is throwing the ball against that. 

Now you should be able to use these da- and wo-compounds in your own sentences. For more about prepositions and the da- and wo-compounds, check out the other articles in this series linked below.

More Posts in This Series

• Da- & Wo-Compounds Overview
• Da- & Wo-Compounds with Accusative Prepositions
• Da- & Wo-Compounds with Dative Prepositions
• Da- & Wo-Compounds with Two-Way Prepositions

Learn More About German Prepositions

Accusative Prepositions
Dative Prepositions
Two-Way Prepositions (Wechselpräpositionen)
Genitive Prepositions
Verbs with “Fixed Prepositions” Don’t Exist
Verbs Commonly Used with Dative Prepositions
Verbs Commonly Used with Two-Way Prepositions & the Dative Case
von vs vor
German Prepositions Songs
Download all of Herr Antrim’s materials about Prepositions here!

If you are really wanting to put your German learning on track, consider joining Herr Antrim’s Deutschlerner Club! For just $14.99 per month you will get access to his full A1 and A2   courses plus new materials as he creates them. You will go from knowing zero German to being able to have a short conversation in a short few weeks. Before you know it, you will be conversational in German on a variety of important topics, all while mastering German grammar.