Da- and wo- compounds are pronouns that are
connected with a preposition. We find their English equivalents in
older English texts and in legal and official documents. English
examples are thereby, thereafter, whereby, whereabouts. Many
German prepositions can form such a compound.
Examples:
wofür?(for what?)
wozu?(to what end?)
womit?(with what?)
dagegen(against that)
danach(thereafter)
daneben(besides that)
When two vowels meet, an r is inserted.
Examples: worin(wherein)
worüber(about what? over what?)
darunter(under that)
darauf(on that)
werde + infinitive
Wofür interessieren Sie sich? (What are you
interested in?)
Wozu brauchen wir das?(What do we need that
for?)
Womit sollen wir anfangen.(What should we start
with?)
Er ist dagegen.(He is against that.)
Hier steht der Schreibtisch, und der Computer steht
darauf.(Here is the desk, and the computer is sitting on
it.)
Da- and wo- compounds with dependent clauses
Da- and Wo- compounds can stand with extended
infinitives, dependent clauses, and indirect questions.
Example sentences:
Ich bin dafür, dieses Thema zu besprechen. (I am
for [in favor of] discussing this topic.)
Ich bin dafür, dass wir dieses Thema besprechen.
(I am for our discussing this topic.)
Es kommt darauf an, wie das Wetter wird.(It depends
on what the weather's going to be like.)
Er sprach darüber, wie man sich in den Siebziger Jahren
kleidete. (He talked about how people dressed in the
Seventies.)
Ich weiß nicht, worüber er sonst noch gesprochen
hat. (I don't know what else he talked about.)