SpeeekDownload on the App Store
Back to At School

German Phrase

Hast du heute Geschichte?

/hast du ˈhɔʏtə ɡəˈʃɪçtə/
Meaning"Do you have history today?"
💡

Meaning

The sentence asks whether the listener has a history lesson scheduled for today. It’s a typical way for students to check each other’s timetables.

🎯

When to use

Use this phrase in a school setting when you want to know if a classmate, friend, or sibling has a history lesson today. It works in informal conversation among peers.

✦Grammar Breakdown

HastduheuteGeschichte?

1

Verb‑First Question

In German yes/no questions the finite verb moves to the first position, followed by the subject.

2

Haben (to have)

‘Hast’ is the 2nd‑person singular present of ‘haben’, used here to ask about possession of a class.

3

Subject Pronoun ‘du’

‘du’ is the informal singular ‘you’, placed after the verb in a question.

4

Time Adverb ‘heute’

‘heute’ means ‘today’ and normally follows the subject in a statement, but in a question it can appear after the subject or after the verb.

5

Noun ‘Geschichte’

Literally ‘history’; in school contexts it stands for the history class.

🗨In Conversation

A

Hast du heute Geschichte?

Do you have history today?

Ja, um zehn Uhr. Und du?

Yes, at ten o’clock. And you?

B

✕Common Mistakes

  • Ist du heute Geschichte?

    ‘ist’ is the verb ‘to be’; the correct verb for asking about a class is ‘haben’ → ‘Hast du…’

  • Du hast heute Geschichte?

    Putting the verb after the subject makes a statement, not a question. Use verb‑first order.

  • Hast du Geschichte heute?

    While understandable, the natural order places the time adverb before the noun: ‘Hast du heute Geschichte?’

↔Alternatives

  • Hast du heute Geschichtsunterricht?

    Do you have history class today?

  • Hast du heute Geschichte‑Stunde?

    Do you have a history period today?

  • Hast du heute Geschichte?

    Do you have history today?

de

Cultural Tip

In German schools the subject is often referred to simply by the noun (e.g., ‘Geschichte’ for the history class). In more formal contexts you might hear ‘Geschichtsunterricht’ or ‘Geschichte‑Stunde’. Remember that the informal ‘du’ is only used with people you know well; with teachers you would say ‘Haben Sie heute Geschichte?’