I can review the whole module: say where I'm going and where someone has come from, describe a place with an adjective, raise an objection, and suggest something of my own.
What we review
What we review
There are no new rules here — only what you already use.
• Where to — nach (a city or a country without an article), zu (a person or an institution), in, an, auf with the accusative (into and onto). Plus durch and gegen with the accusative, and entlang after the noun.
• A country and its people — die Schweiz, die Türkei, der Iran, die USA, die Niederlande have an article: going there — in die Schweiz, coming from there — aus der Schweiz. The people end in -er or -e, a woman in -in; the language ends in -isch and takes no ending.
• Which one — after der, die, das there are only two endings: -e in five cells, -en in all the others.
• A, no, my — after ein, kein, mein the adjective itself shows the gender where the article doesn't: -er for masculine, -es for neuter.
• Objecting — obwohl sends the verb to the very end; trotzdem keeps it in second place.
• Suggesting — Wie wäre es mit …? Wir könnten … Answers: Gute Idee. Ich bin einverstanden. Das geht leider nicht.
What you can do now: say where you're going and what you saw there, describe a place and a person, and object and suggest a plan of your own.
Where to? Three prepositions of direction
What comes AFTER the preposition decides: a city, a person, or a room or building.
| Preposition | When you need it | Example |
|---|---|---|
| nach | a city or a country without an article | nach Berlin, nach Österreich |
| nach | the set phrase for “home” | nach Hause |
| zu | a person or an institution (dative) | zum Arzt, zur Bank, zu Lena |
| in | into a room, a building, or an enclosed area | ins Kino, in die Stadt |
Countries with an article: where to and where from
A country without an article takes nach and aus; a country with an article takes in and aus with the article.
| Country | Where to? | Where from? |
|---|---|---|
| Italien | nach Italien | aus Italien |
| die Schweiz | in die Schweiz | aus der Schweiz |
| die Türkei | in die Türkei | aus der Türkei |
| der Iran | in den Iran | aus dem Iran |
| die USA | in die USA | aus den USA |
| die Niederlande | in die Niederlande | aus den Niederlanden |
The ending after der, die, das
After mit, nach, bei, von, and zu comes the dative — there the ending is always -en.
| Question | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| who or what | der schöne Strand | die kleine Insel | das große Schloss | die bekannten Städte |
| whom or what | den schönen Strand | die kleine Insel | das große Schloss | die bekannten Städte |
| to whom, with what | dem schönen Strand | der kleinen Insel | dem großen Schloss | den bekannten Städten |
obwohl and trotzdem: where the verb goes
obwohl sends the verb to the end; after trotzdem the verb stays in second place.
| Where it stands | Word order | Example |
|---|---|---|
| obwohl after the main clause | the verb of the clause — at the end | Lena fährt in die Berge, obwohl sie müde ist. |
| obwohl first | after the comma — the verb of the main clause | Obwohl sie müde ist, fährt Lena in die Berge. |
| trotzdem first | the verb in second place | Lena ist müde. Trotzdem fährt sie in die Berge. |
| trotzdem in the middle | after the conjugated verb | Lena fährt trotzdem in die Berge. |
Lesson notes
What we review
There are no new rules here — only what you already use.
• Where to — nach (a city or a country without an article), zu (a person or an institution), in, an, auf with the accusative (into and onto). Plus durch and gegen with the accusative, and entlang after the noun.
• A country and its people — die Schweiz, die Türkei, der Iran, die USA, die Niederlande have an article: going there — in die Schweiz, coming from there — aus der Schweiz. The people end in -er or -e, a woman in -in; the language ends in -isch and takes no ending.
• Which one — after der, die, das there are only two endings: -e in five cells, -en in all the others.
• A, no, my — after ein, kein, mein the adjective itself shows the gender where the article doesn't: -er for masculine, -es for neuter.
• Objecting — obwohl sends the verb to the very end; trotzdem keeps it in second place.
• Suggesting — Wie wäre es mit …? Wir könnten … Answers: Gute Idee. Ich bin einverstanden. Das geht leider nicht.
What you can do now: say where you're going and what you saw there, describe a place and a person, and object and suggest a plan of your own.