Answers
Mar 15, 2014 - 03:45 PM
I may be wrong, but as I understand it, the preposition "zu" always takes the dative--which would be "zu einem Park" in your example. The preposition "in" takes either accusative or dative, depending on how it's used. If there is a particular destination, as in your example, the accusative "in einen Park" is used. If there were no particular destination, e.g. "I am in a park", it would take the dative, "in einem Park".
Mar 16, 2014 - 11:13 AM
Actually, you should not use "zu" to mean you are "going to" the park. The proper German preposition used to indicate "motion to or toward" is "nach", and yes, it is in the group of prepositions that always are followed by the dative case.
Mar 16, 2014 - 11:33 AM
As I understand it--and I may be wrong--in general "nach" means "to" only when used with geographic places (e.g. cities and countries) and directions, and "zu" is used for "to" most everything else. There are idiomatic exceptions to this, I'm sure.
Mar 16, 2014 - 02:29 PM
Yes, I think you could use zu. In the program - I forget which level and unit - there was a brief tutorial on using zu, in, nach, etc. You would not use nach. With zu, the sentence would read, "Ich gehe zu einem schönen Park." Be aware, for this sentence, schönen has an 'n' at the end.
Jun 04, 2014 - 11:18 AM
Hallo rshores,
Ok first things first. What determines the case (accusative or dative) here is the preposition because in this sentence there isn't actually a direct or indirect object but a place indication. A quick reminder: the direct object is the complement which responds to the questions "what" or "who" - so it could be a person or a thing; and yes, it would take the accusative case. The indirect object is the complement that usually responds to the questions "to / for who" and it needs the dative case. Now, let's take a look at your sentence:
I go to a nice Park.
So, again: "to a nice Park" answers the question "where" and is therefore a place indication. So we have a verb of movement here - "gehen" - and we need the preposition "to". By now you have learned 3 different translations for "to":
1) In level 1 session 9 (in case you would like to review this) we introduced you to "nach" which we use only with country or city names:
Ich gehe nach Amerika = I'm going to America
Er geht nach Berlin = He's going to Berlin
2) In level 1 session 24 we saw "zu" which needs the dative case
Ich gehe zum (= zu dem) Park = I go to the Park.
Er geht zur (= zu der) Apotheke = He goes to the Pharmacy.
3) In level 2 session 5 you saw "in" plus accusative as meaning "to" and also "into"
Ich gehen in den Park = I go to (or into) the Park.
Sie geht in die Arbeit = She goes to (or into) Work (no article in English but yes in German).
Now in session 23 we told you that in the accusative for masculine nouns both the indefinite article and the adjective take an -EN ending. So:
I go to a nice Park
Ich gehe in einen schönen Park
Now "zu" as said needs the dative case and the rules for endings will be introduced in level 3. So don't worry too much about it now as it will all be explained in detail then but it would be:
Ich gehe zu einem schönen Park
So: nach + country/city names, zu + dative, in + accusative (with verbs of movement).
I hope this helps!
Ok first things first. What determines the case (accusative or dative) here is the preposition because in this sentence there isn't actually a direct or indirect object but a place indication. A quick reminder: the direct object is the complement which responds to the questions "what" or "who" - so it could be a person or a thing; and yes, it would take the accusative case. The indirect object is the complement that usually responds to the questions "to / for who" and it needs the dative case. Now, let's take a look at your sentence:
I go to a nice Park.
So, again: "to a nice Park" answers the question "where" and is therefore a place indication. So we have a verb of movement here - "gehen" - and we need the preposition "to". By now you have learned 3 different translations for "to":
1) In level 1 session 9 (in case you would like to review this) we introduced you to "nach" which we use only with country or city names:
Ich gehe nach Amerika = I'm going to America
Er geht nach Berlin = He's going to Berlin
2) In level 1 session 24 we saw "zu" which needs the dative case
Ich gehe zum (= zu dem) Park = I go to the Park.
Er geht zur (= zu der) Apotheke = He goes to the Pharmacy.
3) In level 2 session 5 you saw "in" plus accusative as meaning "to" and also "into"
Ich gehen in den Park = I go to (or into) the Park.
Sie geht in die Arbeit = She goes to (or into) Work (no article in English but yes in German).
Now in session 23 we told you that in the accusative for masculine nouns both the indefinite article and the adjective take an -EN ending. So:
I go to a nice Park
Ich gehe in einen schönen Park
Now "zu" as said needs the dative case and the rules for endings will be introduced in level 3. So don't worry too much about it now as it will all be explained in detail then but it would be:
Ich gehe zu einem schönen Park
So: nach + country/city names, zu + dative, in + accusative (with verbs of movement).
I hope this helps!