Nuts & Bolts of German (Practice): Prepositions: Groundwork (II)

In English, you always use "to" no matter whether you go/travel/drive to a building, a city, a country, a person, e.g.

I have to go to the supermarket.

She went to the dentist.

We are flying to Italy.

German uses different words for "to". Study the examples underneath. Can you figure out why "ins", "in den" or "in die" is used in the sentences on the left-hand side, "zum" or "zur" in the sentences on the right-hand side?

Complete the sentences under the last set of pictures. Then press "Check" to see if you were right. You can click on [H] to get some help.

Click here to access more additional information on prepositions.

Sie gehen ins Kino.

Er fährt zum Kino.

"ins", "in den" or "in die" is used when one actually enters a building. "zum" or "zur" is used when one goes to a place without actually entering the building. The man on the motorbike won't drive into the cinema but the young people go into the cinema.

Die Frau geht in den Friseursalon.

ein Friseur

Sie muss zum Friseur gehen,

denn ihre Haare sind zu lang.

"ins", "in den" or "in die" is used when one actually enters a building. "zum" or "zur" is used when one goes to a person or several people. A hair salon is a building, the hairdresser is a person. So if you use the equivalent of "to the hairdresser's" in German, you have to use "zum".

Der Mann geht in die Buchhandlung.

„Entschuldigen Sie bitte, wo ist das Restaurant Shiori”.

„Gehen Sie zur Buchhandlung und dann nach rechts, etwa 100 Meter. Da ist das Restaurant.”

„Danke.”

"ins", "in den" or "in die" is used when one actually enters a building. "zum" or "zur" is used when one wants to convey the message that somebody goes to a certain place, but the emphasis is not on entering a particular building. The person who is looking for the restaurant isn't supposed to enter the bookshop first before turning right and walking down the road 100 metres to get to the restaurant.

Die Leute gehen Bäckerei.

ein Bäcker

Wir brauchen Brot.

Kannst du Bäcker gehen?

Umlaute & Eszett:

Wörterbuch (LEO)

Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS)

Wörterbuch (Linguee)

Wörterbuch (dict.cc)

Wörterbuch (PONS)

Terminologie A - Z

Tip: If you don't belong to the lucky few who possess a photographic memory, write down what you learnt while doing this exercise.

photos:
hairdresser: https://pixabay.com/en/hair-salon-hairdresser-salon-3019952/ (adapted) (CCO Creative Commons)
man on motorbike: https://pxhere.com/de/photo/1042160 (adapted) (CCO Creative Commons)
woman entering a building: https://pixabay.com/en/business-woman-opening-door-1997286/ (adapted) (CCO Creative Commons)
hair: https://pixabay.com/de/haare-blond-lange-haare-wind-958257/ (adapted) (CCO Creative Commons)
bakery: © Zairon: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Graz_B%C3%A4ckerei_Edegger_2.JPG (adapted)
boulangerie: © Heurtelions: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:060102_Queue_devant_la_boulangerie.jpg (adapted)

Nuts & Bolts of German: Prepositions: Groundwork (II)