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

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. In each case, somebody is entering a place. That's why you have to use "in". But it can be "in die", "in den" or "ins". What's the difference?

 

Write the gender (masculine, feminine or neuter) and the number (singular or plural) of the places people enter, into the gaps provided, and you will see a pattern emerging. Then complete the guideline under the examples. Finally press [Check] to see if you were right. Use the [Hint] button to get a free letter if an answer is giving you trouble.

Click here to access additional information on prepositions.

Wir gehen in den Englischen Garten.

[Auf dem Foto sehen Sie den Chinesischen Turm

im Englischen Garten in München.]

 
Ich gehe ins Kino. Kino = neuter singular   Er geht in den Biergarten. Biergarten = masculine singular
Sie gehen oft in die Berliner Cafés. Cafés = neuter plural   Die Studentin geht in die Bibliothek. Bibliothek = feminine singular
Meine Freunde gehen ins Museum. Museum =   Seine Schwester geht in den Park. Park =
Er geht selten ins Theater. Theater =   Sie geht jeden Morgen in die Schule. Schule =
Sie fliegt in die Schweiz. Schweiz =   Meine Schwester geht ins Fitnessstudio. Fitnessstudio =
Die Touristen gehen in die Restaurants. Restaurants =   Gehst du in den Keller? Keller =
Die Touristen gehen im Sommer in die Parks. Parks =   Der Tourist geht in die zwei Kirchen. Kirchen =
You use "" if the place you enter is masculine singular, "" if the place you enter is neuter singular and "" if the place you enter is singular or plural, no matter what gender the singular is.
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Tip: If you don't belong to the lucky few who possess a photographic memory, write down what you learnt while doing this exercise.         

photo: © Dagmar Fischer