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Write & Correct
German

ZairaI.Uranga

Hilfle mit Nach, Zu und dem Dativ

The following text is something I acquired from a German exercises database. The worksheets usually come with answers, but I was caught off guard when this one didn't have a key. I would be very grateful if someone would help me correct the use of nach, zu, and dativ in the following short dialogs. I will leave the website at the end in case someone is interested because I think it's a good source for grammar practice.

Nach oder zu?

1. Herr Berg: Wie weit ist es von hier nach Ihrem Haus bei Salzburg?
Frau Koch: Von hier nach Salzburg sind es etwa 500 Kilometer und dann dauert die Fahrt noch eine halbe Stunde.

2. Frau Roth: Was kann ich machen? Ich habe Zahnschmerzen aber mein Zahnarzt ist nach England geflogen.
Frau Klein: Gehen Sie doch zu meinem Zahnarzt. Er ist noch hier.

3. Claudia: Fährst du in den Semesterferien nach Hamburg zu deiner Tante?
Peter: Nein, ich fahre dieses Jahr mit René nach Berlin

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Comment(s)

markoSSS
I would say ‘zu Ihrem Haus’, not ‘nach Ihrem Haus’. ‘Nach’ is used in the fixed expression ‘nach Hause’, which means ‘homewards’ as in ‘go home’, but this sentence refers to a random house (a building) so it should follow the general rule. This is how I think about it: • nach ○ Cities and continents named explicitly Berlin, Europa ○ Countries without articles Deutschland ○ Hause • in ○ Three-dimensional spaces by convention Zimmer, Garten ○ Countries with articles die Schweiz ○ When emphasizing that you’re going INSIDE In den Supermarkt (when standing next to the supermarket) • zu Somewhere not considered a three-dimensional space ○ Generic geographical place □ Einer schönen Stadt ○ Non-geographical places □ Supermarkt, Bushaltestelle ○ Professional shops (dentist’s, barber’s, etc) □ Zahnarzt ○ Someone’s house
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ZairaI.Uranga
Thank's Marcos, that was actually very useful. I have been practicing direction prepositions for about a week and I got told that with "Hause" you use "nach", but I was not aware of why. To know it is a fixed expression helps a lot because now I know that I cannot use it when there's a word in between the two, like I did in the passage.
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