Wohin? Distinguishing nach, zu, in

Three local prepositions (lokale Präpositionen) nach, zu and in are three commonly encountered prepositions in German. When answering the question "Wohin?" all three of these prepositions can be used. German learners very easily make mistakes when using these three prepositions to describe location. In today's article, Vogel will explore these three prepositions together with you!

 Ich gehe ins Kino.

 - Additionally: in also accompanies certain other nouns

 Sie steckt etwas in die Tasche.

 

!!!The difference between zu and in:

+ zu expresses movement in the direction of a location but does not necessarily mean entering that location.

• Eva: Wohin gehst du? (Eve: Where are you going?)

• Tim: Ich fahre zum Bahnhof und kaufe eine Fahrkarte. (Tim: I will go to the train station and buy a ticket.)

→ Eva and Tim may be at home or somewhere other than the train station. First, Tim goes to the station, then he goes inside and buys a ticket.

+ in expresses movement into the interior of a location.

• Eva: Wohin gehst du? (Eve: Where are you going?)

• Tim: Ich fahre in den Bahnhof und kaufe eine Fahrkarte. (Tim: I will go into the train station and buy a ticket.)

→ Eva and Tim are standing in front of the train station. Tim wants to buy a ticket, so he has to go inside.

Consider the example:

• Eva fährt zum Bahnhof. Vor dem Bahnhof trifft sie ihren Freund, und sie gehen ins Kino. (Eva drives to the train station. She meets her boyfriend in front of the station and they go to the cinema.)

→ Eva goes to the train station but she does not go inside. She parks her bicycle in front of the station and meets her boyfriend. Afterwards, they go to the cinema together and watch a film there.