My Neighbourhood: Vocabulary and Dual-Case Prepositions

Wo wohnst du? 🏘️

Describing your area in German runs straight into two things English never asks you to think about. First, **which case comes after a preposition**, because German changes the word for "the" depending on whether you are going somewhere or already there. Second, those **enormous compound nouns**, which look impossible and are actually the easiest words in the language once you know the rule. This module is both.

In meiner Stadt 🗂️

Learn each noun with its article and its capital letter, because German nouns always take one:

Match each place to its meaning

The long words are the easy ones 🧱

German builds new nouns by gluing existing ones together, and there is one rule that unlocks all of them: **the LAST noun decides the gender**. • die Stadt gives **die** Innenstadt • das Zentrum gives **das** Einkaufszentrum • der Platz gives **der** Marktplatz Read a long compound from the RIGHT: the final noun is what the thing actually is, and everything before it just describes it. Einkaufs + zentrum is a centre for shopping.

Welcher Artikel? 🧩

A shoe shop in German is Schuhgeschäft, built from der Schuh and das Geschäft. Which article does it take?

• das Schuhgeschäft
• der Schuhgeschäft
• die Schuhgeschäft
• Either der or das, since it is made of two nouns

Wohin? oder Wo? ↔️

Nine prepositions can take either case: **an, auf, hinter, in, neben, über, unter, vor, zwischen**. Which case depends on one question. Ask **Wohin?** (where to?) or **Wo?** (where?) before you choose.

Bewegung oder Ort? 🚶

You want to say "I am going into town". Which is right?

• Ich gehe in die Stadt.
• Ich gehe in der Stadt.
• Ich gehe in dem Stadt.
• Ich gehe in den Stadt.

Akkusativ oder Dativ? 📝

Wir gehen _____ Kino. Jetzt sind wir schon _____ Kino. Am Samstag fahre ich _____ Stadt, aber ich wohne _____ Stadt.

Welche Sätze sind richtig? ✅

Select the TWO sentences that use the right case.

• Der Bahnhof ist neben dem Rathaus.
• Ich gehe ins Schwimmbad.
• Ich wohne in die Stadt.
• Wir gehen im Kino.

The ones that never change 📌

Do not start asking Wohin or Wo about every preposition. Some are **always dative**, whatever is happening, and they are worth knowing as a fixed list:

Match each dual-case preposition to its meaning

Ein Spaziergang 🧭

An interactive activity.

Die Zusammenfassung 🖊️

A dual-case preposition takes the _____ when there is movement towards something, answering the question _____, and the _____ when it describes position. in + das contracts to _____. In a compound noun, the gender comes from the _____ noun.

Meine Stadt ✍️

An interactive activity.