Asking the way is a high-stakes A2 task: you have to produce one fixed question correctly and then parse a stream of commands and prepositions fast enough to act on them. This dialogue packs in the essentials — the frozen way-asking frame Wie komme ich zum...?, the polite Sie-imperative, a separable verb splitting in a command, and the location prepositions that tell you where things sit. A tourist (ein Tourist) stops a passer-by (eine Passantin) near the station.
The dialogue
Entschuldigung, können Sie mir helfen?
The tourist: Excuse me, can you help me?
Ja, natürlich. Was suchen Sie?
The passer-by: Yes, of course. What are you looking for?
Wie komme ich zum Hauptbahnhof?
The tourist: How do I get to the main station?
Das ist ganz einfach. Gehen Sie hier geradeaus bis zur Ampel.
The passer-by: That's very easy. Go straight ahead here as far as the traffic light.
Geradeaus bis zur Ampel, gut.
The tourist: Straight ahead to the traffic light, good.
An der Ampel biegen Sie dann links ab.
The passer-by: At the light, then turn left.
Und dann?
The tourist: And then?
Dann sehen Sie den Bahnhof schon. Er liegt gegenüber dem Park.
The passer-by: Then you'll already see the station. It's across from the park.
Ist es weit?
The tourist: Is it far?
Nein, das sind nur fünf Minuten zu Fuß.
The passer-by: No, it's only five minutes on foot.
Gibt es in der Nähe auch eine Apotheke?
The tourist: Is there also a pharmacy nearby?
Ja, direkt neben dem Bahnhof ist eine.
The passer-by: Yes, right next to the station there's one.
Vielen Dank für Ihre Hilfe!
The tourist: Thank you very much for your help!
Gern geschehen. Gute Reise!
The passer-by: You're welcome. Have a good trip!
Grammar in context
Wie komme ich zum Hauptbahnhof? — the fixed way-asking frame
This is the sentence to memorize whole. To ask the way to a building or place, German uses Wie komme ich zu...? with zu + the dative. The preposition fuses with the article: zu dem → zum (masc./neut.), zu der → zur (fem.). So it is zum Bahnhof, zum Markt, zur Post, zur Apotheke. The verb is kommen in the V2 position with the subject ich right after it. See nach vs zu and preposition + article contractions.
Wie komme ich zur Post?
How do I get to the post office? (feminine → 'zur')
The reason it is zu and not nach: nach is reserved for cities, countries, and a few fixed directions (nach Berlin, nach Hause, nach links), while named buildings and institutions take zu. Choosing nach for a building (nach dem Bahnhof) is one of the most common direction errors.
Gehen Sie geradeaus — the Sie-imperative
Directions come as commands, and to a stranger they use the polite Sie-imperative: the verb stays in its Sie form but moves to the front, with Sie right behind it — Gehen Sie..., Nehmen Sie..., Fahren Sie.... Note the contrast with English, which has no separate polite imperative; German marks the politeness in the very structure of the command. geradeaus ("straight ahead") is written as one word. See the imperative: giving commands.
Gehen Sie die Straße entlang und dann über die Brücke.
Go along the street and then across the bridge.
biegen Sie links ab — a separable verb in a command
abbiegen ("to turn off") is a separable verb, and in a main-clause command it splits: the stem biegen goes to the front with Sie, and the prefix ab flies to the end of the clause. Everything in between — Sie, links — sits in the middle, bracketed by the two halves of the verb. This is the verb bracket in action, in a real task. See separable verbs: how they split.
Biegen Sie an der zweiten Kreuzung rechts ab.
Turn right at the second intersection. ('biegen ... ab' brackets the clause)
an der Ampel, gegenüber dem Park, neben dem Bahnhof — two-way prepositions of location
an, gegenüber, and neben are two-way prepositions (Wechselpräpositionen): they take the accusative for movement into a position, but the dative for a static location. Here everything describes where things are, so the dative wins: an der Ampel (at the light), gegenüber dem Park (across from the park), neben dem Bahnhof (next to the station). Because nothing is moving into these spots — they answer wo? ("where?"), not wohin? ("where to?") — the dative is correct. See two-way prepositions overview.
Die Bank ist neben der Kirche, gegenüber dem Rathaus.
The bank is next to the church, across from the town hall. (all dative — static location)
Er liegt gegenüber dem Park — liegen for "is located"
German often uses liegen ("to lie") rather than sein to say where a place is situated: Der Bahnhof liegt gegenüber dem Park. It is the natural verb for the position of buildings, towns, and geography, where English just says "is".
in der Nähe — "nearby"
in der Nähe ("in the vicinity / nearby") is a fixed dative phrase from die Nähe. To say "near X" you add von: in der Nähe vom Bahnhof. It is the everyday way to ask whether something useful is close at hand. See directions and travel expressions.
Gibt es hier in der Nähe ein Hotel?
Is there a hotel nearby here?
Vocabulary
| German | Gender / form | English |
|---|---|---|
| der Hauptbahnhof | m. | main railway station |
| die Ampel | f. | traffic light |
| geradeaus | adv. | straight ahead |
| abbiegen | separable verb | to turn off (a road) |
| links / rechts | adv. | left / right |
| gegenüber | prep. + dat. | opposite, across from |
| neben | two-way prep. | next to, beside |
| die Apotheke | f. | pharmacy |
| in der Nähe | phrase + dat. | nearby |
| zu Fuß | phrase | on foot |
Common Mistakes
❌ Wie komme ich nach dem Bahnhof?
Wrong — buildings take 'zu': 'Wie komme ich zum Bahnhof?'
✅ Wie komme ich zum Bahnhof?
How do I get to the station?
❌ An der Ampel abbiegen Sie links.
Wrong — the prefix detaches and goes to the end: 'biegen Sie links ab'.
✅ An der Ampel biegen Sie links ab.
At the light, turn left.
❌ Der Bahnhof ist gegenüber den Park.
Wrong — static location takes the dative: 'gegenüber dem Park'.
✅ Der Bahnhof ist gegenüber dem Park.
The station is across from the park.
❌ Gehen Sie zu der Ampel geradeaus.
Awkward — use the contraction and natural phrasing: 'Gehen Sie geradeaus bis zur Ampel'.
✅ Gehen Sie geradeaus bis zur Ampel.
Go straight ahead as far as the traffic light.
Now practice German
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Start learning German→Related Topics
- nach vs zu (Destination)B1 — Both nach and zu mean 'to', but German splits them by destination type: nach for cities, article-less countries, and home; zu for people and specific places.
- The Imperative: Giving CommandsA2 — How to form German commands for du, ihr, and Sie, with the verb in first position and the right pronoun rules.
- Separable Verbs: How They SplitA2 — How German separable verbs detach their stressed prefix and send it to the end of a main clause.
- Two-Way Prepositions (Wechselpräpositionen): Accusative or DativeA2 — The nine German prepositions that take accusative for direction and dative for location, and how to choose between them.
- Expressions for Directions and TravelA2 — The fixed frames for asking and giving directions, buying tickets, and using public transport — including the zum/zur way-asking frame and the hin und zurück / einfach ticket vocabulary.
- Preposition + Article ContractionsA2 — How German fuses prepositions with definite articles into single words like im, ins, zum, and zur — when the contraction is obligatory and when keeping them apart signals a demonstrative.