Breakdown of Ga rechtdoor en dan langs de kerk.
de kerk
the church
rechtdoor
straight ahead
langs
along, alongside
Questions & Answers about Ga rechtdoor en dan langs de kerk.
Why does the sentence start with Ga instead of Je gaat?
Because this is a command (the imperative form). To give a command in Dutch, you just use the stem of the verb and put it at the very beginning of the sentence. The stem of gaan (to go) is ga.
Does rechtdoor mean "through the right"?
No, rechtdoor means "straight ahead". It is made up of recht (straight) and door (which often means continuing a movement). If you want to tell someone to turn right, you would use naar rechts or rechtsaf.
Can langs mean both "along" and "past"?
Yes! When giving directions, langs de kerk can mean walking alongside the church, but it is very commonly used to mean walking past the church to continue on your route.
Why isn't there a second verb after en dan?
Just like in English, you don't need to repeat the verb if it is the exact same action. The full sentence would technically be Ga rechtdoor en ga dan langs de kerk, but dropping the second ga is completely fine and sounds more natural.
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