Questions & Answers about Gehen Sie in das Hotel?
Since this lesson is about direction, does in das Hotel answer a wohin (where to) question?
Yes! Because you are moving into a new location, this is a directional action. It answers the question Wohin gehen Sie? (Where are you going?). Because of this movement towards a destination, the word in uses the accusative case (das Hotel). If you were already inside the hotel, it would answer a wo (where) question and use the dative case (in dem Hotel).
Can I combine in and das into a single word?
You absolutely can. In everyday spoken and written German, in das is very frequently shortened to ins. Asking Gehen Sie ins Hotel? is very natural and means the exact same thing.
Why is Sie capitalized in the middle of the sentence?
Capitalized Sie is the formal way to say "you" in German. You use this when speaking to a stranger, a colleague you don't know well, or someone older than you. If you were asking a friend, you would use the informal "you" and say Gehst du in das Hotel?
Why does the sentence start with the verb Gehen instead of a question word?
Because this is a yes/no question. In German, if a question doesn't use a question word like wohin or woher, the verb jumps to the very beginning. By swapping the subject and verb from a normal statement (Sie gehen meaning "You are going") to Gehen Sie, it turns into the question "Are you going?".
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