Breakdown of Wohin wollen Sie den Ausflug machen?
machen
to make, to do
Sie
you (formal)
wohin
where to
wollen
to want
der Ausflug
the excursion
Questions & Answers about Wohin wollen Sie den Ausflug machen?
Why is the verb machen at the very end of the sentence?
This is the standard rule for modal verbs like wollen (to want). The modal verb comes right after the question word in this type of question. The main action verb (machen) gets pushed to the very end of the sentence in its dictionary form.
Why use the form wollen here instead of will or willst?
The verb must match the subject, which in this sentence is the formal you, Sie. For Sie, the modal verb takes its dictionary form, wollen. If you were asking a friend, you would use the informal you (du) and the verb would change to match: Wohin willst du...
Could I just say Wo instead of Wohin?
No, because wo refers to a fixed location (where), while wohin refers to a movement or direction (where to). Because you are asking about a destination for a trip, German requires the movement word wohin.
Why is it den Ausflug and not der Ausflug?
Ausflug (excursion) is a masculine noun. In this sentence, it is the direct object. In German, masculine nouns change their word for 'the' from der to den when they are the direct object, which is called the accusative case.
The translation says 'go for the excursion', but doesn't machen mean 'to make' or 'to do'?
Yes, machen literally means to make or to do. However, German uses the phrase einen Ausflug machen to mean to go on an excursion or to take a trip. You can think of it literally as 'making an excursion'.
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