Breakdown of Nach der Arbeit musst du vorsichtig fahren.
du
you (informal singular)
die Arbeit
the work
fahren
to drive, to travel
müssen
to have to, must
nach
after (in time)
vorsichtig
careful / carefully
Questions & Answers about Nach der Arbeit musst du vorsichtig fahren.
Why does this say der Arbeit? Isn't 'work' a feminine noun (die Arbeit)?
Yes, Arbeit is feminine! But the preposition nach always requires the Dative case. In the Dative case, the feminine word for 'the' changes from die to der.
I learned that nach means 'to', like in nach Hause or nach Berlin. Why does it mean 'after' here?
The word nach has two main meanings. When talking about time or events, like nach der Arbeit (after work), it means 'after'. When talking about directions to cities, countries, or home, it means 'to'.
Why is it musst du and not du musst?
In German, the main conjugated verb must be in the second position of the sentence. Because the phrase Nach der Arbeit takes up the entire first position, the verb musst comes next in position two, pushing the subject du to position three.
Why is fahren (to drive) at the very end of the sentence?
This happens because of the modal verb musst (must). When you use a modal verb, it takes the second position in the sentence, and the main action verb (fahren) is kicked to the very end in its basic dictionary form.
Does vorsichtig mean 'careful' or 'carefully'?
It means both! In German, adjectives and adverbs share the exact same form. You do not need to add a special ending to a word to make it act like an '-ly' adverb in English.
Learn Nach der Arbeit musst du vorsichtig fahren and more in German
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free