Breakdown of Nach der langen Brücke durften wir nicht abbiegen.
wir
we
nicht
not
dürfen
to be allowed to, may
nach
after (in time)
lang
long
abbiegen
to turn
die Brücke
the bridge
Questions & Answers about Nach der langen Brücke durften wir nicht abbiegen.
Why is the adjective langen and not lange?
The preposition nach always forces the dative case. Since Brücke is a feminine noun, the definite article changes to der. In the dative case, any adjective that comes after a definite article gets an -en ending, no matter the gender of the noun. So, lange becomes langen.
Wait, why does the feminine noun Brücke use der here? Isn't der for masculine nouns?
Normally, yes! But because the preposition nach requires the dative case, the feminine article die changes to der. This can be tricky at first, but remembering that die becomes der in the dative case is a very important pattern to learn.
What tense is durften?
It is the simple past tense (Präteritum) of the modal verb dürfen (to be allowed to). Here it matches the subject wir, meaning "we were allowed to." German speakers prefer using this simple past form for modal verbs instead of the conversational past (Perfekt), even in spoken everyday language.
Why is abbiegen at the very end of the sentence?
This happens because of the modal verb durften. Whenever you have a conjugated modal verb acting as the main verb of the clause, the second action verb (in this case, abbiegen) is pushed to the very end of the sentence in its dictionary (infinitive) form.
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