Breakdown of Sie fahren zuerst geradeaus und biegen hinter dem großen Museum rechts ab.
und
and
groß
big / tall
Sie
you (formal)
fahren
to drive, to travel
das Museum
the museum
hinter
behind
zuerst
first
rechts
right (direction)
abbiegen
to turn
geradeaus
straight ahead
Questions & Answers about Sie fahren zuerst geradeaus und biegen hinter dem großen Museum rechts ab.
Why does the adjective groß end in -en to make großen?
This sentence uses the dative case. Whenever you have a definite article in the dative case (like dem), the adjective that follows always gets an -en ending, no matter what gender the noun is. So, das Museum becomes dem großen Museum.
Why do we use the dative case (dem) after hinter? Doesn't driving mean we should use the accusative case for movement?
hinter is a two-way preposition. It takes the accusative case when asking 'Where to?' (destination) and the dative case when asking 'Where at?' (location). Even though you are driving, the turn itself happens at a fixed location (behind the museum). Because it answers 'Where are you turning?', it takes the dative.
What does the word ab at the very end of the sentence mean?
It belongs to the verb biegen! Together, they form the separable verb abbiegen, which means 'to turn'. In a regular German main clause, the prefix (ab) separates from the verb and is placed at the very end of the sentence.
Why is the verb biegen right next to und? Shouldn't there be a subject first?
The word und (and) connects two main clauses. You could say 'Sie fahren... und Sie biegen...', but because the subject (Sie) is exactly the same in both parts, it can be dropped in the second half to make the sentence flow better.
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