Breakdown of Gehst du oft auf den Markt?
du
you (informal singular)
oft
often
gehen
to go
auf
on / to (down/up to a level)
Questions & Answers about Gehst du oft auf den Markt?
Why do we use auf for 'to' the market instead of zu?
Certain locations in German pair with specific prepositions. For open public spaces, squares, and markets (der Markt), Germans use auf. If you used in, it would imply going inside an enclosed building, while zu is generally used for going to people or named businesses.
Why is it den Markt (accusative) and not dem Markt (dative)?
auf is a two-way preposition. When you express movement towards a destination (like going to the market), you use the accusative case (den). If you were describing a static location—like where you already are—you would use the dative case (auf dem Markt).
Could I put oft at the end of the sentence?
It is much better to keep oft where it is. In German, adverbs of time and frequency (like oft) usually appear early in the sentence, right after the verb and subject. They almost always come before prepositional phrases that describe a destination (auf den Markt).