Breakdown of Der Mann geht durch die Fußgängerzone.
der Mann
the man
gehen
to go
durch
through
die Fußgängerzone
the pedestrian zone
Questions & Answers about Der Mann geht durch die Fußgängerzone.
Why is it durch die in this sentence?
The preposition durch (through) always requires the accusative case. Because Fußgängerzone is a feminine noun, its accusative article is die (which happens to look exactly like the nominative form).
How do I know the gender of a long word like Fußgängerzone?
Long words in German are often compound nouns. To find the gender, you only look at the very last word in the chain. Here, the last word is die Zone, which is feminine, so the entire word die Fußgängerzone is feminine.
What are the parts that make up the word Fußgängerzone?
It is made up of der Fuß (the foot), der Gänger (the walker), and die Zone (the zone). Put together, a foot-walker is a pedestrian, making it a pedestrian zone!
The translation says 'is walking', but doesn't geht just mean 'goes' or 'walks'?
German does not have an '-ing' form (present continuous) like English does. Depending on the context, Der Mann geht can translate to 'The man goes', 'The man walks', or 'The man is walking'. Here, 'is walking' sounds the most natural in English.
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