Breakdown of Wir fahren mit dem Schiff den Kanal entlang.
wir
we
fahren
to drive, to travel
mit
with
das Schiff
the ship
der Kanal
the canal
entlang
along
Questions & Answers about Wir fahren mit dem Schiff den Kanal entlang.
Why does entlang come at the very end of the sentence instead of before the canal?
When entlang means "along" a physical path or direction, it is almost always placed after the noun it describes. So instead of saying "along the canal" like in English, German says den Kanal entlang.
Why is it den Kanal instead of der Kanal?
When entlang is placed directly after the noun to show direction, it requires that noun to be in the accusative case. Since Kanal is a masculine noun, der changes to den.
Why do we use dem Schiff instead of das Schiff?
The preposition mit always forces the noun that follows it into the dative case. Because ship is a neuter noun (das Schiff), it changes to dem Schiff after mit.
Why does mit dem Schiff come before den Kanal entlang?
German word order generally places the "how" (the manner of travel, mit dem Schiff) before the "where to" (the direction or destination, den Kanal entlang).
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