Breakdown of Das kleine Boot fährt das Ufer entlang.
klein
small
fahren
to drive, to travel
entlang
along
das Boot
the boat
Questions & Answers about Das kleine Boot fährt das Ufer entlang.
Why is entlang placed at the very end of the sentence?
When entlang means "along" in the sense of moving in a direction, it usually acts as a postposition — meaning it goes after the noun it refers to. So instead of saying "along the shore" like in English, German says das Ufer entlang ("the shore along").
What case is das Ufer in this sentence?
It is in the accusative case. When entlang is placed after a noun to show movement along a path, it requires that noun to be in the accusative case. Because Ufer (shore) is a neuter noun, its accusative form looks exactly the same as its basic nominative form: das Ufer.
Why use fährt for a boat? Doesn't that mean "drives"?
While fahren often translates to "drive" for cars, it is the general German verb for traveling in or on almost any vehicle, including boats, trains, and bicycles. Also, notice that fährt has an umlaut because fahren is a strong verb where the a changes to ä for the "he/she/it" forms.
Why is the adjective ending just -e in Das kleine Boot instead of kleines?