Breakdown of Seht ihr das schlechte Wetter, fahrt zurück in den Hafen!
in
in
ihr
you (informal plural)
sehen
to see
fahren
to drive, to travel
das Wetter
the weather
schlecht
bad
der Hafen
the port / the harbor
zurück
back (in return, backwards)
Questions & Answers about Seht ihr das schlechte Wetter, fahrt zurück in den Hafen!
Why does this sentence start with the verb Seht, and where is the word for 'if'?
This is a conditional clause without wenn (if). By putting the conjugated verb first (Seht), you create an 'if/then' condition. It means the exact same thing as Wenn ihr das schlechte Wetter seht, ... but sounds a bit more urgent or direct.
Why is the second verb fahrt and not fahrt ihr?
The second part of the sentence is a command (imperative) directed at multiple people you know informally (ihr). For this plural command, you use the standard present tense form (ihr fahrt) and simply drop the pronoun, leaving just fahrt.
Why does it say das schlechte Wetter with an '-e' instead of das schlechtes Wetter?
Wetter is a neuter noun, and here it is the direct object (accusative case). Because the definite article das already does the heavy lifting of showing the gender and case, the adjective gets the weak ending -e. You would only use the strong -es ending if there were no article at all, like in the phrase schlechtes Wetter.
Why do we use the accusative case for in den Hafen?
The word in is a two-way preposition. Because this action describes a physical movement towards a destination (driving or sailing into the port), it takes the accusative case. If the boats were already parked and staying inside the port, you would use the dative case (in dem Hafen or im Hafen).
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