Breakdown of Sobald sie fliegen, orientieren sie sich den ganzen Weg an der Sonne.
sie
they
die Sonne
the sun
fliegen
to fly
an
at, on (vertical) / to (addressee) / of (in quantity/stock expressions)
der Weg
the way
ganz
quite, completely; whole
sobald
as soon as
sich orientieren
to orient oneself
Questions & Answers about Sobald sie fliegen, orientieren sie sich den ganzen Weg an der Sonne.
Why is den ganzen Weg in the accusative case here?
This is an example of the adverbial accusative. In German, you can express a definite distance or duration directly using the accusative case, without needing a preposition. Since Weg is a masculine noun, it takes the masculine accusative article den to show the distance covered.
Why does the sentence use the dative an der Sonne if the subjects are moving (flying)?
The case here is strictly controlled by the verb phrase sich orientieren an (to orient oneself by). With this specific verb, the preposition an always takes the dative case. Even though the subject is flying, the sun acts as a fixed reference point for their orientation, not a physical destination they are traveling into.
Why is the main verb orientieren placed right after the comma?
The entire first part of the sentence, Sobald sie fliegen (As soon as they fly), is a subordinate clause that takes up the first structural position in the sentence. To satisfy the German verb-second (V2) rule for the main clause, the verb orientieren must take position two, meaning it immediately follows the comma.
Why does the adjective ganz have an -en ending in this sentence?
This is a quick refresher on adjective declension. Because the phrase den ganzen Weg is masculine accusative and starts with a definite article (den), it triggers weak declension, so the adjective ganz takes the standard -en ending.
Learn Sobald sie fliegen, orientieren sie sich den ganzen Weg an der Sonne and more in German
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free