Breakdown of Nach dem Gewitter fahren wir vorsichtig nach Hause.
dem
the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
wir
we
nach
to
fahren
to drive
vorsichtig
careful
nach
after
das Gewitter
the thunderstorm
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Questions & Answers about Nach dem Gewitter fahren wir vorsichtig nach Hause.
Why is Nach dem Gewitter at the beginning of the sentence, and what happens to the verb and subject?
German follows the “verb-second” (V2) rule: the finite verb must occupy the second position in a main clause. By placing Nach dem Gewitter (a time expression) in the first position, fahren (the verb) moves to slot two and wir (the subject) follows in slot three. If you left Nach dem Gewitter at the end, you’d say Wir fahren nach dem Gewitter….
Why is dem Gewitter in the dative case?
The preposition nach when used with a temporal meaning (“after”) requires the dative case. The noun das Gewitter (neuter) therefore takes dem in the dative singular: nach dem Gewitter.
How is the preposition nach used twice in this sentence, and do both uses require the same case?
They are two different senses of nach:
• Temporal nach dem Gewitter = “after the storm” (dative case)
• Directional nach Hause = “to (one’s) home” (also dative, but idiomatic)
Both govern dative, yet the second is a fixed directional adverbial.
Why doesn’t Hause have an article, and what’s with the -e ending?
In the fixed phrase nach Hause, German drops the article in many directional expressions (you don’t say nach dem Hause). The -e on Hause is an older dative ending that remains in set expressions (cf. zu Hause, außer Hause). You’ll also see nach Haus in colloquial speech, but nach Hause is standard.
What part of speech is vorsichtig, and why doesn’t it have an adjective ending?
Here vorsichtig functions as an adverb, modifying the verb fahren (“drive carefully”). Adverbs in German are uninflected, so you don’t add adjective endings (unlike attributive adjectives before nouns, which would take endings).
Why is the verb fahren used instead of gehen?
Fahren means “to go/drive/ride” by some vehicle (car, bike, bus, etc.). Gehen means “to walk.” Since the sentence implies traveling home by vehicle, fahren is the appropriate choice.
Why is nach Hause placed at the end, and can you move it elsewhere?
German typically orders adverbials in the pattern Time – Manner – Place (TeKaMoLo). Here we have:
- Time: nach dem Gewitter
- Manner: vorsichtig
- Place (direction): nach Hause
You could shuffle them for emphasis, but the standard sequence for clarity is Time–Manner–Place.
Why do we use wir and not uns in this sentence?
Wir is the nominative (subject) form of “we.” Uns is the accusative/dative (object) form (“us”). Since wir performs the action of driving, it must be nominative.
Why is Gewitter capitalized?
In German all nouns are capitalized, without exception. Since Gewitter (“storm”) is a noun, it always begins with a capital letter.