Breakdown of Überquere die Straße vorsichtig; am Zebrastreifen warten die Fußgänger.
dem
the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
die Straße
the street
warten
to wait
an
at
Questions & Answers about Überquere die Straße vorsichtig; am Zebrastreifen warten die Fußgänger.
What form is the verb in Überquere die Straße and who is being addressed?
It’s the imperative addressing one person informally (the du-imperative). The understood subject is du: “(Du) Überquere …”
Alternative commands:
- To a group (ihr): Überquert die Straße …
- Polite/formal (Sie): Überqueren Sie die Straße … You can add bitte for politeness: Bitte überqueren Sie …
Can I drop the final -e and say Überquer die Straße?
Yes. In the du-imperative, the final -e is often optional: Überquere … or Überquer …. The version with -e is more common in careful writing, while the short form is frequent in speech.
Why is it die Straße and not der Straße?
Because überqueren is a transitive verb and takes a direct object in the accusative case. Straße is feminine, and the accusative singular for feminine nouns is die, same as nominative: die Straße. (If it were masculine, it would change to den.)
Is überqueren a separable verb?
No, überqueren is inseparable. You do not split it: Ich überquere die Straße; Ich habe die Straße überquert. As a guideline, when the prefix is unstressed (as here), it’s typically inseparable.