Learn Hardcore German: Neben dem Feld stehen Kühe und Schafe und schauen neugierig zu. - Next to the field cows and sheep are standing and watching curiously.

The preposition neben
- neben is a “two-way” preposition (Wechselpräposition).
- With no movement / location, it uses the dative case.
- The cows and sheep are simply standing next to the field, not moving there, so we need dative.
Dative form of das Feld
- Nominative: das Feld
- Accusative: das Feld
- Dative: dem Feld
- Genitive: des Feldes

So:

Neben dem Feld = next to the field (static)
If it were movement towards a position next to the field, you would use accusative:
Sie gehen neben das Feld. = They walk (to a position) next to the field.

Why does the verb stehen come before Kühe und Schafe? I thought word order was Subject–Verb–Object.

German main clauses are verb-second (V2), not strictly subject–verb–object. The finite verb is always in the second position, but the first position can be something other than the subject.

Here, the sentence starts with a prepositional phrase:

Position 1: Neben dem Feld (prepositional phrase)
Position 2 (verb): stehen
Rest: Kühe und Schafe und schauen neugierig zu

So the subject Kühe und Schafe comes after the verb because something else is in the first slot.

If you start with the subject instead, you get the more “neutral” order:

Kühe und Schafe stehen neben dem Feld und schauen neugierig zu.

Why is it stehen and not sind? In English I’d just say “Cows and sheep are next to the field.”

German often prefers “posture verbs” (verbs of standing, sitting, lying) instead of a simple sein for locations:

stehen (to stand)
sitzen (to sit)
liegen (to lie)

So instead of:

Kühe und Schafe sind neben dem Feld. (grammatically correct, but less idiomatic)

German sounds more natural with:

Kühe und Schafe stehen neben dem Feld.

This paints a slightly more vivid picture — you can imagine the animals standing there. The choice of stehen over sein is a typical German style preference.

What exactly does schauen … zu mean, and why is zu at the end?

schauen zu is the separable verb zuschauen, which means:

zuschauen = to watch / to look on / to observe (as a spectator)

In a main clause, separable verbs split:

The finite part (schauen) goes to the normal verb position (here, coordinated with stehen).
The prefix (zu) moves to the end of the clause.

So:

Sie schauen zu. = They watch.
Neben dem Feld stehen Kühe und Schafe und schauen neugierig zu.
= Next to the field, cows and sheep are standing and watching curiously.

The zu is not a separate preposition here, it’s the separable prefix of the verb zuschauen.

What is the difference between schauen, zuschauen, and sehen here?

sehen = to see (perceive with the eyes)
- More neutral, just perception:
  - Ich sehe die Kühe. – I see the cows.
schauen = to look
- Often used where English might say look or watch:
  - Sie schauen in den Himmel. – They look at the sky.
zuschauen = to watch (as a spectator)
- Emphasizes that you are observing something happening:
  - Die Kühe schauen den Kindern zu. – The cows watch the children (at play).

In your sentence, schauen … zu implies that the animals are watching what is going on, not just incidentally seeing it.

Why are there two und: Kühe und Schafe und schauen neugierig zu? Is that correct?

Yes, it’s correct, and the two und connect different things:

Kühe und Schafe
- The first und connects two nouns: cows and sheep → one combined subject.
stehen … und schauen neugierig zu
- The second und connects two verbs: stehen (stand) and schauen (watch).

So structurally:

Subject: Kühe und Schafe
Verbs: stehen und schauen neugierig zu

You could make the structure more obvious by reordering:

Kühe und Schafe stehen neben dem Feld und schauen neugierig zu.

Why is it neugierig and not neugierige?

neugierig here functions as an adverb, modifying the verb schauen:

neugierig schauen = to watch curiously / to look on with curiosity

German often uses the uninflected adjective form as an adverb. So:

Er ist neugierig. – He is curious. (adjective with sein)
Er schaut neugierig. – He looks curiously. (adverb modifying schaut)

You only add endings like -e, -en, etc. when the adjective directly describes a noun:

die neugierige Kuh – the curious cow
die neugierigen Kühe – the curious cows

Since neugierig is describing how they watch (the verb), not what kind of cows they are, it stays neugierig without an ending.

Why is there no article before Kühe und Schafe?

In German, indefinite plural nouns often appear without an article when you mean “some” in a general, non-specific way.

Kühe und Schafe stehen neben dem Feld.
= Cows and sheep are standing next to the field.
(some, not specified which ones)

If you wanted to be specific, you could use the definite article:

Die Kühe und die Schafe stehen neben dem Feld.
= The cows and the sheep are standing next to the field.
(a specific group already known from context)

So leaving out the article is normal and natural for a non-specific, plural meaning.

Could it also be auf dem Feld or im Feld instead of neben dem Feld? What’s the difference?

Yes, but the meaning changes:

neben dem Feld = next to the field, beside it, not on it
auf dem Feld = on the field, on its surface (usually out on the land)
im Feld = literally in the field, often implying being inside an area of crops / between plants

Examples:

Neben dem Feld steht ein Haus. – A house stands next to the field.
Auf dem Feld arbeiten Bauern. – Farmers are working in the field (on the field area).
Er verschwindet im Feld. – He disappears in the field (among the crops).

Your sentence specifically says the animals are beside the field, not on it.

Why does the verb stehen look plural? Is the subject singular or plural here?

The subject is plural, because it consists of two nouns joined by und:

Kühe (plural: cows)
Schafe (plural: sheep)

Together: Kühe und Schafe = they → plural subject.

Therefore the verb must be 3rd person plural:

sie stehen – they stand
sie schauen – they watch

If there were only one type of animal, you’d conjugate accordingly, e.g.:

Die Kuh steht neben dem Feld. – The cow stands next to the field. (singular)
Die Kühe stehen neben dem Feld. – The cows stand next to the field. (plural)

Could I say sehen neugierig zu instead of schauen neugierig zu?

You could say sie sehen neugierig zu, and it would be understood, but it sounds less idiomatic. Native speakers strongly prefer:

zuschauen / zugucken (colloquial) for watching something happen
ansehen/anschauen with a direct object:
- Sie schauen das Spiel an. – They watch the game.

Typical patterns:

Sie schauen neugierig zu. – very natural.
Sie sehen neugierig zu. – possible, but not the most typical choice.
Sie sehen neugierig hin. – could also work, but is less common in everyday speech than zuschauen.

In everyday language, schauen (zu) or gucken (zu) is what most people would use in this context.