Der Fahrradweg ist gesperrt, deshalb gehen wir durch den Park zum Bahnhof.

The bike path is closed, so we walk through the park to the train station.

Breakdown of Der Fahrradweg ist gesperrt, deshalb gehen wir durch den Park zum Bahnhof.

• sein: to be
• wir: we
• der Park: the park
• durch: through
• der Bahnhof: the train station
• den: the; (masculine, accusative)
• der Fahrradweg: the bike path
• zum: to the; (masculine, dative)
• gehen: to walk
• deshalb: therefore / so
• gesperrt: closed / blocked

Questions & Answers about Der Fahrradweg ist gesperrt, deshalb gehen wir durch den Park zum Bahnhof.

Why is there a comma before deshalb?

Because the sentence contains two independent clauses:

• Der Fahrradweg ist gesperrt (clause 1)
• deshalb gehen wir durch den Park zum Bahnhof (clause 2)

In German, two main clauses are usually separated by a comma, especially when the second one starts with a connecting word like deshalb (therefore).

---

What exactly does gesperrt mean here, and is it a passive form?

gesperrt means closed / blocked off / not accessible (e.g., due to construction or an event).

Grammatically, ist gesperrt is not a full passive with werden (like wird gesperrt = is being closed). It’s more like a state description:

• Der Fahrradweg ist gesperrt. = The bike path is (currently) closed. You can think of gesperrt as an adjective here (even though it looks like a past participle).

---

Why does deshalb come first in the second part, and why is the word order deshalb gehen wir?

deshalb is an adverb meaning therefore / that’s why. In German, if something other than the subject is in position 1 of a main clause, the verb still must be in position 2.

So:

• Position 1: deshalb
• Position 2: gehen
• Then the subject: wir

That’s why it’s deshalb gehen wir…, not deshalb wir gehen….

---

Could I also say wir gehen deshalb durch den Park…?

Yes. That just changes emphasis:

• Deshalb gehen wir… puts emphasis on the logical connection (therefore).
• Wir gehen deshalb… keeps a more neutral subject-first structure, and deshalb feels slightly less “headline-like.”

Both are correct.

---

Why is it der Fahrradweg and not das Fahrradweg or die Fahrradweg?

Weg is masculine in German: der Weg.
In the compound noun Fahrradweg (bike path), the final noun decides the gender, so it stays masculine:

• der Fahrradweg

This is a general rule: the “head” (last part) determines gender.

---

Why do we have durch den Park (with den)?

durch is a preposition that always takes the accusative case.

der Park is masculine:

• Nominative: der Park
• Accusative: den Park

So durch den Park = through the park.

---

What does zum Bahnhof mean exactly, and why is it zum?

zum is a contraction of zu dem:

• zu
  • dem → zum

zu takes the dative case and often means to (toward a destination, often a person/place as a target).

der Bahnhof is masculine, so dative is dem Bahnhof, which becomes zum Bahnhof:

• zum Bahnhof = to the train station

---

Why does German say zum Bahnhof and not something like in den Bahnhof?

Because zu focuses on the destination as a point you’re heading to (often “to” a place), without implying you’re going inside.

• zum Bahnhof = heading to the station (the area/building as a destination)
• in den Bahnhof = going into the building (emphasis on entering)

In everyday speech, if the idea is simply “go to the station,” zum Bahnhof is very common.

---

Why is it gehen wir (we walk) even though the topic is a bike path?

Because the sentence explains a change of plan: if the bike path is closed, you might not be able to cycle on the intended route, so you choose to walk via a different path.

If you wanted to say you still go by bike (just via another route), you could use:

• deshalb fahren wir durch den Park zum Bahnhof (therefore we ride/drive…)

---

Why are nouns like Fahrradweg, Park, and Bahnhof capitalized?

In German, all nouns are capitalized, not just proper names. That’s why:

• der Fahrradweg
• der Park
• der Bahnhof all start with capital letters.