The idea
Learn the German verb's case. With besuchen, use den Nachbarn or meine Freundin directly, without an inserted an or zu; other German verbs may require different cases or prepositions.
One contrast, not a prediction about every learner
Spanish often marks a definite human direct object with personal a. German does not add an equivalent preposition just because an object is human: verbs such as sehen and besuchen take an accusative person directly.
Individual experience, dialect and other languages you know can change which comparisons help. Use the contrast to notice a German choice; do not treat it as a label for a whole group of people.
Repair the transfer
Ich besuche an meinen Nachbarn.Ich besuche meinen Nachbarn.Learn the German verb's case. With besuchen, use den Nachbarn or meine Freundin directly, without an inserted an or zu; other German verbs may require different cases or prepositions.
Examples
- Ich besuche meinen Nachbarn nach der Arbeit im Krankenhaus.I visit my neighbor in hospital after work.
- Wir sehen die neue Lehrerin zuerst im Treppenhaus.We first see the new teacher in the stairwell.
- Die Gastgeberin begrüßt jeden Gast persönlich.The host greets every guest personally.
- Ich kenne deinen Bruder aus dem Musikverein.I know your brother from the music society.
- Der Fahrer sucht die beiden fehlenden Teilnehmer.The driver is looking for the two missing participants.
- Wir treffen unsere Kollegin vor dem Seiteneingang.We meet our colleague outside the side entrance.
Read-aloud uses a synthetic German voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.
No German device voice is available. You can still read the text and use the linked listening resources.
Watch out
Do not generalize a source-language pattern to every German sentence. Learn the German verb's case. With besuchen, use den Nachbarn or meine Freundin directly, without an inserted an or zu; other German verbs may require different cases or prepositions.
Try it yourself
Korrigiere: Ich besuche an meinen Nachbarn.
Show answer or example answer
Ich besuche meinen Nachbarn.
Ich besuche meinen Nachbarn. Learn the German verb's case. With besuchen, use den Nachbarn or meine Freundin directly, without an inserted an or zu; other German verbs may require different cases or prepositions.
Ins Deutsche übertragen: I visit my neighbor in hospital after work.
Show answer or example answer
Ich besuche meinen Nachbarn nach der Arbeit im Krankenhaus.
Ich besuche meinen Nachbarn nach der Arbeit im Krankenhaus. Learn the German verb's case. With besuchen, use den Nachbarn or meine Freundin directly, without an inserted an or zu; other German verbs may require different cases or prepositions.
Ins Deutsche übertragen: The driver is looking for the two missing participants.
Show answer or example answer
Der Fahrer sucht die beiden fehlenden Teilnehmer.
Der Fahrer sucht die beiden fehlenden Teilnehmer. Keep the meaning of the whole sentence while using the German pattern.
Practice round
Answer three questions, then rebuild three German sentences. We keep your score.
Korrigiere: Ich besuche an meinen Nachbarn.
Ich besuche meinen Nachbarn.
Ins Deutsche übertragen: I visit my neighbor in hospital after work.
Ich besuche meinen Nachbarn nach der Arbeit im Krankenhaus.
Ins Deutsche übertragen: The driver is looking for the two missing participants.
Der Fahrer sucht die beiden fehlenden Teilnehmer.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Keep your progress
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Write three German sentences of your own that follow the pattern of “Ich besuche meinen Nachbarn.”. Check each one for the Spanish habit this lesson corrects, then read them aloud.