Wo vs. Wohin: Kontrastübung
Wo? vs. Wohin? – contrast
With every sentence that has a two-way preposition, ask yourself: is it about a position (Wo? → dative) or a movement toward a goal (Wohin? → accusative)? Often the verb already tells you: "weak" position verbs take the dative, "strong" movement verbs take the accusative.
| State (Wo? · dative) | Movement (Wohin? · accusative) |
|---|---|
| stehen (to stand) | stellen (to place upright) |
| liegen (to lie) | legen (to lay down) |
| sitzen (to sit) | setzen (to set down) |
| hängen (to hang) | hängen (to hang up) |
Examples: Die Vase steht auf dem Tisch. (Wo? – The vase stands on the table.) · Ich stelle die Vase auf den Tisch. (Wohin? – I put the vase onto the table.)
Die Vase steht auf ___ Tisch. (Zustand)