Unlike English, German uses a variety of prepositions to express ‘to’ with verbs of motion. What follows is a concise study guide to this tricky aspect of German grammar.
A. With geographic place names
When traveling to a geographic place name, use the preposition nach. This includes: countries, cities, towns, etc.
I am flying to Germany. Ich fliege nach Deutschland.
*Exception: if the place name is preceded by an article. This includes: die Schweiz, der Libanon, die Türkei, der Jemen, die USA (Plural), der Iran, die Niederlande (Plural), der Irak etc.
I am flying to Switzerland. Ich fliege in die Schweiz.
B. With places around town:
With places around town, either the preposition ‘in’ is used in the accusative case, or the proposition ‘zu’ is used in the dative case. Contractions are commonly employed.
I am going to the market. Ich gehe in den or zum (zu+dem) Markt.
C. Idiomatic usages
The following examples are idiomatic in nature and must simply be memorized:
I am going to the bank/post office. Ich gehe auf die Bank/Post.
I am going home. Ich gehe nach Hause.
We are driving to the coast. Wir fahren an die Küste.
