How to play Prepositions Room
- You have 45 seconds, and the sentences never run out. When a room is finished, the next one starts right away. A wrong answer doesn't end the game, but the clock keeps running while the game shows you the right answer.
- Move: you read a sentence such as Stell die Tasse auf den Tisch (put the cup on the table). Choose the cup from the pictures, then tap the ring on the table. The color of a ring shows which furniture it belongs to.
- Find: you read a sentence such as Der Ball ist neben dem Tisch (the ball is next to the table). Two balls stand at the table, so you need the preposition to tap the right one.
- Use Show names if you don't know a word yet. It shows the German name of the furniture and of the objects in the room.
- At the end, you can read through every sentence and see what went wrong.
Why the article changes after a two-way preposition
German calls these prepositions Wechselpräpositionen (two-way prepositions), because they take two different cases. When something moves to a place, you use the accusative: Stell die Tasse auf den Tisch (put the cup on the table). When something is already at a place, you use the dative: Die Tasse ist auf dem Tisch (the cup is on the table).
That's why Move sentences say den Tisch and Find sentences say dem Tisch. You don't have to choose the article in this game, but seeing both forms again and again helps you notice the pattern.
With zwischen (between), both nouns change: zwischen den Tisch und den Stuhl for a movement, and zwischen dem Tisch und dem Stuhl for a place. With in, the dative is usually shortened, so in dem Karton (in the box) becomes im Karton.
