2

Ich gehe zur Arbeit

Ich gehe zur Schule

Ich gehe zum Strand

Ich gehe in die Kirche

Ich gehe ins Einkaufszentrum

Ich gehe in die Berge

Ich gehe ins Büro

I thought that for verbs of movement like gehen, accusative should be used. While the last 4 sentences agree with this, the first three sentences are using dative, why? Isn't zu a two-way preposition?

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  • 3
    You already know all of the necessary concepts, and indeed “zu” is not a two-way preposition.
    – Carsten S
    Jan 17 at 12:12
  • 1
    @CarstenS So zu takes only dative? If that is so, does the case a preposition takes have precedence over the rule that movement verbs should use the accusative?
    – mathlover
    Jan 17 at 12:25
  • 6
    That rule is for two-way prepositions only, that’s why they form a class worth having a name. Whenever there is a preposition, it determines the case. It’s just that those ten (according to my first google result) prepositions can go both ways, depending on meaning.
    – Carsten S
    Jan 17 at 12:44
  • 1
    "Ich gehe kaputt" fehlt noch. ;)
    – user unknown
    Jan 17 at 15:19