Adverbs of location indicate the position, where an
event happened that is described by the verb.
Example:
I do it here.
It seems trivial, but there are two different groups
of local adverbs. The one describes a place, where an
action takes place. The other describes a movement towards
a certain point.
Example:
I do it there. Example:
I go there.
In English there is no difference and therefore it might
seem a bit simple. But in German there is a real difference,
therefore we were talking about these two groups.
Examples
Er ist dort.
He is there.
Er geht dorthin.
He goes there.
Er ist hier.
He is here.
Er kommt nicht bis hierher.
He does not come here.
Er ist da.
He is there.
Er kommt nicht bis dahin.
He cannot reach there.
It is clearly to be seen that dort
turns into dorthin, da
into dahin and hier
into hierher, if a verb
of movement is used.
One cannot just transfer the
English logic into German:
incorrect:
Er geht dort.
incorrect:
Er kommt bis hier.
incorrect:
Er kommt nicht bis da.
If you might ask, why on earth you can't do so, since
in English it is possible and people still understand
the difference, we only can give a simple and not very
convincing answer. No idea, it's just the way it is.
