fahren versus gehen, which to use?

Why is 'gehen' used in the phrase I would like to go to the market (Ich mochte zum Markt gehen) but in the phrase I would love to go to the cinema (Ich mochte so gerne ins Kino fahren) the word fahren is used? How do I know what the appropriate word is?

Hi Aleisha, Paul is, of course the expert, and I'll defer to him. However, I'll take a crack at it in the meantime. (For one thing, it gives me points). When it comes to motion, gehen refers to walking as in walking to school whereas fahren is used with some other mode of transportation such as driving. However, gehen is also used in the sense of frequenting a place, for example going to (attending) school. In this context, the mode of transportation is not relevant so you would use gehen to mean attending, even if you physically drive or take the bus to school.

Hi Aleisha, Thank you Byron. It is true that the verb 'gehen' doesn't necessarily mean walking by foot. You can also use it the way you use 'to go' in English. Examples are: Im Mai gehe ich nach Paris für ein Jahr-> In May I am to going to Paris for a year. The focus in the sentence is the place and time and not the transport you are choosing. So you could switch the verbs and say 'Ich möchte so gerne ins Kino gehen" with the focus on the activity itself. However if you want to be precious about how you get somewhere you could say "Ich möchte zu Fuss zum Markt gehen. Also you can use verbs like fahren, radeln->to cycle, laufen->to walk, flying->fliegen. The verb 'fahren' doesn't specify whether you are taking bus, train or car though. Gruß Paul

Thanks Paul. I stand correcteded. I had read in some web searches that gehen usually refers to motion by foot whereas fahren is motion by some other means. However, I also get that when motion is not the issue, gehen has the same meaning as "go" in English. Thanks for the clarification. regards, Byron

Hi Byron, You were not so wrong at all. I just added additional information to what you wrote. I quite liked that you interpreted 'gehen' as 'attending'. Gruß Paul

Thanks Paul. regards, Byron

Hello, I had a question about laufen and the search engine brought me here because Paul wrote "laufen->to walk". I think the primary definition for laufen is to run. To walk is a secondary definition and is meant more as in to go (in any manner). What do you think? In MegaCards Beginners http://members.rocketlanguages.com/lessons/1341 I find a phrase "Thomas läuft nach Hause" The hint is "laufen = to walk" They translate this as "Thomas walks home." I think that should actually be "Thomas geht nach Hause." "Thomas läuft nach Hause" should be "Thomas runs home." The pons dictionary puts laufen as to run in the first definition. To walk (to go/to get around) is the second definition. You can see online here: http://de.pons.com/%C3%BCbersetzung?q=laufen&l=deen&in=&lf=de Would it be possible to add a feedback system to the MegaCards so that I can comment on phrases and discuss them directly in the game instead of coming to the forum to discuss? I also see no way to link to the particular card so that somebody can review and discuss it with me. Can the URL be updated with each card so that it can be bookmarked, please? Thanks, Jason

My Langenscheidts German/English dictionary also gives run as the primary definition of laufen and laufen as the primary definition of run, i.e. consistent in both directions. Run is also translated as rennen. I don't know which is more appropriate to describe running although I've noticed if one is talking about a foot race, rennen is the verb used.