entlang

• lang (chiefly colloquial; postposition only)

Borrowed from Middle Low German entlanc, cognate with German in lang (with a gliding sound -t-).

• IPA^(key): /ɛntˈlaŋ/

• audio

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• Rhymes: -aŋ

entlang (with accusative or with an + dative or with location adverbs)

1. indicates movement following or toward something, along

   Ich gehe den Fluss entlang.

   I'm walking along the river.

   Ich gehe an dem Fluss entlang.

   I'm walking along the river.

   Ich gehe hier entlang.

   I'm walking this way.

entlang (+ genitive or dative)

1. along

   Ich gehe entlang des Flusses.

   I walk along the river.

   Ich gehe entlang dem Fluss.

   I walk along the river.

• The postposition usage is more common than the preposition, not only but particularly in speech.
• Apart from the ways of construction mentioned above, additional ones are possible in older or regional usage. One may still hear the postposition used with a bare dative: Ich gehe dem Fluss entlang. The preposition has also been construed with the accusative: Ich gehe entlang den Fluss. The latter is now nonstandard, however.

• “entlang” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “entlang” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon