Breakdown of Fährt das Kind mit dem Bus zur Schule?
das Kind
the child
der Bus
the bus
fahren
to drive, to travel
mit
with
zur
to the (zu + der)
die Schule
the school
Questions & Answers about Fährt das Kind mit dem Bus zur Schule?
Why is it mit dem Bus? Isn't the word for bus der Bus?
You are right that it is der Bus. But the preposition mit (with/by) is special: it always forces the noun that follows it into the dative case. In the dative case, the masculine article der changes to dem.
Where does the word zur come from?
zur is a combination of the preposition zu (to) and the dative article der. The word for school is die Schule. Just like mit, zu always forces the next word into the dative case, which changes the feminine article die to der. Instead of saying zu der Schule, Germans naturally squeeze them together into zur Schule.
Why use mit here when the English translation says "taking the bus"?
In German, you do not usually "take" a bus (nehmen). Instead, you travel "with" a vehicle. Whenever you are talking about the mode of transportation you are using (by bus, by car, by train), you use mit followed by the dative case.
Why does fährt have an umlaut (ä) if the dictionary verb is fahren?
fahren (to drive or to travel) is a strong (irregular) verb. For the "he, she, and it" forms, like das Kind, the vowel a changes to ä, making it er/sie/es fährt.
Why is the verb Fährt the very first word in the sentence?
This is because it is a yes/no question. Moving the conjugated verb to the front of the sentence turns a statement (Das Kind fährt...) into a question (Fährt das Kind...?).
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