Questions & Answers about Manche kommen mit dem Bus.
Does manche mean "some people" or just "some"?
Standing on its own as the subject like it does here, manche implies "some people". You can also use it right before a noun to talk about things, like manche Äpfel (some apples) or manche Autos (some cars).
Why is the verb kommen plural?
Because manche refers to multiple people, it acts as a plural subject. Therefore, we use the plural "they" form of the verb: kommen.
Can I use etwas instead of manche to say "some" in this sentence?
No, etwas is used for uncountable amounts, like water, time, or money (for example, etwas Zeit means "some time"). Because we are talking about countable people here, you need a plural pronoun like manche.
Why is the article dem used in mit dem Bus?
The word mit (with/by) is a dative preposition, meaning the noun that follows must take the dative case. Bus is a masculine noun (der Bus), and the masculine der changes to dem in the dative case.