Breakdown of Ich gehe zu Fuß, denn der Bus kommt nicht.
ich
I
kommen
to come
nicht
not
der Bus
the bus
denn
because
zu Fuß gehen
to go on foot, to walk
Questions & Answers about Ich gehe zu Fuß, denn der Bus kommt nicht.
Why does the sentence use zu Fuß instead of a single verb for 'walking'?
In German, the most common way to say 'I am walking' as a mode of transport is ich gehe zu Fuß, which literally means 'I go on foot'. While the verb laufen can mean 'to walk', it often means 'to run', so using zu Fuß gehen avoids any confusion.
Why use denn for 'because' instead of weil?
Both denn and weil mean 'because', but they change the sentence structure differently. The word denn is a connecting word that takes 'Position 0', meaning it connects two normal sentences without changing their word order. If you used weil, the verb would be kicked to the very end: ... weil der Bus nicht kommt.
If denn is the first word after the comma, why is the verb kommt right after der Bus?
In German, connecting words like denn, und, oder, and aber take 'Position 0'. They do not count as the first idea in the sentence. Therefore, der Bus is Position 1, and the verb kommt correctly takes Position 2.
Why does it say Ich gehe when the English translation says 'I am walking'?
German does not have an '-ing' form or present continuous tense like English does. The simple present tense Ich gehe translates to both 'I go' and 'I am going' (or in this context, 'I am walking').
Why is the word nicht at the very end of the sentence?
When you want to negate the main action of a sentence, the word nicht typically moves to the very end of the clause. Here, it is negating the fact that the bus is coming, so it goes after the subject and the verb.
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