Breakdown of Mama und Papa sind nicht zu Hause.
sein
to be
und
and
nicht
not
zu Hause
at home
die Mama
mum, mom
der Papa
dad
Questions & Answers about Mama und Papa sind nicht zu Hause.
Why do we use zu here if it usually translates to 'to'?
In German, zu Hause is a fixed phrase that translates to 'at home' (referring to a location). Even though zu often implies movement towards something, in this specific expression it means you are already there. If you want to say you are going home, you would use the phrase nach Hause instead.
Why is there an 'e' at the end of Haus in zu Hause?
The 'e' at the end of Hause is a leftover from an old German grammar rule. Hundreds of years ago, nouns in the dative case received an extra 'e' at the end. Modern German doesn't usually do this anymore, but the 'e' survived in a few common fixed phrases like zu Hause (at home) and nach Hause (going home).
Why is nicht placed right before zu Hause instead of at the very end of the sentence?
In German, when you want to negate a specific prepositional phrase like being 'at home', nicht goes right before that phrase. Here, it specifically negates zu Hause, making it clear that 'at home' is exactly where mum and dad are not.
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