Breakdown of Entweder wir fahren mit dem Zug oder wir bleiben zu Hause.
wir
we
der Zug
the train
fahren
to drive, to travel
bleiben
to stay
mit
with
zu Hause
at home
entweder ... oder
either ... or
Questions & Answers about Entweder wir fahren mit dem Zug oder wir bleiben zu Hause.
Why is it Entweder wir fahren and not Entweder fahren wir?
Entweder is flexible! It can act as a standard word in position 1, which pushes the verb to position 2 (Entweder fahren wir...). However, it is very often used in "position 0" just like und or oder, meaning the standard subject-verb order stays exactly the same (Entweder wir fahren...). Both are perfectly correct.
Does oder change the word order in the second half of the sentence?
No, oder is a coordinating conjunction, meaning it sits in "position 0" outside the clause and doesn't mess with the word order that follows it. That's why we see the normal subject-verb order again: ... oder wir bleiben ....
Why is it mit dem Zug and not mit den Zug?
The preposition mit (with/by) is a "dative preposition," meaning it always forces the noun that follows it into the dative case. Since Zug (train) is a masculine noun (der Zug), it changes to dem Zug in the dative.
Why does zu Hause mean "at home"? Doesn't zu usually mean "to"?
This is a fixed expression in German that you just have to memorize. zu Hause means "at home" (describing a location), while nach Hause means "going home" (describing a destination). Since we are staying somewhere rather than traveling there, we use zu Hause.
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