Breakdown of In der Schule lernen die Kinder rechnen.
das Kind
the child
lernen
to learn
in
in
die Schule
the school
rechnen
to do arithmetic, to reckon
Questions & Answers about In der Schule lernen die Kinder rechnen.
Why is rechnen translated as the noun arithmetic but not capitalized in German?
In German, rechnen is actually a verb meaning to calculate or to do math. The sentence literally translates to 'At school the children learn to calculate'. Because it is functioning as a verb here, it is written in lowercase.
Why is there no zu before rechnen? Shouldn't it be lernen zu rechnen?
The verb lernen is a bit special. When you pair it with just one other bare verb to express learning an action, you drop the zu. It acts just like a modal verb, pushing the infinitive rechnen to the very end of the sentence.
Why do we use In der Schule instead of In die Schule?
The preposition in is a two-way preposition. Because the learning is happening in a fixed location (answering the question where? or wo?), we must use the dative case. The noun Schule is feminine, so its article changes to der. If the children were actively traveling to the school, you would use the accusative in die Schule.
Why is the subject die Kinder placed after the verb lernen?
German strictly requires the conjugated verb to be in the second position of a main clause. Because this sentence starts with the location phrase In der Schule (which takes up position one), the verb lernen must come immediately next. The subject die Kinder is therefore pushed to the third position right after the verb.
How does the verb rechnen relate to the fractional numbers (Bruchzahlen) taught in this lesson?
While rechnen means to calculate in general, you will use it to talk about doing math with fractions. To say to calculate with fractions, you would say mit Brüchen rechnen. You can also combine them into the compound noun das Bruchrechnen (fractional arithmetic).
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