Breakdown of Wir fahren mit öffentlichen Verkehrsmitteln.
wir
we
fahren
to drive, to travel
mit
with
das Verkehrsmittel
the means of transport
öffentlich
public
Questions & Answers about Wir fahren mit öffentlichen Verkehrsmitteln.
Why does öffentlichen end in -en here?
It is in the dative plural because of the preposition mit. Since there is no article before it (like den or meinen), the adjective takes the strong dative plural ending, which is -en.
Why is there an extra -n at the end of Verkehrsmitteln?
The preposition mit always requires the dative case. The noun das Verkehrsmittel forms its normal plural without adding any letters (die Verkehrsmittel). However, in the dative plural, German nouns that do not already end in -n or -s must add an extra -n.
How would we express this idea using the impersonal passive (Unpersönliches Passiv) from our current lesson?
You could say Es wird mit öffentlichen Verkehrsmitteln gefahren (There is traveling by public transport). This drops the specific subject (wir) to focus purely on the action of traveling itself. If you move the prepositional phrase to the first position, the dummy subject es disappears: Mit öffentlichen Verkehrsmitteln wird gefahren.
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