Min bror tager bussen til skolen.

My brother takes the bus to the school.

Breakdown of Min bror tager bussen til skolen.

• min: my
• skolen: the school
• til: to
• tage: to take
• broderen: the brother
• bussen: the bus

Questions & Answers about Min bror tager bussen til skolen.

What does tager mean here? Is it “takes” or “is taking”?

Danish has just one present tense, so tager can mean both:

• Habitual: My brother takes the bus (generally).
• Right now: My brother is taking the bus (right now).

If you need to stress an ongoing action, you can say:

• Min bror er ved at tage bussen. (He is in the process of taking the bus.)
• Min bror sidder i bussen. (He is sitting on the bus.)

Why is it min bror and not mit or mine?

• min is used with common-gender (en-words) singular nouns: min bror (my brother), min skole (my school).
• mit is for neuter-gender (et-words) singular nouns: mit hus (my house).
• mine is for all plurals: mine brødre (my brothers), mine skoler (my schools).

Why are bussen and skolen in the definite form (-en)?

• Public transport is typically used with the definite form in Danish: tage bussen/toget/metroen is idiomatic.
• til skolen is definite because it refers to a specific, known school (usually the brother’s school).
• You can use the indefinite when you mean “some bus/some school” in a non-specific way: tager en bus, but that’s less common when talking about a routine.

Can I say “Min bror tager bus til skole”?

That sounds wrong in Danish. Better options:

• Min bror tager bussen til skolen. (most natural)
• Min bror tager en bus til skolen. (if the specific bus isn’t important)
• Min bror kører med bussen til skolen. (also natural: “rides the bus”)

What’s the difference between tager bussen and kører (med) bussen?

• tage bussen = take the bus.
• køre med bussen = ride the bus (equally fine).
• Be careful: køre bus means “drive a bus” (as the driver).

Should I use til, i, or på with “school”? What’s the nuance?

• til skolen: motion to the school (to the school building/institution). Works perfectly with transport: tager bussen til skolen.
• i skole: idiom meaning “to/at school” in the sense of attending. E.g. Han går i skole; Han tager i skole (“He goes to school”). Not usually combined with a transport object: avoid tager bussen i skole.
• i skolen: “in(side) the school.” E.g. Han er i skolen (physically inside).
• på skolen: “at the school” (the institution/site). Very common: Han er på skolen; with named institutions you often get på (e.g., på Nørrebro Park Skole). Note: på skole (without article/name) is not standard in Danish (it is in Norwegian).

How would I place a time word? Does Danish use verb-second (V2)?

Yes, main clauses are V2:

• Neutral: Min bror tager bussen til skolen i dag.
• Fronted time = verb second: I dag tager min bror bussen til skolen.

Where does ikke go?

After the finite verb (and after the subject):

• Min bror tager ikke bussen til skolen. With a time word fronted, the rule is the same:
• I dag tager min bror ikke bussen til skolen.

How do I ask “Does your brother take the bus to school?” in Danish?

Yes/no questions invert subject and verb:

• Tager din bror bussen til skolen?

How do I say “my older/younger brother”?

• min storebror = my older/big brother
• min lillebror = my younger/little brother

What are the other forms of bror (brother)?

• Indefinite singular: en bror
• Definite singular: broren (also broderen is possible but more formal/old-fashioned)
• Indefinite plural: brødre
• Definite plural: brødrene With possessives, don’t add a definite ending: say min bror, not min broren.

How do I say it in the past or future, or show habit?

• Past: Min bror tog bussen til skolen. (took)
• Present perfect: Min bror har taget bussen til skolen. (has taken)
• Habit: Min bror plejer at tage bussen til skolen. (usually)
• Future: Min bror vil tage bussen… / Min bror skal tage bussen… (context decides which is better)

Any quick pronunciation tips for this sentence?

• tager: the written “g” is silent; say roughly “TA-er.”
• bror: the Danish r is uvular (back-of-the-throat); vowel is long.
• bussen: stress the first syllable: “BOO-sen.”
• skolen: “SKO-len,” with clear sk (not “sh”). Don’t worry about being perfect—clear vowels and soft final -en will already sound much more Danish.

Can I drop the destination if it’s understood?

Yes. Min bror tager bussen is fine if the destination is clear from context. Adding til skolen simply specifies where he’s going.