Ich fahre mit dem Zug in die Hauptstadt.

in

Breakdown of Ich fahre mit dem Zug in die Hauptstadt.

• dem: the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
• ich: I
• mit: with

Questions & Answers about Ich fahre mit dem Zug in die Hauptstadt.

Why does mit take the dative case, turning der Zug into dem Zug?

In German, the preposition mit always requires the dative case. The noun Zug is masculine, so its article der becomes dem in the dative: mit dem Zug means “by train.”

Why is in die Hauptstadt in the accusative case instead of dative?

The preposition in can govern either dative or accusative. Use dative for location (where something is), and accusative for movement toward a place (where something is going). Since you are traveling into the capital, you need the accusative: in die Hauptstadt (“into the capital”).

Why is Hauptstadt feminine, and how do I know which article to use?

Many German nouns ending in -stadt are feminine (for example, die Stadt, die Hauptstadt). Unfortunately, gender often must be memorized with each noun. A helpful technique is to learn new vocabulary together with its definite article (die, der, or das).

Why use fahren instead of reisen in this sentence?