Learn Hardcore German: Wir warten am Bahnhof, aber andere gehen nach Hause. - We are waiting at the train station, but others are going home.

am is the contraction of an dem.
an is a two-way preposition. With location (where?), it takes the dative: an dem Bahnhof → am Bahnhof.
With motion toward a place (where to?), you’d theoretically use the accusative (an den Bahnhof), but in everyday German people usually say zum Bahnhof instead.

Why am Bahnhof and not im Bahnhof, beim Bahnhof, or auf dem Bahnhof?

am Bahnhof: at/by the station area (neutral default if you don’t care whether you’re inside or just outside).
im Bahnhof: inside the station building (e.g., in the concourse).
beim Bahnhof: near the station, in the vicinity.
auf dem Bahnhof: regional/colloquial for “at the station”; standard choices are am or im. If you mean the platform, say auf dem Bahnsteig.

Does warten need auf? Should it be warten auf something?

If you’re just “waiting (somewhere),” warten can stand alone: Wir warten am Bahnhof.
If you specify what you’re waiting for, use warten auf + Accusative:
- Wir warten am Bahnhof auf den Zug.
- Ich warte auf dich.

What’s the difference between nach Hause and zu Hause?

Why does Hause have an -e and a capital letter?

The -e is a historical dative ending preserved in the fixed expressions nach Hause and zu Hause.
It’s capitalized because it comes from the noun Haus.
You may see Zuhause (one word) when used as a standalone noun meaning “home”: Mein Zuhause ist gemütlich.

Why is it andere and not die anderen?

andere (no article) means “others” in a general, nonspecific sense.
die anderen means “the others,” a specific group already known in the context.
Both can be correct depending on what you want to say:
- General: …, aber andere gehen nach Hause.
- Specific group: …, aber die anderen gehen nach Hause.

Why andere (not anderen) here?

andere is nominative plural and functions as the subject of gehen.
You’d use anderen in the dative plural (e.g., mit anderen) or after a definite article which triggers the weak ending: die anderen gehen.
- Nominative plural (no article): Andere gehen …
- Accusative plural (no article): Ich treffe andere.
- Dative plural: mit anderen / mit den anderen

Do I need a comma before aber?

Yes. When aber links two independent clauses, German requires a comma:

Wir warten am Bahnhof, aber andere gehen nach Hause. (With und/oder, the comma can be optional; with aber/sondern/denn, it’s required.)

Why aber and not sondern?

aber = “but/however,” expressing contrast without negation.
sondern = “but rather,” used only after a negation to correct/replace something:
- Wir warten nicht am Bahnhof, sondern zu Hause.

Does aber change the word order?

No. aber is a coordinating conjunction; both clauses keep normal main-clause word order (finite verb in the second position):

Wir warten …, aber andere gehen … By contrast, a subordinating conjunction like weil sends the finite verb to the end: …, weil andere nach Hause gehen.

Should it be gehen or fahren to say “go home”?

Literally, gehen means “to walk.” In everyday German, Ich gehe nach Hause is a very common way to say “I’m going home,” even if you’ll ride.
If you want to highlight the mode of transport, use:
- fahren (by vehicle): Sie fahren nach Hause.
- laufen (run/jog; in some regions also “walk”): Er läuft nach Hause.
- You’ll also hear heimgehen/heimfahren as synonyms.

Can I say Station instead of Bahnhof?

For train stations, the neutral, normal word is Bahnhof.
Station appears in compounds like U-Bahn-Station or in technical/official names, and it also means “ward” in a hospital (die Station).
For buses/trams, use Haltestelle (stop).

How do I say “We’re going to the station”?

Wir gehen/fahren zum Bahnhof. (zum = zu dem, dative)
If you mean entering the building, you can say in den Bahnhof (accusative, motion into).
an den Bahnhof is grammatically possible but uncommon in everyday speech; zum Bahnhof is the idiomatic choice.

Why is Wir capitalized but andere lowercase?

Wir is capitalized only because it starts the sentence; otherwise it’s wir.
andere is an indefinite pronoun here and stays lowercase: … aber andere gehen …
You might see uppercase in special cases like the philosophical das Andere (“the Other”) or in titles, but in normal writing it’s die anderen.