Der Bus fährt am Bahnhof vorbei.

The bus drives past the train station.

Breakdown of Der Bus fährt am Bahnhof vorbei.

• fahren: to drive
• der Bus: the bus
• der Bahnhof: the train station
• an ... vorbei: past

Questions & Answers about Der Bus fährt am Bahnhof vorbei.

What does am stand for here?

It’s the contraction of an dem. an means “at/by,” and dem is the dative masculine article for Bahnhof. So am Bahnhof = “at/by the station” (here: “past the station” because of vorbei).

Why is Bahnhof in the dative case?

With this construction, German uses the pattern an + dative + vorbei to mark the fixed reference point you pass. Since Bahnhof is masculine, dative is dem Bahnhof, which contracts to am Bahnhof.

What role does vorbei play, and why is it at the end?

vorbei is the separable particle of the verb vorbeifahren (“to drive past”). In main clauses, the particle goes to the clause-final position: Der Bus fährt … vorbei. In subordinate clauses it reattaches: … dass der Bus am Bahnhof vorbeifährt. With a modal, the full infinitive is at the end: Der Bus will am Bahnhof vorbeifahren. In a yes/no question: Fährt der Bus am Bahnhof vorbei?

How do I say this in the past?

• Simple past: Der Bus fuhr am Bahnhof vorbei.
• Present perfect (common in speech): Der Bus ist am Bahnhof vorbeigefahren. Note the participle: for separable verbs the ge- goes between the particle and the stem: vorbei + ge + fahren → vorbeigefahren. Use sein as the auxiliary for this intransitive motion.

Can I say an dem Bahnhof instead of am Bahnhof?

Yes. am is the everyday contraction of an dem. Both are correct; the full form can sound a bit more formal or emphatic.

Can I use bei instead of an (beim Bahnhof)?

Not with vorbei. The idiomatic combination is an … vorbei. bei means “near/at” and doesn’t combine with vorbei to mean “past.”

Why is it fährt and not fahrt?

fahren is irregular. Present tense:

• ich fahre
• du fährst
• er/sie/es fährt
• wir fahren
• ihr fahrt
• sie/Sie fahren Third person singular takes the umlaut: fährt.

Could I say Der Bus fährt vorbei am Bahnhof?

Possible but marked. The neutral, most common frame is an … vorbei: Der Bus fährt am Bahnhof vorbei. Fronting vorbei adds special emphasis.

How would this look with a pronoun instead of Bahnhof?

Use an + dative pronoun:

• an mir/dir/ihm/ihr/uns/euch/ihnen vorbei Example: Der Bus fährt an ihm vorbei.

Does this sentence imply the bus doesn’t stop at the station?

Usually yes—an … vorbeifahren suggests passing without stopping. To be explicit: Der Bus fährt am Bahnhof vorbei, ohne zu halten.

What’s the difference between am Bahnhof vorbei and durch den Bahnhof?

• an … vorbei = past/by the outside or the vicinity, not through the interior.
• durch … = through the inside/grounds. For a bus, durch den Bahnhof is unusual; am Bahnhof vorbei is the natural choice.

How is this different from entlang?

• entlangfahren = drive along something, parallel to it (e.g., die Straße entlangfahren).
• vorbeifahren (an …) = pass by a specific point/landmark. You might hear am Fluss entlang; am Bahnhof entlang is rarer because a station isn’t a long, linear feature. You’d more likely say die Bahnhofstraße entlang.

How would I negate this sentence?

Two common options:

• Der Bus fährt nicht am Bahnhof vorbei. (He doesn’t pass the station.)
• Der Bus fährt am Bahnhof nicht vorbei. (Emphasis on “not past”—maybe he goes into it or stops there.) In everyday speech, the first is more typical.

Can am Bahnhof be moved to the front?

Yes: Am Bahnhof fährt der Bus vorbei. German main clauses are verb‑second, so moving the place phrase to the front puts the verb second and the subject after it.

Is an always dative here? Don’t two‑way prepositions sometimes take accusative?

With vorbei, treat it as fixed: an + dative + vorbei. You’re referencing a location you pass, not a destination you move into, so dative is used.

Are there synonyms for vorbei here?

• vorüber (fahren) is a formal/literary synonym: Der Bus fährt am Bahnhof vorüber.
• passieren (“to pass”) takes an accusative object: Der Bus passiert den Bahnhof. This sounds formal/technical; in everyday speech, (an …) vorbeifahren is preferred.

Why are Bus and Bahnhof capitalized?

All German nouns are capitalized, hence der Bus, der Bahnhof.

What’s the difference between am Bahnhof and zum Bahnhof?

• am Bahnhof = at/by the station (location).
• zum Bahnhof = to the station (direction; contraction of zu dem).

Can I say Der Bus fährt den Bahnhof vorbei?

No. vorbeifahren is intransitive here and requires the prepositional phrase an + dative, not a direct object. Say: Der Bus fährt am Bahnhof vorbei.