Breakdown of Der Schüler geht nach der Grundschule auf ein Gymnasium.
gehen
to go
nach
after
der
the; (feminine, dative)
auf
to
Questions & Answers about Der Schüler geht nach der Grundschule auf ein Gymnasium.
Why is it der Schüler and what exactly does Schüler mean?
Schüler means a school pupil (usually at primary or secondary school level), not a university student. It’s grammatically masculine, so the nominative singular article is der.
- der Schüler = the (male) pupil
There is also a separate word die Schülerin for a female pupil.
You can often tell singular vs. plural from the article: - der Schüler = the pupil (singular)
- die Schüler = the pupils (plural)
How can I see that Schüler is singular here and not plural?
The noun Schüler has the same form in nominative singular and nominative plural. You know it is singular here because of the article der:
- der Schüler = singular (the pupil)
- die Schüler = plural (the pupils)
So in this sentence, Der Schüler clearly refers to one pupil.
Why is it geht and not geht zu / besucht? Can gehen mean “to attend (a school)”?