Die Kinder sitzen hinten im Bus.

The children sit in the back of the bus.

Breakdown of Die Kinder sitzen hinten im Bus.

• das Kind: the child
• sitzen: to sit
• der Bus: the bus
• im: in the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
• hinten: in the back

Questions & Answers about Die Kinder sitzen hinten im Bus.

Why is it die Kinder and not something like der Kinder or den Kindern?

Kinder is the plural of das Kind (child).

• In this sentence, Kinder is the subject.
• In German, plural nouns take the article die in the nominative case (for all genders).

So:

• das Kind sitzt … – the child sits … (singular, nominative)
• die Kinder sitzen … – the children sit … (plural, nominative)

Forms like den Kindern are dative plural and would be used when to/for the children is meant, not when they are the subject.

Why do we use sitzen here instead of something with sein (like sind)?

German usually uses a main “content verb” where English might use to be + -ing.

• English: The children are sitting …
• German: Die Kinder sitzen … (literally: the children sit …)

You only use sein (sind) as a main verb in German when you want to say where or how something is in a very general way:

• Die Kinder sind im Bus. – The children are on the bus. (no posture)
• Die Kinder sitzen im Bus. – The children are sitting on the bus. (posture is expressed)

So sitzen specifically expresses the sitting position.

Why is the verb in second position: Die Kinder sitzen hinten im Bus and not Die Kinder hinten sitzen im Bus?

German main clauses follow the verb-second (V2) rule:

• The conjugated verb (sitzen) must be the second element in the sentence.
• The first “slot” can be one element (subject, time phrase, place phrase, etc.).

Here:

1. First element: Die Kinder (subject)
2. Second element: sitzen (conjugated verb)
3. Rest: hinten im Bus (adverbials)

Die Kinder hinten sitzen im Bus breaks the V2 rule because sitzen is no longer in the second position.

What exactly does hinten mean here?

hinten is an adverb meaning at the back / in the back (part).

In this sentence:

• hinten im Bus = in the back of the bus / at the back in the bus

Important contrasts:

• hinten – at the back (static position)
• nach hinten – to the back (movement towards the back)

Examples:

• Die Kinder sitzen hinten. – The children are sitting at the back.
• Die Kinder gehen nach hinten. – The children go to the back.

Is hinten an adjective describing Bus?

No. Here hinten is an adverb describing where the children sit, not a word directly modifying Bus.

If you wanted an adjective describing Bus, you’d use hinter plus an adjective form:

• im hinteren Teil des Busses – in the back part of the bus
• in der hintersten Reihe – in the very back row

In hinten im Bus, hinten works like “at the back” and im Bus like “in the bus”; together they form a more specific location.

Could I also say Die Kinder sitzen im Bus hinten? Is that wrong?

Die Kinder sitzen im Bus hinten is grammatically correct, just less neutral in style.

• Die Kinder sitzen hinten im Bus.
  – The default, natural order: more like “The children are sitting at the back in the bus.”

• Die Kinder sitzen im Bus hinten.
  – Possible, but the focus feels slightly more on im Bus first, then specifying hinten. It can sound a bit more spoken, slightly marked in emphasis.

Both are understood the same in most contexts. The original sentence is the most standard-sounding order.

Why is it im Bus and not in dem Bus?

im is just the standard contraction of in + dem:

• in + dem Bus → im Bus

This contraction is almost always used in everyday German unless you want to stress dem for emphasis (which is rare in this context). So:

• Normal: im Bus
• Very emphatic/contrasty: in dem Bus, nicht im Zug – in that bus, not on the train

Why is the preposition in (→ im) used, when in English we say “on the bus”, not “in the bus”?

German and English don’t always use the same prepositions with vehicles.

• English: on the bus, on the train, on the plane
• German: im Bus, im Zug, im Flugzeug (literally “in the bus/train/plane”)

So, for vehicles like a bus, German treats them more like closed spaces you’re in, not surfaces you’re on.

• Ich bin im Bus. – I am on the bus.
• Wir sitzen im Zug. – We are on the train.

Why is Bus in the dative case here?

The phrase im Bus comes from in dem Bus.

The preposition in can take accusative or dative:

• Accusative (movement into): in den Bus – into the bus
• Dative (location in): im Bus – in/on the bus (no movement, just location)

In this sentence, the children are not moving into the bus; they are already there and sitting. So we describe a location → use dative:

• Wo sitzen die Kinder? – Im Bus, hinten. (Where are they sitting? In the bus, at the back.)

Could I say Die Kinder sitzen hinten in dem Bus instead of hinten im Bus?

Yes, Die Kinder sitzen hinten in dem Bus is grammatically correct and means the same.

Differences:

• hinten im Bus – normal, fluent, everyday phrasing.
• hinten in dem Bus – sounds more explicit or slightly more formal/emphatic, because you don’t contract in dem to im.

In most contexts, native speakers strongly prefer hinten im Bus.

Why are Kinder and Bus capitalized, but sitzen and hinten are not?

In German:

• All nouns are capitalized:
  
  • Kinder, Bus
• Verbs, adjectives, and adverbs are not capitalized (unless they start the sentence or are turned into nouns):
  
  • sitzen (verb)
  • hinten (adverb)

So the capitalization here is exactly following the standard rule: nouns get capitals; other parts of speech don’t.

How do you pronounce sitzen, Kinder, hinten, and Bus?

A rough English-based guide (not exact IPA, but close enough for a learner):

• sitzen – ZIT-tsen

  • z in German sounds like English ts: sitzen ≈ SIT-tsen

• Kinder – KIN-der

  • K as in kid
  • r is lightly rolled or tapped in many accents

• hinten – HIN-ten

  • hin like English hin in hint (without the t)
  • ten like ten in English

• Bus – boos (like English boos said quickly, with a shorter oo)

Stressed syllables are: SIT-zen, KIN-der, HIN-ten, and the only syllable in Bus.