Die Kinder sitzen hinten im Bus.

the child

Breakdown of Die Kinder sitzen hinten im Bus.

• sitzen: to sit
• der Bus: the bus
• im: in the; (masculine or neuter, dative)

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?