Meine Tochter schreibt in der Schule lieber mit dem Füller als mit dem Kugelschreiber.

Meine Tochter is the subject of the sentence, so it is in the nominative case.

• meine = my
• Tochter = daughter

Because Tochter is feminine, the possessive mein becomes meine in the nominative singular.

In a normal German main clause, the finite verb goes in second position. This is often called the V2 rule.

Here the sentence begins with Meine Tochter, so the verb comes right after it:

• Meine Tochter schreibt ...

If you moved another element to the front, the verb would still stay second:

• In der Schule schreibt meine Tochter lieber mit dem Füller als mit dem Kugelschreiber.

So it is not about the verb being the second word, but the second sentence element.

Because here in der Schule means at school or in school, describing location, not movement.

With in, German uses:

• dative for location
• accusative for movement toward somewhere

So:

• in der Schule = at school / in school → location → dative
• in die Schule = into the school / to school → movement → accusative

In this sentence, the daughter is writing while she is at school, so dative is correct.

Lieber means preferably, rather, or more willingly.

It is the comparative form of gern, which is used to talk about liking doing something.

• Ich schreibe gern. = I like writing / I write gladly.
• Ich schreibe lieber mit dem Füller. = I prefer writing with a fountain pen.

So lieber does not mean dearer here. It is the adverb used to express preference.

Lieber ... als ... is a very common German pattern meaning rather ... than ... or prefer ... to ....

In this sentence:

• lieber mit dem Füller als mit dem Kugelschreiber
• with a fountain pen rather than with a ballpoint pen

You can use the same structure in many other sentences:

• Ich trinke lieber Tee als Kaffee.
  = I prefer tea to coffee.

• Sie fährt lieber Zug als Auto.
  = She prefers traveling by train rather than by car.

So als is the comparison word after lieber.

Because the preposition mit always takes the dative case.

So:

• der Füller → mit dem Füller
• der Kugelschreiber → mit dem Kugelschreiber

This is why both articles become dem. Both nouns are masculine, and masculine dative singular takes dem.

• der Füller usually means fountain pen. It is a shortened everyday form of der Füllfederhalter.
• der Kugelschreiber means ballpoint pen.

So the sentence is contrasting two writing instruments:

• a fountain pen
• a ballpoint pen

German word order is flexible, especially with adverbial phrases like in der Schule. Here it appears before lieber, but other orders are possible.

The original order sounds natural:

• Meine Tochter schreibt in der Schule lieber mit dem Füller als mit dem Kugelschreiber.

You could also say:

• Meine Tochter schreibt lieber in der Schule mit dem Füller als mit dem Kugelschreiber.

That version is possible, but it may shift the emphasis slightly. The original sentence naturally presents:

1. who is doing the action
2. where it happens
3. the preference

German often uses word order to manage focus and emphasis, not just grammar.

Because this is a single main clause. There is no subordinate clause and no separate clause needing a comma.

The phrase als mit dem Kugelschreiber is just part of the comparison with lieber, not a full clause.

So the whole sentence stays unbroken:

• Meine Tochter schreibt in der Schule lieber mit dem Füller als mit dem Kugelschreiber.

In German, all nouns are capitalized. This is a standard spelling rule.

So in this sentence:

• Tochter
• Schule
• Füller
• Kugelschreiber

all begin with capital letters because they are nouns.

This often helps learners identify the nouns in a sentence quickly.

Yes, that is grammatically possible. German allows several word orders as long as the verb stays in the correct position and the sentence remains clear.

However, the original version:

• Meine Tochter schreibt in der Schule lieber mit dem Füller als mit dem Kugelschreiber.

sounds very natural if in der Schule is just background information.

If you move in der Schule later, it can slightly change the rhythm or emphasis. German speakers often choose word order based on what they want to highlight.

In German, the simple present tense often covers both English writes and is writing, depending on context.

So Meine Tochter schreibt ... can mean:

• My daughter writes ...
• My daughter is writing ...

In this sentence, because it describes a general preference, English would usually translate it as something like:

• My daughter prefers writing with a fountain pen at school rather than with a ballpoint pen. or
• At school, my daughter prefers to write with a fountain pen rather than with a ballpoint pen.

So the German present tense is broader than the English simple present in many cases.