Finding the right bus | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Der Bus ist da.

   The bus is here.

   Bus

   bus

   ist

   is; be

   da

   here

   More detail

   Bus means “bus” here. The noun is masculine: der Bus (“the bus”), with plural die Busse (“the buses”). German nouns are capitalized. Example: Der Bus kommt. — “The bus is coming.” ist is the third-person singular present form of sein (“to be”): ich bin, du bist, er/sie/es ist. Here it connects the bus with its location or presence. Example: Der Zug ist da. — “The train is here.” da means “here” in this utterance, indicating that the bus is present at the relevant place. In other contexts, da can refer to a place as “there”; hier is another common word for “here.” The intended meaning here is fixed by the translation. Together, Der Bus (“the bus”), ist (“is”), and da (“here”) form the complete sentence: “The bus is here.”

2. Glaubst du, das ist der richtige Bus?

   Do you think this is the right bus?

   Glaubst du

   do you think

   das

   this

   ist

   is

   richtige

   right; correct

   Bus

   bus

   More detail

   Glaubst du means “do you think?” The verb is glauben (“to believe; to think”), and glaubst is its present-tense form for du. In a yes/no question, the conjugated verb comes before the subject: Glaubst du ...? Compare the statement Du glaubst ... (“You think ...”). das means “this” here. It is a demonstrative pronoun, so it points to something understood from the situation; the fixed translation identifies that thing as the bus being considered. German also uses das as a definite article (“the”) and as a relative or personal pronoun in other contexts, so its function must be read from the sentence. Example: Ist das dein Bus? — “Is that your bus?” ist is the third-person singular present form of sein (“to be”). The base form is sein; its present forms include ich bin, du bist, and er/sie/es ist. Here ist links das with the noun phrase der richtige Bus. richtige comes from the adjective richtig (“right; correct”). It describes Bus and means that the bus is the correct one for the intended journey. The ending -e appears here because richtig follows the masculine nominative definite noun phrase der Bus: der richtige Bus. This is an adjective ending, not a form of the noun. Example: Das ist die richtige Adresse. — “That is the correct address.” Bus is the noun “bus.” Its plural is Busse: ein Bus, zwei Busse (“one bus,” “two buses”). In this sentence, Bus is masculine, shown by der in der richtige Bus; the noun itself is capitalized because German nouns are capitalized. Together, Glaubst du introduces a yes/no question about the speaker’s judgment. das ist der richtige Bus says “this is the correct bus,” with ist connecting “this” to the descriptive noun phrase. The complete utterance is: “Do you think this is the right bus?”

3. Fragen wir den Fahrer, bevor wir einsteigen.

   Let's ask the driver before we get on.

   Fragen wir

   let’s ask

   Fahrer

   driver

   bevor

   before

   einsteigen

   get on

   More detail

   Fragen wir means “let’s ask.” fragen is the base form “to ask”; wir fragen is the present-tense form with wir, but German can put the verb first in this kind of first-person-plural suggestion: Fragen wir ... = “Let’s ask ...”. This is different from a normal statement such as Wir fragen den Fahrer (“We ask the driver”). Fahrer means “driver.” The full noun phrase is den Fahrer: den marks the masculine singular accusative here, because the driver is the person being asked. Fahrer itself has the same form in the singular nominative and accusative: der Fahrer (“the driver,” subject) versus den Fahrer (“the driver,” object). German commonly uses jemanden fragen—literally “ask someone”—with an accusative object. bevor means “before” and introduces a subordinate clause. In a German bevor clause, the finite verb goes to the end: bevor wir einsteigen = “before we get on.” einsteigen means “to get in/on” a vehicle. It is a separable verb in other clause types: Wir steigen ein (“We get on”). After bevor, the verb remains together at the end of the subordinate clause: bevor wir einsteigen. The opposite action is commonly expressed by aussteigen, “to get out/off.” Together, Fragen wir den Fahrer gives the suggestion “Let’s ask the driver,” and bevor wir einsteigen specifies when: “before we get on.” The complete utterance is therefore “Let’s ask the driver before we get on.”

4. Entschuldigung, fährt dieser Bus zum Bahnhof?

   Excuse me, does this bus go to the station?

   Entschuldigung

   Excuse me

   fährt

   goes

   dieser

   this

   Bus

   bus

   zum

   to the

   Bahnhof

   station

   More detail

   Entschuldigung is a conventional polite way to get someone’s attention or begin a question: “Excuse me.” It is also used in other situations for “apology” or “sorry,” but here it is an attention-getter. fährt comes from fahren, “to travel/go,” especially by a vehicle. fährt is the present-tense form for er/sie/es; the subject here is the singular noun Bus. Example: Der Zug fährt nach Berlin. — “The train goes to Berlin.” For a person walking, German normally uses gehen instead. dieser means “this” and agrees with the noun it modifies. In this sentence, dieser Bus is the singular masculine subject, so the demonstrative has the masculine nominative form dieser. Related forms include diese with feminine or plural nouns and dieses with neuter singular nouns; the form also changes with grammatical case. Bus is the masculine noun “bus”: der Bus. Its plural is die Busse. In dieser Bus, it is the subject of fährt, so the sentence asks about the movement of this particular bus. zum is the contraction of zu dem, meaning “to the.” The preposition zu takes the dative case, and dem is the masculine/neuter singular dative form of the definite article. The contraction is very common: zum Bahnhof, “to the station.” Bahnhof means “railway station” or “train station.” It is masculine: der Bahnhof; its plural is die Bahnhöfe. Here, zum Bahnhof expresses the destination of the bus. In a German yes/no question, the conjugated verb commonly comes first: Fährt dieser Bus ...? The subject dieser Bus follows it, and zum Bahnhof names the destination. Together with the opening Entschuldigung, the utterance means: “Excuse me, does this bus go to the station?”

5. Der Bahnhof ist die letzte Haltestelle.

   The station is the last stop.

   Bahnhof

   station

   ist

   is

   letzte

   last

   Haltestelle

   stop

   More detail

   Bahnhof means “station” here. It is a masculine noun: der Bahnhof; its plural is die Bahnhöfe. In the sentence, Der Bahnhof is the subject, “the station.” ist is the third-person singular present form of sein (“to be”): ich bin, du bist, er/sie/es ist. It links the subject with information identifying or describing it. letzte means “last” here. It is the adjective letzt- with an ending matching the feminine noun phrase die letzte Haltestelle: feminine singular with the definite article die. Compare der letzte Zug (“the last train”), das letzte Wort (“the last word”), and die letzten Züge (“the last trains”). Haltestelle means “stop” or “station” in the sense of a place where a bus or other public transport stops. It is feminine: die Haltestelle; its plural is die Haltestellen. Together, Der Bahnhof (“the station”) is connected by ist (“is”) to die letzte Haltestelle (“the last stop”). Thus the whole utterance means “The station is the last stop.”

6. Dann ist das der richtige Bus.

   Then this is the right bus.

   Dann

   then

   ist

   is

   das

   this

   richtige

   right; correct

   Bus

   bus

   More detail

   Dann means “then” here: it connects this statement to a time or conclusion established in the surrounding situation. It is a temporal adverb and does not change form. ist is the third-person singular present form of sein (“to be”). The reusable pattern is X ist Y = “X is Y.” Other present forms include ich bin, du bist, and wir sind; ist is used with a third-person singular subject. das means “this” here. It is a demonstrative pronoun used as the subject of the identification. German also has the demonstrative forms dieser, diese, and dieses; the appropriate form depends on grammatical gender, number, and case. In this utterance, the fixed translation supports the reading “this.” richtige comes from the adjective richtig, meaning “right” or “correct.” Here it describes which bus is intended: the correct bus, not merely a bus that is physically right-sided. In der richtige Bus, the adjective has the ending -e because it follows the definite article der in the masculine nominative singular. Its comparison is richtiger (“more correct/right”) and am richtigsten (“most correct/right”) when comparison is appropriate. Bus is the noun “bus.” Its base form is der Bus; the plural is die Busse. In this sentence it is the masculine singular noun in the phrase der richtige Bus. Together, Dann ist das der richtige Bus has the structure Dann + ist + das + der richtige Bus: “Then this is the right bus.” Dann places the identification in the relevant sequence or moment; das identifies “this,” and der richtige Bus names it as the correct bus. The sentence is a neutral everyday identification.

7. Steigen wir ein und gehen weiter nach hinten.

   Let's get on and move farther inside.

   Steigen wir ein

   let’s get on

   gehen

   go; move

   weiter

   farther; onward

   nach hinten

   toward the back

   More detail

   Steigen wir ein is a first-person plural suggestion: “let’s get on.” The verb is the separable verb einsteigen (“to get on/in”); in this form, steigen comes first and the prefix ein appears at the end. The subject wir means “we,” including the speaker and at least one other person. In a suggestion, this word order is a common German way to express “let’s …”: Gehen wir! = “Let’s go!” gehen means “go” or “move.” Here it is coordinated with the first suggestion and shares the understood subject wir: “and let’s go/move.” Its base form is gehen; the form does not show a separate ending here because it is used in this suggestion pattern. Example: Gehen wir nach Hause. — “Let’s go home.” weiter means “farther” or “onward.” It indicates continuation or additional movement, so gehen weiter means “move farther” or “continue.” Compare weitergehen (“to continue walking/moving”) with stehen bleiben (“to stop and remain standing”); in this sentence, weiter remains a separate adverb after gehen. nach hinten means “toward the back.” nach marks the direction, and hinten means “at/in the back.” Together they form a directional phrase. Example: Gehen Sie nach hinten. — “Go toward the back.” The phrase does not itself specify an exact endpoint. Putting the parts together, Steigen wir ein gives the first suggestion, “let’s get on,” and gehen weiter nach hinten adds the coordinated suggestion to continue moving toward the back: “Let’s get on and move farther inside.” In the bus context, “inside” is the intended natural English rendering of movement toward the back; the German wording literally points toward the back.

8. Ich stelle mich in die Mitte des Busses.

   I'll stand near the middle.

   stelle mich

   position myself

   Mitte

   middle

   Busses

   bus

   More detail

   stelle mich comes from sich stellen, “to position oneself” or “to stand/put oneself somewhere.” stelle is the first-person singular present form of stellen, used with Ich; mich is the accusative reflexive pronoun referring back to Ich. The present tense can describe a planned or immediate future action here, matching “I’ll stand.” Example: Ich stelle mich an die Tür. — “I’ll stand by the door.” Mitte means “middle” or “center.” It is the feminine noun die Mitte; after in here, it appears as die Mitte, because the phrase describes movement or positioning into a destination. The noun’s form itself does not change in the accusative: die Mitte. Busses is the genitive singular form of der Bus, “bus.” The ending marks the bus as the thing whose middle is meant: die Mitte des Busses = “the middle of the bus.” The genitive article des and the ending in Busses show this possessive relation. The pattern in die Mitte des Busses combines in with the accusative destination die Mitte and the genitive phrase des Busses. Literally, it means “into the middle of the bus”; in this context, “near the middle” is the intended natural translation. Thus Ich stelle mich in die Mitte des Busses. means “I’ll stand near the middle of the bus.”