der Bus: gender, plural and examples

The idea

Use der Bus for the nominative singular, den Bus for the accusative, dem Bus for the dative, and des Busses for the genitive. In the dative plural use den Bussen.

Patterns to compare

Kasus	Singular	Plural
Nominativ	der Bus	die Busse
Akkusativ	den Bus	die Busse
Dativ	dem Bus	den Bussen
Genitiv	des Busses	der Busse

Meaning and useful combinations

Bus forms Busse and Busses with double s. Bus fahren can describe using a bus, not only driving one.

Useful combinations: mit dem Bus fahren; den Bus nehmen; der Nachtbus. Practise each as a complete phrase; the article belongs to the noun even when an adjective comes between them.

Article check: nominative singular

• die Bus → der Bus

  This check asks for the nominative singular: der Bus. In the meaning taught here, Bus is masculine. The nominative plural is die Busse. Learn both forms together; an English translation does not determine German gender.

Examples

• Der Bus zur Universität fährt gleich ab.The bus to the university is about to leave.
• Ich nehme den Bus um sieben Uhr zehn.I take the bus at ten past seven.
• Im Bus ist heute kein Sitzplatz frei.There are no seats available on the bus today.
• Die Anzeige des Busses zeigt die Endhaltestelle.The bus display shows the final stop.
• Die Busse fahren während des Festes eine andere Route.The buses follow a different route during the festival.
• In den Bussen gibt es Platz für Kinderwagen.There is space for pushchairs on the buses.

Watch out

Do not transfer the gender of a translated word into German. The basic learning pair is der Bus — die Busse. Bus forms Busse and Busses with double s. Bus fahren can describe using a bus, not only driving one.

Try it yourself

1. ___ Bus (der / die / das)

   Show answer or example answer

   der

   der: Bus is masculine.

2. Plural: der Bus → die ___

   Show answer or example answer

   Busse

   Busse: the plural has the article die in the nominative and accusative.

3. Dativ Singular: mit ___ Bus (dem / der)

   Show answer or example answer

   dem

   dem: mit takes the dative, giving mit dem Bus.

Use it today

Read the six situations, identify Bus and its forms, then complete the article, plural and dative checks without looking at the table.