Breakdown of يصل القطار إلى المحطة الآن.
الal
the
الآنal-ân
now
إلىilâ
to
قطارqitâr
train
محطةmahatta
station
وصلwasala
to arrive
Questions & Answers about يصل القطار إلى المحطة الآن.
Why does the verb يصل not have a و (waaw) in it, if the root for 'to arrive' is وصل?
This is exactly what happens with 'assimilated verbs' like وصل. When a root starts with و (waaw), that first letter usually drops out entirely in the present tense. So instead of 'yawṣilu', the word becomes يصل (yaṣilu).
In English we say 'arrives at the station'. Why does the Arabic use إلى (to)?
In Arabic, the verb وصل (to arrive) always pairs with the preposition إلى to show the destination. It is helpful to think of it literally as 'arriving to' a place.
Why does the sentence start with the verb يصل instead of the subject القطار?
Arabic sentences very often start with the verb. This is called a verbal sentence. While you could say القطار يصل (The train arrives), putting the verb first as يصل القطار is the most common and natural word order in Modern Standard Arabic.
What vowel ending does المحطة (the station) take here?
It takes a kasra (an 'i' sound) at the end, making it al-maḥaṭṭati. This happens because it directly follows the preposition إلى, which makes the noun genitive.
Learn يصل القطار إلى المحطة الآن and more in Arabic
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free