Learn French: Le train arrive et nous venons sur le quai. - The train is arriving and we are coming onto the platform.

In French, the present tense covers both general actions ("arrives", "comes") and actions happening right now ("is arriving", "are coming"). You don't need to add a word for "is" or "are"—arrive and venons already include that meaning!

How is the verb venir conjugated here?

venons is the nous (we) form of the irregular verb venir (to come). For the nous form, you use the stem ven- and add the standard -ons ending. Remember that other forms of this verb change their spelling more noticeably (like je viens).

Why do we use the word sur for "onto"?

The word sur generally means "on" or "upon". Just like in English where you step "on" or "onto" a train platform, in French you say you are coming on the platform (sur le quai).

How do you pronounce quai?

In French, the letters qu usually make a hard "k" sound (without a "w" sound), and ai makes an "eh" or "ay" sound. Because of this, quai is pronounced almost exactly like the English name "Kay".