Question 1

Why is there a space before the exclamation mark in "Bon voyage !"?

Accepted Answer

In French, you must put a space before two-part punctuation marks like exclamation marks, question marks, colons, and semicolons. It might look like a typo to English speakers, but it is a strict rule in French writing!

Question 2

Why does the French sentence skip the words "have" and "a"?

Accepted Answer

When wishing someone a good experience, French usually drops both the verb and the article. Instead of saying the equivalent of "have a good trip", you simply say Bon voyage. You will see this exact same pattern in other common wishes like Bonne journée (Have a good day) or Bon appétit (Enjoy your meal).

Question 3

How do I know whether to use bon or bien here?

Accepted Answer

Bon translates to "good" and describes a noun, like the trip (voyage). Bien translates to "well" and describes how an action is done. Since we are describing the noun "trip", we use bon. Furthermore, because voyage is a masculine noun, we use the masculine spelling bon instead of the feminine bonne.

Question 4

Does arrive mean "arrives" or "is arriving"?

Accepted Answer

It can mean both! French does not have a separate "is doing" (present continuous) tense like English does. Depending entirely on the context, Le train arrive can translate to "The train arrives" or "The train is arriving". In this schedule context, "arrives" is the most natural translation.

Question 5

Does à always mean "at"?

Accepted Answer

Not always! The little word à is a very common preposition that can mean "to", "at", or "in" depending on the context. However, when you are talking about a specific time on the clock, like midi (noon) or trois heures (three o'clock), you always use à to mean "at".

Bon voyage ! Le train arrive à midi.

Breakdown of Bon voyage ! Le train arrive à midi.

Questions & Answers about Bon voyage ! Le train arrive à midi.

Learn Bon voyage ! Le train arrive à midi and more in French