بينما كنت أنتظر الحافلة، كانت جارتي تقرأ صحيفة قرب المحطة.

بينما means while here. It introduces a clause that gives the background time for another action.

So in this sentence:

بينما كنت أنتظر الحافلة
= While I was waiting for the bus

It sets up the time frame for the second action:

كانت جارتي تقرأ صحيفة قرب المحطة
= my neighbor was reading a newspaper near the station

In MSA, بينما is a common way to connect two actions happening at the same time.

Because Arabic is expressing an action that was in progress in the past: I was waiting.

• كنت = I was
• أنتظر = I wait / I am waiting

Together, كنت أنتظر means I was waiting.

If Arabic used a simple past verb instead, it would suggest a completed action, more like I waited, which is not the same as the English meaning here.

So this pattern:

كان / كانت + المضارع

often corresponds to English was/were doing.

For the same reason: it describes an ongoing action in the past.

• كانت = she was
• تقرأ = she reads / is reading

So:

كانت جارتي تقرأ
means
my neighbor was reading

This shows that both actions were happening at the same time in the past:

• I was waiting
• she was reading

Because جارتي means my female neighbor, so the subject is feminine singular.

Arabic past-tense كان changes for gender:

• كان = he was
• كانت = she was

Since جارتي refers to a woman, Arabic uses كانت.

جارتي means my female neighbor.

It is made up of:

• جارة = female neighbor
• ـي = my

So:

جارتي = my neighbor (female)

If the neighbor were male, you would normally say:

• جارِي = my male neighbor

This sentence specifically uses the feminine form.

Because Arabic verbs already show the subject.

In كنت, the ending tells you the subject is I:

• كنتُ = I was
• كنتَ = you were (masculine)
• كنتِ = you were (feminine)

So Arabic usually does not need to add أنا unless you want emphasis.

That means:

• كنت أنتظر = I was waiting
• أنا كنت أنتظر = I was waiting / I was waiting (more emphasis)

This is a very important Arabic pattern.

Arabic often uses:

كان / كانت + present-tense verb

to express an ongoing or habitual action in the past.

So:

• كنت أنتظر = I was waiting
• كانت تقرأ = she was reading

Even though English uses was + -ing, Arabic uses كان plus the imperfect/present verb.

الحافلة means the bus.

It has الـ because it is definite. In context, this usually means a specific bus the speaker is expecting, or simply the bus as understood from the situation.

So:

• حافلة = a bus
• الحافلة = the bus

Arabic often uses the definite article in places where English also does.

Because صحيفة here means a newspaper, not the newspaper.

So:

• صحيفة = a newspaper
• الصحيفة = the newspaper

The sentence presents it as an indefinite object: she was reading a newspaper.

قرب المحطة means near the station.

• قرب = near
• المحطة = the station

Together they form a prepositional or location phrase that tells you where the reading was happening.

So:

كانت جارتي تقرأ صحيفة قرب المحطة
= My neighbor was reading a newspaper near the station

It modifies the action تقرأ.

In sentences like this, it functions like one in meaning: near.

You can think of قرب المحطة as a location expression meaning near the station.

Learners will often meet قرب used this way very early, even though grammarians may analyze it more precisely depending on context. For practical reading purposes, understanding it as near is exactly right here.

Arabic allows more than one word order.

This sentence uses a common verbal pattern:

• كانت جارتي تقرأ

But Arabic could also say:

• جارتي كانت تقرأ

Both are understandable. The version in your sentence begins the clause with the verb, which is very common in MSA.

So the structure is natural and standard.

With full case and mood endings, it would typically be written as:

بينما كنتُ أنتظرُ الحافلةَ، كانتْ جارتي تقرأُ صحيفةً قربَ المحطةِ.

A quick breakdown:

• كنتُ = final ـُ for I
• أنتظرُ = indicative ending
• الحافلةَ = direct object, accusative
• كانتْ = feminine singular past
• تقرأُ = indicative
• صحيفةً = indefinite direct object, accusative
• قربَ = often appears with fatḥah in full vocalization
• المحطةِ = genitive after قرب

In normal unvocalized MSA writing, these endings are usually omitted.

Yes, sometimes. A common alternative is فيما or simply restructuring the sentence, depending on style.

But بينما is very natural for while when two past actions are happening at the same time.

So this sentence sounds smooth and standard as it is.

The sentence has two past continuous-style clauses:

1. بينما كنت أنتظر الحافلة
   = while I was waiting for the bus

2. كانت جارتي تقرأ صحيفة قرب المحطة
   = my neighbor was reading a newspaper near the station

So the full pattern is:

بينما + كان + imperfect verb, كان + subject + imperfect verb

This is a very useful model for talking about two simultaneous actions in the past.