Question 1

Why is Le bus used instead of Un bus?

Accepted Answer

Le is the definite article (“the”) and is used when both speaker and listener know which bus is meant. You’d use Un bus (“a bus”) only if you were mentioning it for the first time or speaking of any bus in general.

Question 2

Why isn’t there a subject pronoun like Il before arrive?

Accepted Answer

In French, you can place the noun (Le bus) directly before the verb as its subject. There’s no need for Il because Le bus already fills that role. You could say Il arrive if you’d already established that you were talking about the bus.

Question 3

Why is the verb arrive spelled without an “s,” unlike English “arrives”?

Accepted Answer

French verbs of the first group (ending in -er) form the 3rd-person singular present simple by dropping -er and adding -e. So for arriver:  
• je j’arrive  
• tu arrives  
• il/elle arrive  
The extra -s appears in tu and ils/elles, not in il/elle.

Question 4

What tense is arrive, and can you show the full present tense conjugation of arriver?

Accepted Answer

It’s the présent de l’indicatif. Full conjugation:  
• je j’arrive  
• tu arrives  
• il/elle arrive  
• nous arrivons  
• vous arrivez  
• ils/elles arrivent

Question 5

What does the preposition à mean here?

Accepted Answer

Here à means “at” (or sometimes “to”) after a verb of motion. Arriver à translates as “arrive at” a place: “the bus arrives at the stop.”

Question 6

Why is it à l’arrêt and not au arrêt or à le arrêt?

Accepted Answer

French contracts à + le into au before consonants, but before a vowel or mute h, you use à l’ + vowel-starting word. Since arrêt begins with a, you write à l’arrêt (not au arrêt).

Question 7

What exactly does arrêt mean, and can you say arrêt de bus?

Accepted Answer

Arrêt means “stop.” In context it means “stop” as in bus stop. Arrêt de bus is the full phrase for “bus stop.” When you say à l’arrêt, you’re abbreviating à l’arrêt de bus (“at the bus stop”).

Question 8

Why does à have a grave accent, and how is it different from a without an accent?

Accepted Answer

À with a grave accent is the preposition “at/to.” A without an accent is the third‐person singular present of avoir (“has”). Accent marks help distinguish them:  
• Il a (“He has…”)  
• Il va à (“He goes to/arrives at…”)

Question 9

How do you pronounce Le bus arrive à l’arrêt?

Accepted Answer

In IPA: [lə bys aʁiv a laʁɛ]. Roughly:  
• Le → “luh” ([lə])  
• bus → “buss” ([bys])  
• arrive → “ah-reev” ([aʁiv], silent final e)  
• à → “ah” ([a])  
• l’arrêt → “lah-reht” ([laʁɛ])  
Note that borrowed words like bus keep their final s sound, and there is no mandatory liaison here.

Le bus arrive à l'arrêt.

Breakdown of Le bus arrive à l'arrêt.

Questions & Answers about Le bus arrive à l'arrêt.

More from this lesson

Master French — from Le bus arrive à l'arrêt to fluency