Mes parents arrivent ce soir.

My parents are arriving tonight.

Breakdown of Mes parents arrivent ce soir.

• mes: my
• arriver: to arrive
• ce soir: tonight
• le parent: the parent

Questions & Answers about Mes parents arrivent ce soir.

Why is the present tense used to talk about a future event?

French often uses the present for near-future, scheduled, or planned events, especially when a time expression like ce soir is present. It’s natural and common, much like English “are arriving tonight.” You could also say:

• Mes parents vont arriver ce soir (near future, slightly more explicit plan)
• Mes parents arriveront ce soir (simple future, a bit more formal or neutral in time)

Why is it mes parents and not mon or ma?

Because parents is plural. French possessives agree with the noun they modify, not with the owner.

• Singular: mon père, ma mère
• Plural: mes parents (plural regardless of gender)

Why is the verb arrivent and not arrive? How is arriver conjugated?

The subject mes parents is third-person plural, so the verb is arrivent. Present-tense conjugation of the regular -er verb arriver:

• j’arrive
• tu arrives
• il/elle/on arrive
• nous arrivons
• vous arrivez
• ils/elles arrivent Note: the -ent ending in arrivent is silent.

How do you pronounce the sentence? Any silent letters or liaisons?

Approximate IPA: [me paʁɑ̃ zaʁiv sə swaʁ]

• mes: [me] (final -s silent)
• parents: [paʁɑ̃] (final -ts silent)
• Liaison: parents arrivent → [paʁɑ̃z‿aʁiv] (you hear a [z])
• arrivent: [aʁiv] (final -ent silent)
• ce: [sə]
• soir: [swaʁ] No liaison between arrivent and ce (next word starts with consonant).

What’s the difference between ce soir, cette nuit, soirée, dans la soirée, and ce soir-là?

• ce soir: this evening/tonight (early evening through bedtime)
• cette nuit: tonight during the night (while people sleep)
• la soirée: the evening as a duration or an event (e.g., a party)
• dans la soirée: later/sometime in the evening
• ce soir-là: that evening (in the past or future narrative)

Can I use venir instead of arriver here? What’s the nuance?

• arriver emphasizes the moment of reaching the destination: they arrive.
• venir emphasizes coming toward the speaker’s location: they are coming (to where I am). If they’re coming to your place, both are fine:
• Mes parents arrivent ce soir.
• Mes parents viennent ce soir.

Where does ce soir go in the sentence? Can it go at the beginning?

Default and most common: at the end.

• Mes parents arrivent ce soir. Fronting for emphasis is also fine:
• Ce soir, mes parents arrivent. Avoid unusual orders like Mes parents ce soir arrivent, which sound unnatural.

How do I turn this into a yes/no question?

Three common ways:

• Intonation (informal speech): Tes parents arrivent ce soir ?
• Est-ce que (neutral): Est-ce que tes parents arrivent ce soir ?
• Inversion (formal/written): Tes parents arrivent-ils ce soir ?
  With a full noun subject, keep it before the verb and add the pronoun for inversion.

How do I say the negative: “My parents aren’t arriving tonight”?

• Mes parents n’arrivent pas ce soir.
  Note the elision n’arrivent. In casual speech, people often drop ne: Mes parents arrivent pas ce soir, but keep ne in writing and careful speech.

How do I add a specific time, like “at 7 p.m.”?

Use à for clock time:

• Mes parents arrivent ce soir à 19 heures.
• You can also use vers for “around”: … vers 19 h. Do not say arrivent à ce soir (except the standalone farewell À ce soir ! meaning “See you tonight!”).

How would I say it with the near future or future simple?

• Near future: Mes parents vont arriver ce soir. (plan/intention, very common)
• Future simple: Mes parents arriveront ce soir. (more neutral/formal, sometimes feels a bit more distant)

How do past tenses work with arriver? Which auxiliary and what agreement?

Arriver takes être in compound tenses.

• Mes parents sont arrivés ce soir.
  Past participle agrees with the subject: arrivés (masc. pl.).
  Examples:
• Mon père est arrivé. (masc. sing.)
• Ma mère est arrivée. (fem. sing.)
• Mes deux mères sont arrivées. (fem. pl.)

Does parents always mean “mother and father”? What about singular parent?

• mes parents almost always means “my mother and father.”
• un parent typically means “a relative,” not specifically a mother/father (context can vary).
• For in-laws: mes beaux-parents.

Why ce and not cet/cette/ces before soir?

• ce
  • masculine singular starting with a consonant: ce soir
• cet
  • masculine singular starting with a vowel/silent h: cet été, cet homme
• cette
  • feminine singular: cette soirée
• ces
  • any plural: ces soirs, ces soirées

Any common mistakes to avoid with this sentence?

• Writing or saying arrivent à ce soir (wrong; use ce soir on its own).
• Pronouncing final letters: the -s in mes and parents, and -ent in arrivent are silent.
• Forgetting the liaison in parents arrivent ([z] sound).
• Using avoir instead of être in the past: it’s sont arrivés, not ont arrivés.
• Confusing ce soir (this evening/tonight) with cette nuit (during the night).