Le départ du train est à huit heures.

to be

Breakdown of Le départ du train est à huit heures.

• à: at
• le train: the train
• du: of the

Questions & Answers about Le départ du train est à huit heures.

Why does the sentence use Le départ du train instead of just Le train? Could you say Le train est à huit heures?

In French, le départ du train literally means the departure of the train. The sentence is really:

• Le départ du train est à huit heures.
  → The train’s departure is at eight o’clock.

You normally wouldn’t say Le train est à huit heures, because a train is something, it doesn’t exist at a time; its departure (or journey, or arrival) is what can be at a specific time.

More natural alternatives are:

• Le train part à huit heures.
  → The train leaves at eight o’clock.

• Le train arrive à huit heures. (if you mean arrival)
  → The train arrives at eight o’clock.

So the original sentence focuses on the event (the departure), not the train itself.

What exactly does départ mean, and is it related to the verb partir?