Learn Hardcore French: Nous attendons le métro à la station la plus proche de notre appartement. - We are waiting for the subway at the station closest to our apartment.

attendre + direct object = to wait for something/someone
- Nous attendons le métro. = We are waiting for the metro.
- J’attends mon ami. = I’m waiting for my friend.

You do not add pour here.
✗ Nous attendons pour le métro is wrong in standard French (it sounds like a calque from English).

Why is it « le métro » and not just « métro » without an article?

French almost always needs an article before a noun, even when English doesn’t.

Nous attendons le métro.
Literally: We are waiting the metro. (French) → We are waiting for the metro. (English)

You only drop the article in certain fixed expressions (e.g. en métro = by metro), but when you’re talking about the specific metro that is coming, you use the definite article:

le métro = the metro/subway (the one that’s part of the transport system, expected to come)

What’s the difference between « en métro » and « le métro »?

en métro = by metro (how you travel)
- Je vais au travail en métro. = I go to work by metro.
le métro (with attendre, prendre, etc.) = the metro
- Nous attendons le métro. = We’re waiting for the metro.
- Nous prenons le métro. = We take the metro.

So:

mode of transport → en métro
a specific vehicle/service → le métro

Why is it « à la station » and not « dans la station »?

Both are possible, but they suggest slightly different points of view:

à la station = at the station (location, general)
- Emphasizes being at that place.
dans la station = in the station (inside the building/structure)
- Emphasizes being inside.

In daily speech, à la station is very common when you just mean “we’re at that station waiting for the metro”, without focusing on inside/outside.

Why use « station » and not « gare » here?

French distinguishes:

une station
- Used for métro, tram, bus stops, service stations, etc.
- une station de métro = a metro/subway station
une gare
- Used mainly for train stations (regional, national trains).
- une gare = a (railway) train station

Since it’s talking about le métro, station is the natural choice:

Nous attendons le métro à la station…

Why is it « la station la plus proche » and not « la station le plus proche »?

The adjective proche must agree with station, which is feminine singular:

station → la station → feminine singular
so the superlative is la plus proche

General pattern:

le plus + [masculine adjective]
la plus + [feminine adjective]
les plus + [plural adjective]

Examples:

le plus grand parc (masc. sing.)
la plus grande maison (fem. sing.)
les plus grandes villes (plural)

Can I say « la plus près » instead of « la plus proche »?

Not in this sentence. You need an adjective agreeing with station, and près is mainly an adverb here, while proche is an adjective.

la station la plus proche ✅
(the closest station)

Using près would require a different structure, e.g.:

la station la plus près d’ici (more colloquial, still heard, but la plus proche is cleaner and more standard here)

Why is it « la plus proche de notre appartement » and not « près de notre appartement »?

Two different roles:

de notre appartement after a superlative:
- la station la plus proche de notre appartement
  = the station that is the closest to our apartment
  Here de introduces what the superlative is measured from.
près de notre appartement:
- La station est près de notre appartement.
  = The station is near our apartment.
  Here près de simply means near.

In la station la plus proche de notre appartement, de notre appartement belongs to the superlative phrase (the closest to X), so de is the right preposition.

Why is it « notre appartement » and not « de l’appartement » or « de nous »?

French usually uses possessive adjectives for ownership/association (my, your, our, etc.):

notre appartement = our apartment
l’appartement alone would just mean the apartment (no owner specified).
de nous would sound unnatural here; you don’t say l’appartement de nous.

So de notre appartement = of our apartment / to our apartment (in English: “closest to our apartment”).

Why is it « nous attendons » and not something like « nous sommes en train d’attendre » to show “are waiting”?

French simple present often covers both:

general present
present continuous (-ing)

So:

Nous attendons le métro.
Can mean:
- We wait for the metro (habitual)
- We are waiting for the metro (right now).

Nous sommes en train d’attendre le métro does exist, but it’s used only when you really need to insist on the ongoing process. In most contexts, nous attendons is enough.

Could I say « On attend le métro… » instead of « Nous attendons le métro… »?

Yes.

Nous attendons le métro…
- More formal/neutral, standard written French.
On attend le métro…
- Very common in spoken French, more informal.
- on often means “we” in everyday speech.

Meaning is the same; it’s a matter of tone/register.

Is the word order « à la station la plus proche de notre appartement » fixed, or can it be changed?

This is the natural order:

preposition + noun: à la station
followed by its description: la plus proche
followed by the complement to the description: de notre appartement

You could rephrase with a relative clause, but it becomes heavier:

… à la station qui est la plus proche de notre appartement.

Grammatically correct, but less smooth. The original word order is the standard, elegant way to say it.

Are there any important liaisons or pronunciation points in this sentence?

Yes, some common ones:

Nous‿attendons → liaison between nous and attendons
/nu.za.tɑ̃.dɔ̃/
le métro → pronounced /lə me.tʁo/ (mute “e” very short)
à la station → /a la sta.sjɔ̃/
la plus proche
- Often no liaison in casual speech: /la ply pʁɔʃ/
- In very careful speech you might hear /la ply z‿pʁɔʃ/, but many speakers avoid it.
de notre appartement
- careful with the mute “e”s: roughly /də nɔtʁ‿a.paʁ.tə.mɑ̃/ (many speakers reduce some “e”s in fast speech)

Listening to native audio of similar sentences is the best way to internalize these.