ekimae no jidouhanbaiki de mizu o katte kara, hoomu e isoida.

I bought water from the vending machine in front of the station and then hurried to the platform.

Breakdown of ekimae no jidouhanbaiki de mizu o katte kara, hoomu e isoida.

• を: direct object particle
• 水みず: water
• の: possessive case particle
• で: location particle

Questions & Answers about ekimae no jidouhanbaiki de mizu o katte kara, hoomu e isoida.

What does 駅前 mean literally?

駅前 literally means in front of the station:

• 駅 = station
• 前 = front / before

As a set expression, 駅前 often means the area in front of the station or the station-front area, not just the exact spot directly in front of the building.

So 駅前の自動販売機 is naturally understood as the vending machine by/in front of the station.

Why is there a の after 駅前?

The の links 駅前 to 自動販売機 and makes 駅前 describe the vending machine.

So:

• 駅前の自動販売機
• literally: the station-front vending machine
• naturally: the vending machine in front of the station

You can think of の here as turning one noun phrase into a modifier for another noun.

What does 自動販売機 mean, and how is it built?