Я записал время прибытия такси.

I wrote down the time of the taxi’s arrival.

Breakdown of Я записал время прибытия такси.

• я: I
• время: the time
• такси: the taxi
• записать: to write down
• прибытие: the arrival

Questions & Answers about Я записал время прибытия такси.

Why is прибытия in the genitive case rather than nominative?

In Russian, when one noun specifies another (here “arrival” specifying “time”), the second noun goes into the genitive. So время прибытия literally means “time of arrival,” with прибытия (genitive singular) showing possession or relation—just like дата рождения (“date of birth”) or название фильма (“title of the movie”).

How can we tell that время is the direct object (accusative) here, when it looks exactly like the nominative?

Время is a neuter noun whose accusative form is identical to the nominative: время. We infer it’s the object of записал because записал is a transitive verb requiring a direct object, and by the word order (Я записал [object]).

Why use the perfective verb записал, not the imperfective записывал?

Perfective aspect (записал) indicates that the action of writing down the time is completed (I wrote it down). Imperfective (записывал) would stress the process or repetition (“I was writing it down” or “I used to write it down”).

Why is there no preposition before время? Shouldn’t it be something like “about the time”?

No preposition is needed because время here is a direct object of записал. If you wanted to talk about the time in the sense of “to talk about it,” you’d use о времени, but when you record the time itself, you simply say записал время.

Why is такси unchanged? What’s its gender and declension pattern?

Такси is an indeclinable noun borrowed into Russian (from French). It keeps the same form in all cases and numbers. It’s commonly treated as neuter for agreement purposes, though you might also hear masculine agreement in speech.

Can we rephrase this sentence using a subordinate clause instead of the noun-noun phrase?

Yes. For example:
Я записал, когда приедет такси.
Here you keep the perfective записал and replace время прибытия with a clause когда приедет такси (“when the taxi will arrive”).

How would you ask in Russian “What time did you record the taxi’s arrival?”

One option is:
Во сколько ты записал время прибытия такси?
A more natural variant drops время (since прибытие already implies “time of arrival”):
Во сколько ты записал прибытие такси?

How do you form nouns like прибытие from verbs?

Many Russian verbs form abstract “action” nouns by adding suffixes such as -ие, -ание, or -ение to the verb stem. Examples:
приехать (to arrive, perfective) → прибытие (arrival)
открыть (to open, perfective) → открытие (opening)
изучать (to study, imperfective) → изучение (the study of)

Are there other ways to express “time of arrival” in Russian?

Yes. Besides время прибытия, you can use:
• A question clause: когда приедет такси? (“when will the taxi arrive?”)
• A formal travel term: расчетное время прибытия (“estimated time of arrival”).