Следующий поезд прибывает вовремя.

The next train arrives on time.

Breakdown of Следующий поезд прибывает вовремя.

• поезд: the train
• прибывать: to arrive
• вовремя: on time
• следующий: next

Questions & Answers about Следующий поезд прибывает вовремя.

What case and role does следующий поезд play in this sentence?

следующий поезд is in the nominative singular because it’s the subject of the sentence. The adjective следующий (“next”) agrees in gender (masculine), number (singular) and case (nominative) with the noun поезд.

Why is the verb прибывает in the present tense when the train hasn’t arrived yet?

In Russian, timetables and schedules often use the present tense of imperfective verbs to talk about future, fixed events—just as in English you might say “the train arrives at 6.” Here прибывает (from imperfective прибывать) emphasizes the process or regularity of arrival.

Could I use the perfective future form прибудет instead of прибывает? What’s the difference?

Yes. Следующий поезд прибудет вовремя uses the perfective future (прибудет) and focuses on the completion—that it will have arrived. Прибывает (imperfective) feels more like a scheduled or habitual statement. Both are correct; announcements and timetables often prefer the imperfective-present.

What does вовремя mean, and why is it written as one word?

вовремя is an adverb meaning on time or punctually. It’s one word because it’s a standalone adverb. Don’t confuse it with the two-word prepositional phrase во время (“during”).

Why isn’t there a preposition before вовремя? How do I know it’s an adverb?

Because вовремя itself is an adverb, not a noun or pronoun that requires a preposition. It answers the question “when?” regarding the action прибывает, so no additional preposition is needed.

Can I swap the word order and say Следующий поезд вовремя прибывает?

Grammatically it’s still correct, but Russian typically puts adverbs like вовремя after the verb or at the end: Subject–Verb–Adverb. Moving вовремя before the verb can sound a bit marked or poetic.

How do I pronounce this sentence? Where are the stresses?

Approximate pronunciation with stress marks (capital letters show the stressed syllable):

SLEH-doo-yu-sheéy poy-YEZD pri-bih-VA-yet vuh-VREH-mya

– слЕ́дующий (SLEH-doo-yu-shchiy)
– поЕ́зд (poy-YEZD)
– прибывА́ет (pri-bih-VA-yet)
– вове́мя (vuh-VREH-mya)

How would I say The next train is late in Russian?

You can use the verb опаздывать (to be late) or its perfective опоздать:

• Следующий поезд опаздывает. (“The next train is running late.”)
• Следующий поезд опоздает. (“The next train will be late.”)