Learn Hardcore Turkish: Tren istasyona varıyor. - The train is arriving at the station.

The suffix -a (or -e) marks the dative case, meaning “to” a place. Verbs like varmak (“to arrive”) require their destination in dative. If you wanted to say “at the station,” you’d use the locative istasyonda.

What does the -yor in varıyor signify?

The -yor suffix indicates the present continuous tense. You take the verb root var- (from varmak) and add -ıyor (with vowel harmony), giving varıyor = “is arriving.”

Why is it varıyor and not variyor?

Turkish has vowel harmony. Because the root var- contains the back vowel a, the continuous suffix uses its back form -ıyor (with ı) rather than the front form -iyor (with i).

Why isn’t there an English-style article (“a” or “the”) before tren?

Turkish doesn’t have definite or indefinite articles like English. You can use bir for “a/an” if you need to be explicit—bir tren = “a train”—but it’s optional. Context does the rest.

Why don’t we need a pronoun like “it” for the train?

Turkish verbs are conjugated for person and number, and here tren is already the explicit subject. Personal pronouns (o, sen, vs.) are dropped unless you want emphasis or need to avoid ambiguity.

Could we use geliyor instead of varıyor?

Both are possible but slightly different:

Tren istasyona geliyor. = “The train is coming to the station” (emphasis on movement toward us).
Tren istasyona varıyor. = “The train is arriving at the station” (emphasis on the act of arrival/completion).