Tren çoktan geldi.

The train has already arrived.

Breakdown of Tren çoktan geldi.

• gelmek: to come
• tren: the train
• çoktan: already

Questions & Answers about Tren çoktan geldi.

Why is there no word for the in Tren çoktan geldi?

Turkish does not use articles like the or a/an. The noun tren simply means train in a neutral way.

Whether you translate tren as the train or a train depends on context:

• Tren çoktan geldi. → The train has already arrived. (if both speakers know which train)
• Bir tren çoktan geldi. → A train has already arrived. (introducing it for the first time)

If you really want to stress a train, you add bir before the noun. For the, there is no word; context and shared knowledge do the job.

What exactly does çoktan mean, and how is it different from zaten?

Çoktan literally has the idea of for a long time already / long ago. In this sentence:

• Tren çoktan geldi. → The train has already arrived (and it’s been a while).

It often suggests that the action is not just already done, but was completed earlier than you might think, or some time ago.

Zaten also often translates as already, but its main meaning is anyway / in any case / as you know:

• Tren zaten geldi. → The train has already arrived (as we already know / as expected / anyway).

So:

• çoktan = focuses on time (it’s been done for some time).
• zaten = focuses on expectation / known information (this is no surprise).

Why is the verb geldi at the end of the sentence?

In Turkish, the default (neutral) word order is:

Subject – (Time/Manner/Place) – Verb

So:

• Tren (subject: the train)
• çoktan (adverb of time: already / long ago)
• geldi (verb: arrived)

→ Tren çoktan geldi.

Putting the verb at the end is very normal in Turkish. You can sometimes move words around for emphasis, but the most standard order is to keep the conjugated verb last.

Could you say Çoktan tren geldi instead? Would that be wrong?

Çoktan tren geldi is not wrong, but it sounds unusual and marked. It would put extra emphasis on tren, something like:

• “Already the train has arrived (as opposed to something else).”

In natural everyday speech, a native speaker would almost always say:

• Tren çoktan geldi.

So yes, you can move words, but it changes the focus. For a learner, it’s best to stick to:

Subject – Adverbs – Verb
Tren çoktan geldi.

What tense is geldi, and why is it translated as has already arrived?

Geldi is the simple past tense in Turkish.

• Stem: gel- (to come)
• Past suffix: -di (here as -di because of vowel harmony/consonant rules)
• 3rd person singular: no extra ending (so just geldi)

Literally, Tren çoktan geldi. is “The train arrived long ago / already.”

English often uses present perfect (has arrived) for a past event with present relevance. Turkish doesn’t have a direct present perfect; the simple past geldi often covers both:

• The train arrived.
• The train has arrived.

Context, plus adverbs like çoktan, will suggest the best translation.

How is geldi different from gelmiş?

Both are past forms, but they have different nuances:

• geldi = definite, direct past; the speaker knows or witnessed it; it’s a plain statement of fact.

  • Tren çoktan geldi. → The speaker states confidently that the train already arrived.

• gelmiş = reported / inferred past; the speaker heard about it, or figured it out, or is slightly surprised.

  • Tren çoktan gelmiş. → Apparently the train already arrived / Oh, it seems the train already arrived.

So geldi is more like “(I know that) it arrived.”
gelmiş is more like “(It turns out that) it arrived.”

Why isn’t it geliyor (present continuous) if the result is still relevant now?

In Turkish:

• geliyor = is coming / is in the process of coming (now / around now).
• geldi = arrived (and the action is completed).

The fact that the result is relevant now (the train is currently at the station) does not make Turkish use a progressive form. They focus on whether the action is ongoing or finished.

Since the train has already completed the action of arriving, Turkish uses geldi (simple past), even if English chooses has already arrived to stress current relevance.

How would you say “The train hasn’t arrived yet”?

You’d normally say:

• Tren henüz gelmedi.

Breakdown:

• tren = train / the train
• henüz = yet / still (in negative sentences, often “yet”)
• gel-me-di
  
  • gel- = come
  • -me- = negative suffix
  • -di = simple past
    → gelmedi = did not come / has not come

So Tren henüz gelmedi. ≈ The train hasn’t arrived yet.

How would the sentence change if the subject were I instead of the train?

If you want to say “I have already arrived”, you change the verb ending to first person singular and drop the noun tren:

• Çoktan geldim.

Breakdown of geldim:

• gel- = come
• -di- = simple past
• -m = I (1st person singular)

Subjects (I, you, he/she, etc.) are usually not written as separate pronouns unless you want extra emphasis:

• Ben çoktan geldim. = I have already arrived (emphasizing I, maybe in contrast to others).
• Çoktan geldim. = I’ve already arrived (normal, no special emphasis).

Does çoktan always go before the verb, or can it go somewhere else?

In normal sentences, adverbs like çoktan usually appear before the verb:

• Tren çoktan geldi.

You can sometimes move it for emphasis:

• Çoktan tren geldi. (emphasis on tren, sounds marked)
• Tren geldi çoktan. (very marked, poetic or dramatic)

For everyday, natural Turkish, keep çoktan just before the verb, after the subject:

• [Subject] [adverb] [verb]
• Tren çoktan geldi.