Log inSign up

El tren del aeropuerto sale exactamente a las dos.

El tren del aeropuerto sale exactamente a las dos.
The airport train leaves exactly at two.
From Lesson 56:Telling time (es la..., son las...)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about El tren del aeropuerto sale exactamente a las dos.

The lesson teaches son las, but this sentence uses a las. What is the difference?
Use son las (or es la for 1:00) when you want to state what the current time is right now (for example, "Son las dos" means "It is two o'clock"). Use a las (or a la) to say at what time a specific event happens, like a train leaving.
Why do we say a las dos instead of just a dos?
When saying at a certain time in Spanish, you must always include the article. We use las because it refers to the hidden feminine plural word horas (hours). You will use a las for every hour except one o'clock, which is a la una.
Why does the sentence use del aeropuerto instead of de el aeropuerto?
In Spanish, whenever the word de (of/from) is directly followed by the masculine word for "the" (el), they must combine into the single word del. So, de + el aeropuerto becomes del aeropuerto. It makes pronunciation smoother!
In English we say "airport train", but here it's tren del aeropuerto. Why?
In Spanish, you can't stack nouns together to describe things like "airport train" or "water bottle". Instead, you have to use de (of) to describe what a noun belongs to or is used for. So, it translates literally as "the train of the airport".

Learn El tren del aeropuerto sale exactamente a las dos and more in Spanish

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Spanish →