Train pulled up in the New York.
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Matthew Wai
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Tom alighted from the train when it stopped at the New York station.
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As MatthewWai showed, we don't use "deboarded" and there's no need to repeat "the train".
John alighted from the train when it pulled into New York station.
John got off the train when it arrived at New York station.
John alighted from the train when it pulled into New York station.
John got off the train when it arrived at New York station.
Matthew Wai
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I take it to mean 'arrived at'.
Skrej
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Yes, it means arrived at, but it also means stopped at.
'Pulled into' implies that the train is gradually slowing down to a complete stop at the station.
For example, my friend who's expecting me to pick him up might call and ask where I'm at, and I could say "I'm pulling into your driveway now", or "I'm pulling up to your place now".
'Pulled into' implies that the train is gradually slowing down to a complete stop at the station.
For example, my friend who's expecting me to pick him up might call and ask where I'm at, and I could say "I'm pulling into your driveway now", or "I'm pulling up to your place now".
Matthew Wai
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What is the difference between 'arrived at' and 'stopped at' in this context?
Could the train not have stopped when it arrived?
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If you plan to speak idiomatic American English, I think that it is accurate to say that "alight from the train" is very strange to American ears, young and old.
Just say that "Tom got off (the train) in New York."
If for some reason, you want a more "elegant" word, I believe that some people occasionally might write in formal contexts: "Tom detrained in New York."
If you plan to speak idiomatic American English, I think that it is accurate to say that "alight from the train" is very strange to American ears, young and old.
Just say that "Tom got off (the train) in New York."
If for some reason, you want a more "elegant" word, I believe that some people occasionally might write in formal contexts: "Tom detrained in New York."
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I agree about alighted, which is unnatural in AmE. Detrained sounds bizarre to me, though. Just say got off.
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It should be noted, though, that it only works with planes. We don't "deship" or "deboat" or "decar"! When I worked at a ferry port, passengers were said to "disembark" - that would certainly work with boats and planes but I don't associate it with buses, trains or cars.
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In fact, the root -bark means "boat" or "ship". It works for waterborne vessels and, by extension, for airplanes. A lot of aviation terminology was adopted from marine terminology.
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