Verbs + preposition

Question

I am confused here. The question says "arriver" is "to manage". However is "arriver" not "to arrive" and "arriver à" is "to manage"?

Ron Thomas · Answer

Bonjour William,
You are correct, arriver --> to arrive; arriver à ---> to manage, to reach, to achieve.  As you continue in your study of the French language you will notice that by adding an article to a verb, the sense of the verb changes, much like when the use of a reflexive verb instead of just the verb also changes the sense.

J'espère que ma réponse vous aiderait.
Bonne chance et bonne continuation dans vos études en français, la langue de Molière et qui a été utilisé par le monde français depuis l’époque d’Hugues Capet