El autobús se atrasa cuando llueve.

when

Breakdown of El autobús se atrasa cuando llueve.

• llover: to rain
• el autobús: the bus
• atrasarse: to run late

Questions & Answers about El autobús se atrasa cuando llueve.

What does se atrasa mean in this sentence?

Se atrasa comes from the pronominal verb atrasarse, which means “to be delayed” or “to run late.” In El autobús se atrasa, it literally means “the bus gets delayed” → “the bus is late.”

Why is se used in se atrasa?

The se makes atrasar into atrasarse, turning a transitive verb (“to delay something”) into an intransitive/pronominal one (“to be delayed”). Without se, atrasar needs an object:

• La lluvia atrasó el autobús. (The rain delayed the bus.)
  With se, the subject undergoes the action itself:
• El autobús se atrasa. (The bus is delayed.)

Why don’t we say El autobús atrasa (without se)?

Without se, atrasa would be transitive and expect a direct object (what it delays). Saying El autobús atrasa would leave that object missing and sound like “the bus delays [something].” To express “the bus is delayed,” Spanish uses the pronominal atrasaRSE.

Could we use se retrasa instead of se atrasa?

Yes. Retrasarse is a synonym of atrasarse in this context. Both mean “to be delayed” or “to run late.” You’ll hear either version in Latin America:

• El autobús se retrasa cuando llueve.