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“How does verb conjugation work in Spanish?”
Spanish verbs change form based on the subject, tense, and mood. Regular verbs follow predictable patterns depending on whether they end in ‑ar, ‑er, or ‑ir. For example, "hablar" (to speak) becomes "hablo" (I speak), "hablas" (you speak), and "habla" (he/she speaks) in the present tense.
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Questions & Answers about Todavía no llega el autobús.
Why is the subject after the verb in Todavía no llega el autobús?
Spanish allows flexible word order. Verb–Subject is common with intransitive verbs when the subject is new information or de-emphasized. Here the focus is on the situation (it still hasn’t arrived), and the subject el autobús comes as the update. It’s completely natural. A neutral alternative is El autobús todavía no llega.
Can I also say El autobús todavía no llega or El autobús no llega todavía?
Yes. All of these are correct:
- Todavía no llega el autobús (very natural, conversational).
- El autobús todavía no llega (very common and neutral).
- El autobús no llega todavía (fine, sometimes feels a bit more “afterthought”). Less common but possible for emphasis: Todavía el autobús no llega (not wrong, just marked).
Should it be no ha llegado instead of no llega?
Both are fine, with a slight nuance:
- Todavía no llega (el autobús): focuses on the ongoing expectation; “it’s still not arriving/showing up.”
- El autobús no ha llegado (todavía): presents the current result; “it hasn’t arrived (up to now).” In much of Latin America, both appear. For “already arrived,” Latin American Spanish strongly prefers Ya llegó over Ya ha llegado. In the negative, Todavía no llega and No ha llegado todavía are both very natural.
Why not use the progressive: No está llegando?
Spanish uses the progressive for actions actually in progress. Está llegando = “it’s arriving right now (coming in).” Saying No está llegando sounds like “it’s not in the process of arriving,” which is odd for delays. To express “hasn’t arrived yet,” use simple present (no llega) or present perfect (no ha llegado).
What’s the difference between llegar and venir here?
- Llegar = to reach/arrive at a destination.
- Venir = to come (toward the speaker or reference point). In many places, you’ll hear both:
- Todavía no llega el autobús.
- Todavía no viene el autobús. Using venir can feel more “it isn’t coming (this way),” while llegar emphasizes the act of arriving at the stop. Both are widely understood; preferences vary by region.
Where does no go in Spanish negation?
Put no directly before the conjugated verb: Todavía no llega el autobús.
If there are object/reflexive pronouns, they go after no and before the verb: Todavía no lo veo (“I still don’t see it”). With other negative words, Spanish uses negative concord: No llega nunca (“It never arrives”).
Can I drop the subject and just say Todavía no llega?
Yes. Spanish often omits subjects when context makes them clear. Todavía no llega is what you’ll hear at a bus stop if everyone knows you’re talking about the bus. Without context, it’s ambiguous (he/she/it).
How do todavía and ya interact?
- todavía = still; with negation, todavía no = not yet.
- Todavía espero. (I’m still waiting.)
- Todavía no llega. (It hasn’t arrived yet.)
- ya = already; with negation, ya no = no longer.
- Ya llegó. (It already arrived.)
- Ya no llega. (It no longer comes.)
Is todavía the same as aún?
Yes. Aún (with accent) often equals todavía: Aún no llega el autobús.
Be careful: aun (without accent) usually means “even” (like incluso): Aun con tráfico, llegó. In practice many writers put the accent when it means “still/yet.”
What other words for “bus” are used in Latin America?
- autobús / bus: widely understood.
- camión: Mexico (public city buses).
- micro / microbús: Chile and elsewhere.
- colectivo / bondi: Argentina (bondi is colloquial).
- ómnibus: Uruguay, Peru, parts of Bolivia/Paraguay.
- guagua: Caribbean (Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic); also Canary Islands.
- buseta: Colombia, parts of Central America. Choose what locals use; bus or autobús is safest for broad understanding.
Why do autobús and todavía have accent marks? And why is el not él here?
- autobús: Words ending in a vowel, n, or s are normally stressed on the next-to-last syllable. Here the stress is on the last syllable (-bús), so it needs an accent.
- todavía: The stress falls on -ví-, breaking the default pattern, so it takes an accent.
- el (no accent) is the article “the.” Él (with accent) is the pronoun “he/him.” In el autobús, it’s the article, so no accent.
How do I talk about where or when the bus arrives?
Use llegar a for destinations and times:
- El autobús llega a la estación.
- El autobús llega a las 5.
- Combined: El autobús llega a la estación a las 5.
You can also say for schedules: El autobús pasa a las 5 (in some regions, pasar = “to come/go by”).
How do I pronounce llega and autobús?
- llega: ll is usually like English “y” (yeísmo): yé-ga. In parts of Argentina/Uruguay, it can sound like “she-ga” or “zhe-ga.” The g before a is a hard g, like in “go.”
- autobús: stress the last syllable: au-to-BÚS.
- todavía: stress the í: to-da-VÍ-a.
What are some natural alternatives to say “It still hasn’t arrived”?
- Aún no llega el autobús.
- El autobús no ha llegado todavía.
- Todavía no viene el autobús.
- Regional: Todavía no pasa el bus. (e.g., Mexico, Colombia)
- More formal/emphatic: Sigue sin llegar el autobús.