La entrega llega a tiempo.

The delivery arrives on time.

Breakdown of La entrega llega a tiempo.

• llegar: to arrive
• a tiempo: on time
• la entrega: the delivery

Questions & Answers about La entrega llega a tiempo.

Why does the sentence use la entrega instead of just entrega without the article?

In Spanish, singular countable nouns almost always need an article (like el, la, un, una) unless they’re being used in very specific ways (titles, labels, some set phrases, etc.).

• La entrega = the delivery
• Saying just entrega llega a tiempo would sound incomplete or wrong in normal sentences.

So la is the definite article, marking a specific delivery that speaker and listener know about, just like the in English:

• La entrega llega a tiempo. = The delivery arrives on time.

Why is entrega feminine (with la)?

In Spanish, every noun has grammatical gender. Entrega ends in -a, and most -a nouns are feminine, so it takes la:

• la entrega (feminine)
• una entrega (feminine)

There’s no special meaning in the gender here; it’s just how the noun is classified in the language. You simply memorize entrega as a feminine noun.

Is entrega always translated as “delivery,” or can it mean other things?

Entrega most commonly means delivery, especially for packages, orders, etc. But it can have other meanings depending on context:

1. Delivery / shipment / handover

   • La entrega del paquete – The delivery of the package
   • Fecha de entrega – Delivery date / due date

2. Submission / turning in (homework, work, etc.)

   • La entrega de la tarea – The turning in/handing in of the homework

3. Dedication / commitment (more figurative)

   • Su entrega al trabajo es admirable. – His/Her dedication to work is admirable.

In La entrega llega a tiempo, the most natural meaning is “The delivery arrives on time.”

Why is it llega and not something like viene?

Both llegar and venir can involve the idea of movement, but they’re used differently:

• llegar = to arrive (focus on the arrival point)
• venir = to come (movement toward the speaker or toward a point that feels like “here”)

For deliveries, Spanish almost always uses llegar:

• El paquete llega mañana. – The package arrives tomorrow.
• La entrega llega a tiempo. – The delivery arrives on time.

Using viene here (La entrega viene a tiempo) sounds odd in most contexts; llegar is the standard verb for talking about deliveries and arrival times.

Why is the verb llega (third person singular)? What is the subject?

The subject is la entrega (“the delivery”), which is third-person singular. Spanish verbs must match the subject in person and number:

• Yo llego – I arrive
• Tú llegas – You arrive (informal)
• Él/Ella llega – He/She arrives
• La entrega llega – The delivery arrives (same form as “he/she”)

So llega is the correct form because entrega is singular and third person.

Why is there no subject pronoun like ella? Could I say Ella llega a tiempo?

Spanish usually omits subject pronouns because the verb ending already tells you who the subject is. In:

• La entrega llega a tiempo.

the verb form llega already shows it’s third person singular, and the noun la entrega is clearly the subject. There’s no need to say ella.

You could say:

• Ella llega a tiempo. – She arrives on time.

But then ella refers to a person, not to the delivery. You wouldn’t normally refer to a delivery with ella; you just say la entrega.

Why is it a tiempo and not en tiempo?

A tiempo is a fixed expression meaning on time (not late):

• Llegar a tiempo – to arrive on time
• Entregar el trabajo a tiempo – to hand in the work on time

En tiempo can exist, but it’s less common and sounds more formal/literary or tied to specific expressions. For everyday speech, when you mean “on time” (punctual), you almost always say a tiempo, not en tiempo.

So:

• ✅ La entrega llega a tiempo. – The delivery arrives on time.
• ❌ La entrega llega en tiempo. – Grammatically possible but sounds odd/unnatural in normal conversation.

Can La entrega llega a tiempo refer to the future, like “The delivery will arrive on time”?

Yes. In Spanish, the present tense is very often used to talk about scheduled or expected future events, especially with transport or planned actions:

• El avión llega a las 8. – The plane arrives / will arrive at 8.
• Mañana la entrega llega a tiempo. – Tomorrow the delivery arrives / will arrive on time.

Context (especially time expressions like mañana, en una hora) tells you it’s about the future.
If you really want to emphasize the future, you can use the future tense:

• La entrega llegará a tiempo. – The delivery will arrive on time.

But the simple present is very common and natural in this kind of sentence.

How would I say “The deliveries arrive on time” (plural)?

You pluralize both the noun and the verb:

• Las entregas llegan a tiempo.
  
  • Las – plural feminine article
  • entregas – plural of entrega
  • llegan – third person plural of llegar

So:

• La entrega llega a tiempo. – The delivery arrives on time.
• Las entregas llegan a tiempo. – The deliveries arrive on time.

Could I say La entrega está llegando a tiempo to mean “The delivery is arriving on time”?

You can say está llegando, but it’s much less common and often unnecessary. In Spanish:

• The simple present (llega) covers what English expresses with both “arrives” and “is arriving” in many cases.

• Está llegando emphasizes that the arrival is in progress right now:

  • La entrega está llegando. – The delivery is (right now) in the process of arriving.
  • This is more like someone tracking it as it’s pulling up.

To express a general fact or schedule (“It arrives on time” / “It will arrive on time”), La entrega llega a tiempo is the natural choice.

What’s the difference between la entrega (noun) and entrega as a verb?

Entrega can be:

1. A noun: la entrega – “the delivery”

   • La entrega llega a tiempo. – The delivery arrives on time.

2. A verb form: (él/ella) entrega – “he/she delivers” or “(you, formal) deliver”

   • Él entrega el paquete a tiempo. – He delivers the package on time.
   • Ella entrega la tarea mañana. – She hands in the homework tomorrow.

So in your sentence:

• La entrega = the delivery (noun + article)
• llega = arrives (verb)

Watch for the article la; it’s a strong clue that entrega is being used as a noun.