Por poco llegamos sin el certificado de últimas voluntades.

It means almost or nearly.

So Por poco llegamos sin el certificado de últimas voluntades means that arriving without that document was very close to happening.

Compared with casi, por poco often feels a bit more dramatic, like that was close.

Yes, they did arrive.

What almost happened was this: they almost arrived without the certificate.

So the real situation is probably:

• they arrived, and
• in the end they had the certificate with them,
• but only just.

After por poco, Spanish normally uses a finite verb in the indicative, not the subjunctive.

Here llegamos is the preterite indicative, because it refers to a completed past event.

A useful pattern is:

• Por poco + past indicative = almost happened
• Por poco me caigo = I almost fell
• Por poco perdemos el tren = We almost missed the train

So por poco llegamos... is completely normal.

Because llegamos presents the event as a single completed past event: we arrived / we almost arrived without it.

The imperfect (llegábamos) would usually suggest an ongoing or background action, which does not fit as naturally here.

So:

• llegamos = a completed arrival
• llegábamos = we were arriving / we used to arrive

In this sentence, the speaker is talking about one specific occasion, so the preterite is the natural choice.

Yes. Casi would be very natural too.

Both mean roughly the same thing, but there is often a small difference in tone:

• casi = neutral, everyday almost
• por poco = often slightly stronger, with more of a that was close feeling

So:

• Casi llegamos sin el certificado = very normal
• Por poco llegamos sin el certificado = also normal, and a bit more emphatic

Because sin means without.

The structure is simple:

• llegar sin algo = to arrive without something
• venir sin algo = to come without something
• salir sin algo = to leave without something

So llegamos sin el certificado means we arrived / would have arrived without the certificate.

With por poco, it becomes we almost arrived without the certificate.

Because it refers to a specific, identifiable document.

Using el suggests that both speaker and listener know which certificate is being talked about, or that the context makes it clear.

• sin el certificado = without the certificate, the specific one that was needed
• sin certificado = without any certificate / without a certificate, more general

In this sentence, the definite article sounds most natural because this is a particular required document.

In Spain, el certificado de últimas voluntades is a specific legal document.

It is an official certificate used after a person’s death to check whether they made a will, and if so, before which notary.

So this is not just any random phrase meaning last wishes certificate. It is a fixed legal term in Spain.

Because últimas voluntades is a fixed expression in Spanish legal language.

Literally, it is something like last wishes or final wishes, but in legal usage it refers to a person’s testamentary wishes.

Also note the agreement:

• voluntades is feminine plural
• so the adjective must also be feminine plural: últimas

That is why it is:

• últimas voluntades not
• último voluntades or
• últimas voluntad

Here llegar means to arrive, to get there, or to show up.

In this kind of context, especially with paperwork, it often has the practical sense of:

• to turn up
• to show up at a place
• to arrive at an office/appointment/procedure

So the sentence suggests something like: they were on the point of turning up without a required document.

Putting por poco at the beginning is the most natural way to highlight the idea of almost.

It sets the tone immediately:

• Por poco llegamos sin el certificado...

That word order is very common because por poco modifies the whole situation that follows.

Other word orders are possible in some contexts, but this one is the most straightforward and idiomatic.

Yes: the phrase certificado de últimas voluntades is very Spain-specific in legal/administrative use.

A learner from an English-speaking background might understand the grammar but still not recognise the cultural reference. In Spain, this is a standard document name, so native speakers would read it as an official term, not just as a descriptive phrase.