El parque está lleno de gente; aún así, corro rápido.

The park is full of people; even so, I run fast.

Breakdown of El parque está lleno de gente; aún así, corro rápido.

• yo: I
• estar: to be
• correr: to run
• el parque: the park

Questions & Answers about El parque está lleno de gente; aún así, corro rápido.

Why is está used instead of es?

Spanish uses estar for temporary states or conditions and ser for inherent or permanent characteristics. Saying el parque está lleno de gente stresses that being “full of people” is a current situation. El parque es lleno de gente would sound unnatural because “full” here isn’t a permanent trait.

Why is it lleno de gente and not lleno con gente?

The adjective lleno pairs with de to express “full of.” If you want to say “to fill something with,” you use the verb pattern llenar algo con X, but once you describe a result state, the correct formula is estar lleno de X, not lleno con X.

Why is there no article before gente?

Gente is a collective noun that often appears without an article when you mean “people in general.”

• lleno de gente = “full of people” (indefinite).
  If you said la gente, you’d be referring to a specific or previously mentioned group (“the people”), which isn’t the case here.

What does aún así mean, and how is it different from pero or aunque?