Todavía nos falta comprar el pan para la cena.

We still need to buy the bread for dinner.

Breakdown of Todavía nos falta comprar el pan para la cena.

• el pan: the bread
• para: for
• nosotros: we
• comprar: to buy

Questions & Answers about Todavía nos falta comprar el pan para la cena.

Why is it nos falta and not faltamos?

Because faltar here does not mean to be absent in the same way as English we are missing. In this structure, faltar means to be still left to do / to remain.

So:

• Nos falta comprar el pan = We still need to buy the bread / Buying the bread is still left for us to do

Grammatically, the thing that is missing or still left is the subject. Here, the subject is the whole action comprar el pan. Since that action is treated as singular, the verb is falta.

By contrast:

• Faltamos would mean something like we are absent or we are missing.

What does nos mean here?

Nos means to us / for us.

In nos falta comprar el pan, the idea is:

• To us, buying the bread is still missing
• more naturally in English: We still need to buy the bread

So nos shows who is affected by what is still left to do.

You could compare:

• Me falta estudiar = I still need to study
• Te falta llamar a tu madre = You still need to call your mother
• Nos falta comprar el pan = We still need to buy the bread