Breakdown of Por poco no llegamos a tiempo al cine, aunque el trayecto era de solo diez minutos.
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Questions & Answers about Por poco no llegamos a tiempo al cine, aunque el trayecto era de solo diez minutos.
Why is it por poco no llegamos? It looks like it says we almost didn’t arrive, with a no in it.
Yes — that is exactly the idea.
Por poco means almost / nearly. In this sentence, por poco no llegamos a tiempo means we almost didn’t make it on time.
This structure can feel strange to English speakers because Spanish often uses:
- por poco no + verb = almost not...
- por poco + verb can also appear in some contexts, but por poco no makes the negative idea very clear here.
So:
- Por poco no llegamos a tiempo = We almost didn’t arrive on time / We nearly failed to get there on time
The no is not a mistake; it is part of the meaning.
Why is llegamos in the preterite, not llegábamos?
Because the sentence refers to a specific completed situation in the past.
- llegamos = we arrived / we made it in a completed event
- llegábamos = we were arriving / used to arrive / would arrive, which would sound more ongoing or habitual
Here, the speaker is talking about one particular occasion when they almost didn’t get to the cinema on time. That is why llegamos is the natural choice.
Why is it era in , instead of ?