Al llegar a la cima, vimos un prado enorme y una charca al fondo.

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Breakdown of Al llegar a la cima, vimos un prado enorme y una charca al fondo.

• una: a
• nosotros: we
• a: to

Questions & Answers about Al llegar a la cima, vimos un prado enorme y una charca al fondo.

Why does al llegar mean when/on arriving?

Because al + infinitive is a very common Spanish structure meaning when, upon, or on doing something.

So:

• al llegar = when arriving / on arriving
• al entrar = when entering
• al salir = when leaving

Here, Al llegar a la cima means When we arrived at the summit or On reaching the summit.

It does not literally mean to the arriving in natural English, even though al comes from a + el in other contexts. In this structure, you should learn al + infinitive as a set pattern.

Why is it llegar a la cima and not just llegar la cima?

Because the verb llegar normally uses a before a destination.

Examples:

• llegar a casa = to arrive home
• llegar al hotel = to arrive at the hotel
• llegar a la cima = to reach the summit

So a is required here because la cima is the place reached.

Why is it a la cima, but al llegar?