Temo llegar tarde.

Temo is the first-person singular present tense of temer, which means to fear or to be afraid.

So:

• temer = to fear
• temo = I fear / I’m afraid

In Temo llegar tarde, the subject yo is understood, so the full sentence would be:

• (Yo) temo llegar tarde. = I’m afraid I’ll arrive late / I fear arriving late

Spanish often leaves out subject pronouns when the verb already makes the subject clear.

Because after temer, Spanish can use an infinitive to express what someone fears doing or what might happen.

So:

• Temo llegar tarde = I fear arriving late / I’m afraid I’ll arrive late

This structure is very common:

• Temo equivocarme. = I’m afraid of making a mistake.
• Teme perder el tren. = He/She is afraid of missing the train.

In English, we often change the structure when translating, but in Spanish the infinitive is very natural here.

Because temer does not need de before an infinitive.

So Spanish says:

• Temo llegar tarde

not:

• Temo de llegar tarde

This can be tricky for English speakers because English often uses structures like afraid of. But Spanish verbs do not always match English prepositions.

Compare:

• Tengo miedo de llegar tarde. = I’m afraid of arriving late.
• Temo llegar tarde. = I fear / I’m afraid I’ll arrive late.

With tener miedo, de is common. With temer, it is not.

Here, tarde means late.

So:

• llegar tarde = to arrive late

Be careful: tarde can also mean afternoon in other contexts.

Compare:

• Es tarde. = It’s late.
• La tarde = the afternoon

In Temo llegar tarde, it clearly means late, not afternoon.

Because Spanish often drops subject pronouns when the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• Temo already means I fear
• so yo is unnecessary unless you want emphasis or contrast

For example:

• Temo llegar tarde. = I’m afraid I’ll arrive late.
• Yo temo llegar tarde, pero ella no. = I’m afraid I’ll arrive late, but she isn’t.

Including yo is possible, but usually not needed.

Yes, it is correct and natural, but it sounds a bit more formal or more literary than some everyday alternatives.

In everyday conversation, people might more often say:

• Me temo que voy a llegar tarde. = I’m afraid I’m going to be late.
• Tengo miedo de llegar tarde. = I’m afraid of arriving late.
• Creo que voy a llegar tarde. = I think I’m going to be late.

So Temo llegar tarde is perfectly good Spanish, but depending on the context, a native speaker might choose a more conversational phrasing.

Both express concern, but they are structured differently and can sound slightly different in tone.

• Temo llegar tarde = I fear arriving late / I’m afraid I’ll arrive late
• Me temo que voy a llegar tarde = I’m afraid I’m going to be late

Key difference:

• temer + infinitive is more direct and compact
• temerse que + clause is very common in speech and often sounds more idiomatic in everyday conversation

Also, me temo que... is a set expression often used to introduce bad news or an unpleasant possibility.

Yes. That is also correct.

• Temo llegar tarde
• Tengo miedo de llegar tarde

Both mean roughly the same thing, but the tone is a little different:

• temer can sound slightly more formal, abstract, or written
• tener miedo can sound more emotional or everyday

So both are good, and learning both is useful.

Yes. English may translate it in different ways depending on what sounds natural.

For Temo llegar tarde, possible translations include:

• I fear I’ll arrive late
• I’m afraid I’ll arrive late
• I’m afraid of arriving late

The exact English wording changes, but the Spanish structure stays the same.

Yes, it is a very common expression meaning to arrive late.

Examples:

• Llegué tarde. = I arrived late.
• No quiero llegar tarde. = I don’t want to arrive late.
• Vamos a llegar tarde. = We’re going to arrive late.

It is worth learning as a chunk: llegar tarde.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

• Temo ≈ TEH-mo
• llegar ≈ yeh-GAR in most of Spain, though the exact ll sound varies by region
• tarde ≈ TAR-de

A more Spain-focused approximation:

• TEH-mo yeh-GAR TAR-de

Stress:

• TEmo
• lleGAR
• TARde

Yes. That is very normal.

The verb temo is in the present because it describes your current feeling now: I fear / I’m afraid.

The infinitive llegar refers to the action you are worried about, which may happen in the future.

So the sentence means:

• Right now, I am afraid that I will arrive late.

Spanish often uses the present in this way when talking about a current emotion toward a future event.