Learn Spanish (Latin America): Cuarenta y tres estudiantes viajan en un autobús.

Cuarenta y tres estudiantes viajan en un autobús.

Forty-three students travel in a bus.

Breakdown of Cuarenta y tres estudiantes viajan en un autobús.

Questions & Answers about Cuarenta y tres estudiantes viajan en un autobús.

Why is forty-three written as three separate words: cuarenta y tres?

For numbers from 31 to 99, Spanish uses a three-word format: the tens (cuarenta), the word y meaning "and", and the ones (tres). So cuarenta y tres literally translates to "forty and three". Note that numbers from 21 to 29 are written as a single word (like veintitrés), but from 31 onwards they split apart!

Does en mean "in" or "on"? In English we usually say we travel "on" a bus.

The Spanish word en is very flexible and can mean "in", "on", or "at". When talking about transportation like a bus, train, or plane, Spanish always uses en, so you don't have to worry about whether to say "in" or "on"!

Why does the verb viajar change to viajan here?

Viajan is the "they" form of the regular verb viajar (to travel). Because the subject of the sentence is the forty-three students (a plural "they" group), you drop the -ar ending and add -an.

Does the word estudiantes change if it is a group of only female students?

The noun estudiante is the exact same for both men and women. If it were a group of only female students, the noun itself would still be estudiantes. You would only know the gender from other words in the sentence, like using the feminine word for "the" (las estudiantes).