Learn Spanish (Latin America): Caminamos hacia adelante.

Caminamos hacia adelante.

We walk forward.

Breakdown of Caminamos hacia adelante.

forward / ahead (¡adelante!: come in!)

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Questions & Answers about Caminamos hacia adelante.

Why do we need hacia here? Doesn't adelante already mean "forward"?

Adelante does mean "ahead" or "forward". But in Spanish, when you want to emphasize the direction of movement, it is very common to pair it with hacia (towards). So hacia adelante literally translates to "towards the front" or "forward".

Could I use hasta instead of hacia in this sentence?

You could, but it changes the meaning completely! Hacia shows the direction you are heading ("towards"). Hasta shows a limit or destination ("until" or "as far as"). Caminamos hasta adelante would mean "We walk all the way to the front" (like moving to the very first row of a bus or theater).

Wait, doesn't caminamos also mean "we walked" in the past tense?

Yes, it does! For regular "-ar" verbs, the "we" form is exactly the same in the present tense and the simple past (preterite) tense. Without extra context words like ayer (yesterday) or ahora (now), it could be either. "We walk forward" and "We walked forward" are both correct translations here.

Is there a difference between adelante and delante?

Yes! Adelante is generally used with verbs of motion, like caminar (to walk), to show you are moving forward. Delante is used for fixed positions, like when something is simply located in front of something else.