Breakdown of Su visa había vencido antes de la escala.
de
from / of
su
his/her/its/their/your (formal)
haber
(auxiliary) have
la visa
the visa
antes
before / earlier
vencer
to expire
la escala
layover
Questions & Answers about Su visa había vencido antes de la escala.
Why do we use había vencido instead of just the past tense venció?
Había vencido is the past perfect tense. It shows that the visa expired before another past event (the layover). If we just used the simple past venció, it would sound like the visa expired exactly during the layover, rather than already being invalid before the layover happened.
I thought vencer meant 'to beat' or 'to defeat'. Can it also mean 'to expire'?
Yes! While you will see vencer used for defeating an opponent in a game or battle, when we talk about official documents (like a visa or passport), contracts, or even food, vencer means 'to expire'.
Why is it antes de here instead of antes que?
We use antes de when it is directly followed by a noun or an infinitive verb. Because it is followed by the noun la escala (the layover), we need the preposition de. If it were followed by a new clause with a conjugated verb, like 'before the flight departed', we would use antes de que.
Is escala the standard word for 'layover'?
How do we know su means 'his' here and not 'her' or 'your'?
By itself, su can mean his, her, your (formal), or their. We only know it translates to 'his' here because of the provided English translation. In real life, you would know whose visa it is based on the context of the conversation.
Learn Su visa había vencido antes de la escala and more in Spanish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free