Learn Spanish (Latin America): Es increíble que tengamos que volver a comprar las llantas. - It is incredible that we have to buy the tires again.

The phrase volver a followed by an infinitive is a very common structure in Spanish that means 'to do something again'. While you could technically say comprar las llantas otra vez, using the volver a structure sounds much more natural and native to Spanish speakers.

There are three verbs stacked together in tengamos que volver a comprar. How does this structure work?

We are combining two different verb phrases. First is tener que (to have to), and the second is volver a (to do again). When you stack them, only the very first verb is conjugated (tengamos). The others remain in their infinitive forms (volver and comprar), glued together by their required connector words (que and a).

Why do we use the subjunctive tengamos here instead of the regular present tense tenemos?

The sentence starts with Es increíble que (It is incredible that). Because this expresses a strong emotional reaction or subjective opinion about a situation, it triggers the subjunctive mood for the verb that follows in the next clause.

Does llantas always mean tires? I have seen the word neumáticos used before.