Breakdown of La tortura esta es malísima; ustedes llevan una hora sin avanzar.
ser
to be
una
a, an (feminine)
ustedes
you (plural)
la hora
the hour
esta
this (feminine)
avanzar
to move forward
malo
bad
sin
without
llevar
to have been (doing) for a time
la tortura
the torture
Questions & Answers about La tortura esta es malísima; ustedes llevan una hora sin avanzar.
Why does the English translation say "haven't moved" when the Spanish sentence uses the present tense word llevan?
In Spanish, the structure llevar + time + sin + infinitive is used to talk about a situation that started in the past and is still ongoing right now. Because they are still stuck, Spanish uses the present tense (llevan). English, however, requires the present perfect ("haven't moved") to express this continuous idea.
Why use llevan una hora sin avanzar instead of a direct translation like no han avanzado por una hora?
While you could use the present perfect (no han avanzado), the phrase llevar + time + sin + infinitive is the most natural choice in conversational Spanish when you want to emphasize the duration of a negative state. It draws attention to the agonizing passage of time, which perfectly matches the speaker's frustration.
Why is the word esta placed after the noun in La tortura esta instead of saying Esta tortura?
Placing a demonstrative like esta after the noun is a colloquial Spanish trick to add a tone of annoyance, contempt, or dismissiveness. Notice that when you change the word order this way to complain about something, you must also add the definite article (La) before the noun.
What is the function of the -ísima ending on malísima?
It is an absolute superlative. Instead of just saying muy mala (very bad), the speaker uses the suffix -ísima to mean "extremely bad" or "awful." This intensifier perfectly matches the dramatic tone of calling a slow-moving situation a torture!
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