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Questions & Answers about Por fin llegó el autobús.
Why does the verb (llegó) come before the subject (el autobús)?
In Spanish, it is very common to put the verb before the subject with verbs of arrival, appearance, or motion (like llegar, venir, or salir). You can absolutely say El autobús por fin llegó, but llegó el autobús sounds much more natural to native speakers because the sentence's main focus is on the event of arriving rather than on the bus itself.
Since this lesson covers resolution, could I say El autobús terminó llegando instead?
You could, but it gives a different nuance. Por fin llegó means "It finally arrived," showing simple relief after a long wait. Using terminó llegando or acabó llegando means "It ended up arriving." You would use those resolution phrases if there was a series of complications or doubts first—for example, if you thought the bus was broken down and canceled, but it ended up arriving anyway.
Can I use al final instead of por fin to mean "finally"?
They are close, but they have different vibes. Por fin means "at last!" and usually carries a strong sense of relief or impatience that a wait is over. Al final translates better to "in the end," which focuses objectively on the final outcome of a story or situation, rather than the emotion of waiting.
Why use the preterite llegó here instead of the imperfect?