Log inSign up

Quienes lleguen tarde no podrán entrar.

Quienes lleguen tarde no podrán entrar.
Those who arrive late will not be able to come in.
From Lesson 371:Whoever, and things to do (quien quiera, nada que hacer)·Spanish (Spain)

Questions & Answers about Quienes lleguen tarde no podrán entrar.

Why is quienes used here instead of los que?
Both are correct and mean "those who." Quienes is slightly more formal and is only used for people, whereas los que can refer to people or things. You will often see quienes in rules, warnings, or formal announcements like this one.
Why is it quienes and not just quien?
In Spanish, the pronoun quien has a plural form, quienes. Since the sentence refers to multiple people (a general "those who"), you must use the plural form so it agrees with the plural verbs lleguen and podrán.
Why is lleguen in the subjunctive rather than the indicative (llegan)?
The subjunctive is used here because the sentence refers to a hypothetical or unknown group of people. We don't know exactly who will arrive late, or if anyone actually will. If you used the indicative (llegan), it would mean you are talking about a specific, known group of people who habitually arrive late.
Since the subject is plural, why isn't tarde pluralized to tardes?
In this sentence, tarde is acting as an adverb modifying the verb lleguen (describing how or when they arrive). Adverbs in Spanish are invariable, meaning they never change their form to match gender or number.

Learn Quienes lleguen tarde no podrán entrar 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
Start learning Spanish →