Faltan 2 horas para llegar

Question

Hello,

please could you help me to translate this sentence to English? I used the translation tools but it doesn't make sense.

Thanks for your help

Miguel

Thanks to all, I still have one doubt, why did you use "They"? There isn't a subject in the sentence. We use this sentece for example when you are in a car and the passenger ask How far are we? and the driver said "Faltan dos horas para llegar". Thanks - miguel79, Dec 28, 2010

It's 'they' as in: the two hours. 'Two hours are lacking to arrive'. The two hours are the subject. - domingov, Dec 28, 2010

Hi Miguel, in that case you´d say 'we are two hours away', '(we've got) two hours to go', 'we'll get there in two hours'. I guess we all simply guess the subject :-) - afowen, Dec 28, 2010

¡ Muchas gracias ! That was what I was looking for. Cheers - miguel79, Dec 28, 2010

Answer 1

'They will get here in two hours' is a variation of they will arrive in two hours. For an English learner using 'get here' would sound more natural. If you actively want to sound more formal then use arrive, you'll probably want to get an accent to go with it too or it would sound to many as if you are learning from a dictionary.

If they need to get there in two hours, with negative consequences if they are late, i.e. they have to get there in two hours then you would say 'They have two hours left to get here', which is a more literal translation. This does though mean that there will be a consequence of them not arriving on time.

e.g. They have two hours left to get here or the puppy gets it.

Alex

Actually, using arrive doesn't stuffy and I would expect from someone who is not familiar with all the uses of to get. - BellaMargarita, Dec 28, 2010

:-) I'm not suggesting that it sounds stuffy. With a native accent it is clear that the speaker has chosen to use arrive rather than to get there, understanding the difference between the two. - afowen, Dec 29, 2010

To me, when learners of English with non-native accents, use 'higher' English, it often sounds awkward and they'd be better off speaking in the 'lower' form. Just an opinion :-) - afowen, Dec 29, 2010

Answer 2

The appropriate pronoun for the English is entirely up in the air. For example, you are in a train and on your way to Sevilla, you ask the conductor "¿Cuándo llegamos a Sevilla?", and he replies "Faltan dos horas para llegar." (We'll be there in two hours.)

Thus, the "literal" translation would be "It will take two hours to arrive." but, depending on the circumstances/context, there is a variety of other translati0ons that would also fit.

Answer 3

They will arrive in 2 hours

Answer 4

"Faltar" is a difficult verb to translate if you are not familiar with the Spanish language. It refers to the idea that something we expect is missing, lacking, or still to come. "Faltan dos horas para llegar" means that there are still two hours left before arriving.

I think Miguel is Spanish Laz so he was looking for the 'English' way to express that thought :) - Kiwi-Girl, Jan 10, 2011

Answer 5

literally, they lack 2 hours in arriving