How to Say ‘There was a lot of traffic.’ in Mexican Spanish
Había mucho tráfico.
ah-BEE-ah MOO-choh TRAH-fee-koh
[ah-BEE-ah MOO-choh TRAH-fee-koh]
💬 Usage Tip: había "there was" is the past of hay "there is" and stays the same for one thing or many: había muchos coches "there were lots of cars".
🇲🇽 In Mexico: Traffic is the go-to excuse for lateness in big Mexican cities, and it's almost always accepted without question.
Phrase Breakdown
Había
[ah-BEE-ah]
there was / there were
Past (imperfect) form of 'hay', describing a past situation.
Había mucha gente en la fiesta.
There were a lot of people at the party.
mucho
[MOO-choh]
much / a lot of
Used in the fixed expression mucho gusto, which politely shows pleasure in meeting someone.
En la feria de empleo, digo Mucho gusto al presentarme.
At the job fair, I say nice to meet you when introducing myself.
tráfico
[TRAH-fee-koh]
traffic
The movement of vehicles on the road; often used when discussing delays.
El Tráfico estaba terrible cerca del aeropuerto.
The traffic was terrible near the airport.
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