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Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Vivimos en las afueras. - We live on the outskirts.

Hardcore Spanish (Latin America)
/Sending a parcel at the post office
/Vivimos en las afueras.

Vivimos en las afueras.

Vivimos en las afueras.

We live on the outskirts.

Breakdown of Vivimos en las afueras.

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Questions & Answers about Vivimos en las afueras.

Why is there no subject pronoun like nosotros?

Spanish often drops subject pronouns when the verb already makes the subject clear.

Vivimos already means we live
So Nosotros vivimos en las afueras is grammatical, but nosotros is usually unnecessary unless you want emphasis or contrast

Vivimos en las afueras. = We live on the outskirts.
Nosotros vivimos en las afueras, pero ellos viven en el centro. = We live on the outskirts, but they live downtown.

What form is vivimos?

Vivimos is the first person plural form of vivir in the present indicative.

That means:

vivir = to live
vivimos = we live

This is the regular present-tense ending for many -ir verbs with nosotros:

vivir → vivimos
escribir → escribimos
compartir → compartimos

Can vivimos mean both we live and we are living?

Yes. In many cases, the Spanish simple present can translate as either:

we live
we are living

So Vivimos en las afueras could mean either of these in English, depending on context. Very often, though, with a sentence like this, it is understood as a general fact: we live on the outskirts.

If you really want to stress the ongoing action, Spanish can also use:

Estamos viviendo en las afueras. = We are living on the outskirts.

But that version often sounds more temporary.

Why does the sentence use en?

En is the normal preposition for in / on / at when talking about location.

So:

Vivimos en Madrid. = We live in Madrid.
Vivimos en una casa pequeña. = We live in a small house.
Vivimos en las afueras. = We live on the outskirts.

Here en shows where someone lives.

Why is it las afueras and not just afueras?

Because las afueras is a set expression in Spanish. The article is normally included.

las afueras = the outskirts / the outskirts of a place

So Spanish says:

en las afueras
a las afueras de la ciudad

and not usually just en afueras.

This is similar to how some expressions in English naturally include the, like in the suburbs or on the outskirts.

Why is afueras plural?

Because Spanish uses the noun afueras in the plural to mean outskirts. It works a lot like English outskirts, which is also usually plural.

So:

las afueras = the outskirts

There is not a commonly used singular form here meaning the same thing. In this expression, learners should treat las afueras as one fixed chunk of vocabulary.

What is the difference between afuera and afueras?

They are related, but they are not the same.

afuera is usually an adverb meaning outside
las afueras is a noun phrase meaning the outskirts

Compare:

Estoy afuera. = I’m outside.
Vivimos en las afueras. = We live on the outskirts.

So you should not replace las afueras with afuera in this sentence.

Why doesn’t the sentence say de la ciudad?

It can, but it doesn’t have to.

Spanish often says:

Vivimos en las afueras de la ciudad. = We live on the outskirts of the city.

But if the place is already understood from context, speakers can simply say:

Vivimos en las afueras.

That sounds natural and complete.

Could this also mean we live in the suburbs?

Sometimes, yes. En las afueras often overlaps with English in the suburbs or on the outskirts, depending on context.

But the most direct idea is usually:

outside the center
toward the edge of a city or town

So the best English translation depends on the situation:

on the outskirts is very literal
in the suburbs may sound more natural in some contexts

What is the difference between en las afueras and a las afueras?

This is an important distinction:

en las afueras = in/on the outskirts → location
a las afueras = to the outskirts / at the outskirts → often used with movement or position relative to something

Examples:

Vivimos en las afueras. = We live on the outskirts.
Hay una gasolinera a las afueras del pueblo. = There is a gas station on the outskirts of town.
Fuimos a las afueras de la ciudad. = We went to the outskirts of the city.

So in your sentence, en is used because it describes where we live.

Is Vivimos en las afueras a complete sentence by itself?

Yes. It is a perfectly complete sentence.

It has:

a verb: vivimos
an expression of location: en las afueras

Even without naming the city or town, the sentence is natural. It simply means the place is either:

already known from context, or
not important to mention

How would this sentence be pronounced?

A simple Latin American-style pronunciation guide would be:

vee-BEE-mos en las ah-FWEH-rahs

A few notes:

v in Spanish is usually pronounced much closer to b than to the English v
vivimos has stress on -bi-: vi-VI-mos
afueras has stress on -fue-: a-FUE-ras

A rough syllable breakdown:

vi-vi-mos
en
las
a-fue-ras

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