Breakdown of Nuestras amistades nos ayudan a llenar la vida de alegría.
a
to
la vida
the life
ayudar
to help
nos
us
nuestras
our
de
with
la amistad
the friendship
llenar
to fill
la alegría
the joy
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Questions & Answers about Nuestras amistades nos ayudan a llenar la vida de alegría.
Why is it nuestras amistades instead of nuestros amigos?
Because amistades (friendships) is a feminine plural noun, so it needs the feminine plural possessive nuestras. By contrast, amigos (male or mixed‐gender friends) is masculine plural and would take nuestros. Also, amistades refers to the relationship itself, while amigos names the people.
What role does nos play in this sentence?
Nos is the indirect object pronoun meaning “to us” or “for us.” It shows who benefits from the action of the verb. Here, nos ayudan literally means “they help us,” and what they help us do is llenar la vida de alegría.
Why is there an a before llenar (“ayudan a llenar”)?
In Spanish, certain verbs—like ayudar—require the preposition a when they’re followed by another verb. So you say ayudar a + infinitive (“to help to …”). Without the a, the construction would be ungrammatical.
Why do we use llenar de alegría and not llenar con alegría or llenar alegría?
The common Spanish pattern for “fill something with something” is llenar + [noun to be filled] + de + [substance or quality]. So llenar la vida de alegría is standard. You could sometimes hear llenar con alegría, but de is far more idiomatic. Omitting the preposition (llenar alegría) would be incorrect.
Why is alegría singular rather than plural (alegrías)?
Alegría in this context is an uncountable, abstract noun meaning “joy” in general. Using the singular emphasizes the overall quality of joy filling life. Alegrías (plural) would refer to specific joyful moments or occasions, which slightly changes the sense.
Can you reorder the words, for example say Nos ayudan nuestras amistades a llenar la vida de alegría?
Spanish allows some flexibility, but placing nos before the subject (nuestras amistades) and then the verb sounds awkward here. The most natural order is [Subject] + [Object pronoun] + [Verb] + …, i.e. Nuestras amistades nos ayudan a llenar la vida de alegría.
Could you replace vida with días (days) or another noun?
Yes, you can adapt the pattern:
- Nuestras amistades nos ayudan a llenar los días de alegría.
It changes the focus from “life” as a whole to “days,” but the grammar—llenar + [noun] + de + [quality]—remains the same.