Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): El estadio nuevo queda lejos de mi casa, pero el ambiente es increíble. - The new stadium is far from my house, but the atmosphere is incredible.

In Latin American Spanish, quedar is very commonly used to talk about where something is located, especially places like buildings, stores, stadiums, etc.

El estadio nuevo queda lejos de mi casa.
= The new stadium is (located) far from my house.

Estar would also be correct:

El estadio nuevo está lejos de mi casa.

The difference is mostly nuance:

queda often implies “is situated / is located” and can sound a bit more descriptive, sometimes with a sense of where it ends up being in relation to you.
está is the general verb "to be" for location.

In everyday Latin American speech, queda in this context is extremely common and sounds very natural.

Can I say El nuevo estadio instead of El estadio nuevo? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say El nuevo estadio, and it’s correct. The difference is nuance and focus:

El nuevo estadio
Focus is on nuevo (the fact that it’s new).
Often used when you’re contrasting it with an old stadium or emphasizing its newness.
El estadio nuevo
Slightly more neutral; you’re talking about “the stadium (which is) new.” Often used when identifying or describing it among other stadiums.

Both are grammatically correct. In real life, both word orders are used; context and emphasis decide which sounds better.

What exactly does queda lejos de mi casa mean? Why lejos de?

Lejos means “far” and in Spanish it usually combines with de when followed by a noun:

lejos de mi casa = far from my house
lejos de aquí = far from here

So the pattern is:

lejos de + [place/person]

You cannot say ✗ lejos a mi casa or ✗ lejos mi casa.

What tense and form is queda here?

Queda is:

Verb: quedar
Tense: present indicative
Person: third person singular

So literally:

queda = “it stays / it is located / it ends up”

In this sentence:

El estadio nuevo queda lejos de mi casa
= The new stadium is (located) far from my house.

What does ambiente mean here? Is it like “environment” in English?

Ambiente can mean several things depending on context:

Physical or social atmosphere / vibe
- El ambiente es increíble.
  = The atmosphere / vibe is incredible (the energy, the crowd, the mood).
Environment in the ecological sense, especially as medio ambiente
- cuidar el medio ambiente = to take care of the environment.

In your sentence, ambiente refers to the overall mood, energy, and vibe at the stadium (the fans, noise, excitement), not nature or ecology.

Why is it El ambiente es increíble and not El ambiente está increíble?

Both es increíble and está increíble can be used with slightly different nuances:

es increíble
- More general, more “inherent” or typical:
  - The atmosphere (in general / typically) is incredible.
- Sounds like a stable quality, not just a one-time thing.
está increíble
- More temporary or specific to a moment/situation:
  - The atmosphere (right now / at this game) is incredible.

In your sentence, es increíble suggests that the stadium’s atmosphere is generally awesome, not just today.

What is the difference between pero and sino? Why use pero here?

Both relate to contrast, but they’re used differently:

pero = “but” (simple contrast or opposition)
- El estadio queda lejos, pero el ambiente es increíble.
  = It’s far, but the atmosphere is incredible.
sino = “but rather / but instead,” used after a negation to correct or replace something:
- No voy al cine, sino al estadio.
  = I’m not going to the movies, but rather to the stadium.

In your sentence, there is no negation before, so you must use pero, not sino.

Why is it mi casa and not la mi casa, like in some other languages?

In Spanish, possessive adjectives like mi, tu, su, nuestro, etc., usually replace the article, they don’t go together with it:

mi casa = my house
tu libro = your book
su carro = his/her/their car

You don’t say ✗ la mi casa in standard Spanish.
There are a few special stylistic or regional constructions where an article appears with a possessive (like la suya, la mi alma in very poetic or old-fashioned language), but for everyday speech you simply say:

mi casa, mi coche, mi familia

Is ambiente masculine or feminine? Why not la ambiente?

Ambiente is a masculine noun, so you say:

el ambiente (the atmosphere)
un ambiente (an atmosphere)
este ambiente (this atmosphere)

Many nouns ending in -e can be either masculine or feminine; you just have to memorize them. For ambiente, the correct article is el, not la.

Can I say está lejos de mi casa instead of queda lejos de mi casa?

Yes, you can:

El estadio nuevo está lejos de mi casa.
El estadio nuevo queda lejos de mi casa.

Both are grammatically correct and natural.

Nuance:

está lejos = simply describes location: “is far.”
queda lejos = also “is (located) far,” but can feel a bit more like “it is situated far away / it turns out to be far”. In Latin American everyday speech, queda for locations (hotels, stores, stadiums, etc.) is extremely common.

How do you pronounce queda and qu in Spanish?

Queda is pronounced approximately [KEH-dah] in English terms.

que = [keh]
qui = [kee]

Important rule:

que / qui are always pronounced with a hard “k” sound:
- que = /ke/
- qui = /ki/

There is no “kw” sound like in English “queen.”
So queda is [keh-da], not [kway-da].