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A fronteira fica a vinte quilómetros.

A fronteira fica a vinte quilómetros.
The border is twenty kilometres away.
From Lesson 175:As viagens (fazer as malas, o miradouro)·Portuguese (Portugal)

Questions & Answers about A fronteira fica a vinte quilómetros.

Why is the verb fica used here instead of é or está?
While ficar literally means "to stay", it is the standard verb in Portuguese to describe the location of places, buildings, and landmarks. You could technically use está, but fica is much more natural for fixed geographic locations like a border (fronteira).
Why is there an a before vinte quilómetros?
In Portuguese, to express how far away something is, you use the preposition a. It translates roughly to "at" or "at a distance of". Therefore, fica a vinte quilómetros translates smoothly to "it is twenty kilometres away".
Is there a specific word for "away" in this Portuguese sentence?
No, you don't need one! The structure fica a (is located at) followed by a distance naturally implies "away" in English. If you wanted to be extra specific, you could add de distância (of distance) at the end, but the sentence is perfectly complete without it.
Why does quilómetros have an accent mark?
The accent mark on the ó tells you exactly where to put the stress when speaking. Without it, the default pronunciation rules would stress the second-to-last syllable (the "me"). The accent ensures you stress the correct syllable: qui-LÓ-me-tros.

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