Log inSign up

Mi familia vive en las afueras del pueblo.

Mi familia vive en las afueras del pueblo.
My family lives on the outskirts of the town.
From Lesson 31:Preposition contractions (al, del)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about Mi familia vive en las afueras del pueblo.

Why do we say del pueblo instead of de el pueblo?
In Spanish, when the preposition de (of/from) is followed immediately by the masculine word for the (el), they always combine into the contraction del. Since pueblo is a masculine noun (el pueblo), we get del pueblo. You can't write de el pueblo—the two words must combine!
Because a family is a group of people, why does the sentence use vive (singular) instead of viven (plural)?
Even though a family has multiple members, the word familia itself is a single, singular noun (one family). Just like in English where we say 'my family lives' and not 'my family live', Spanish uses the singular 'he/she/it' verb form: Mi familia vive.
The English translation says 'on the outskirts', but the Spanish uses en. Doesn't en mean 'in'?
The word en often translates to 'in', but it is also the standard Spanish word for 'on' and 'at'. Spanish uses this one preposition for all three concepts depending on the context. So, en las afueras is the correct way to say 'on the outskirts'.
What exactly is afueras, and is it always plural?
When meaning the 'outskirts' or 'suburbs' of a town, it is always used in the plural feminine form: las afueras. It is related to the word afuera, which simply means 'outside'.

Learn Mi familia vive en las afueras del pueblo and more in Spanish

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Spanish →