Learn Spanish (Spain): En la residencia, los ancianos salen al jardín por la tarde. - At the nursing home, the elderly go out into the garden in the afternoon.

En la residencia, los ancianos salen al jardín por la tarde.

At the nursing home, the elderly go out into the garden in the afternoon.

Breakdown of En la residencia, los ancianos salen al jardín por la tarde.

in / on / by (means of transport) / about (after pensar)

to go out, to leave / to appear, to come out (on the body)

Questions & Answers about En la residencia, los ancianos salen al jardín por la tarde.

Does residencia always mean 'nursing home'?

In this context, yes. While it can mean a general 'residence,' in everyday Spanish (especially in Spain), residencia is the standard shorthand for residencia de ancianos (nursing home) or residencia de estudiantes (student dorms).

Why is the preposition a used in salen al jardín instead of en?

The verb salir (to go out / leave) implies movement. When you are going out to or into a specific destination, you use the preposition a (here combined with el to make al). If you mistakenly used en, it would sound like they are already inside the garden and are leaving it.

Is it offensive to use ancianos to mean 'the elderly'?

No, ancianos is a respectful and standard term for elderly people. It is much more polite than calling them viejos (old people), which can sound harsh or disrespectful.

Could I say en la tarde instead of por la tarde?

If you are focusing on the Spanish of Spain, you should stick to por la tarde. While en la tarde is perfectly correct and very common in Latin America, por is the standard preposition used in Spain for general times of the day like morning, afternoon, and night.