No sábado, vamos ao teatro ver uma peça famosa; já comprei os ingressos.

On Saturday, we are going to the theater to see a famous play; I have already bought the tickets.

Breakdown of No sábado, vamos ao teatro ver uma peça famosa; já comprei os ingressos.

• os: the
• comprar: to buy
• uma: a
• ao: to the
• ir: to go
• ver: to see
• no sábado: on Saturday
• já: already
• o teatro: the theater
• a peça: the play
• famoso: famous
• o ingresso: the ticket

Questions & Answers about No sábado, vamos ao teatro ver uma peça famosa; já comprei os ingressos.

Why is it No sábado and not Em sábado or something else?

No is the contraction of em + o (in/on + the).
Days of the week in Portuguese normally take the definite article:

• no sábado = on Saturday (literally: in/on the Saturday)
• na segunda-feira = on Monday

You normally don’t say em sábado in this context. For “on + day of the week”, use no / na + day of the week (with the article).

Does No sábado mean “this Saturday”, “next Saturday”, or just “on Saturdays”?

On its own, No sábado usually means “on Saturday”, and the exact Saturday is understood from context. In conversation, if you’re talking about upcoming plans, No sábado is normally understood as “this coming Saturday”.

To be more explicit, you can say:

• no sábado que vem = this coming / next Saturday
• no próximo sábado = next Saturday
• aos sábados = on Saturdays (habitually, every Saturday)

What exactly is ao in vamos ao teatro?

Ao is a contraction of a + o:

• a = to
• o = the (masculine singular article)
• ao = to the

So vamos ao teatro literally means “we go to the theater” (used here as a future plan: we’re going to the theater).

Why is it vamos ao teatro and not iremos ao teatro for the future?

Portuguese has two common ways to express the future:

1. ir (present) + infinitive

   • vamos ver, vou ver = we’re going to see / I’m going to see
     This is extremely common in spoken Brazilian Portuguese for planned future.

2. simple future tense

   • veremos, irei = we will see, I will go
     This sounds a bit more formal or written, or can indicate a more distant / less immediate future.

In everyday Brazilian speech, No sábado, vamos ao teatro ver... is more natural than iremos ao teatro ver....

Could I say No sábado, veremos uma peça famosa instead?

You can say veremos, and it’s grammatically correct, but it sounds:

• more formal
• a bit less colloquial/natural in typical spoken Brazilian Portuguese

For normal, casual conversation about weekend plans, vamos ver uma peça is preferred. Veremos uma peça might appear in more formal writing, announcements, or speeches.

Why is it ao teatro and not para o teatro?

Both are possible, but there’s a nuance:

• ir a algum lugar (→ ir ao teatro) is the more traditional, “correct” pattern for “go to a place”.
• ir para algum lugar (→ ir para o teatro) is also very common in Brazil.

In many contexts, Brazilians use a and para almost interchangeably with verbs of movement. In this sentence, vamos ao teatro is standard and very natural.
Vamos para o teatro would also be understood and acceptable in everyday speech.

What does ver mean here? Why not assistir?

• ver = to see / to watch (very general and very common)
• assistir (in Brazil) with the meaning “to watch” is normally assistir a:
  • assistir a uma peça, assistir a um filme

Using ver is simpler and extremely frequent:

• ver uma peça, ver um filme, ver um jogo

So vamos ver uma peça is completely natural and perhaps more common in casual speech than vamos assistir a uma peça.

What does peça mean in this context?

In this sentence, peça means a play (theater play).

Other common meanings of peça:

• peça de roupa = clothing item
• peça de xadrez = chess piece
• peça de máquina = machine part

Here, because of teatro, the natural interpretation is a theater play.

Why is it uma peça famosa (adjective after the noun) and not uma famosa peça?

In Portuguese, adjectives usually come after the noun:

• uma peça famosa = a famous play

Putting the adjective before the noun is possible but less neutral. It can add extra nuance (emphasis, subjectivity, a more literary tone, etc.).
Uma famosa peça is grammatically correct but sounds more stylized, like “a renowned / celebrated play”, with a bit of rhetorical flavor.

Neutral, everyday order: noun + adjective → peça famosa.

What exactly does já mean in já comprei os ingressos?

Já basically means already here:

• já comprei os ingressos = I’ve already bought the tickets.

Other common uses of já (just to be aware):

• Já? (alone) = Already? (surprise)
• with negatives: não ... mais / não ... já → no longer / not anymore (in some contexts)
• in some structures, it can mean soon / right away, etc.

But in this sentence, it’s the straightforward “already”.

Why is it os ingressos and not just ingressos without the article?

Portuguese uses definite articles much more than English.

• já comprei os ingressos literally: I already bought the tickets (the specific tickets for that play)
• Saying just já comprei ingressos sounds more like I already (at some point) bought tickets (not clearly tied to this event).

Because you’re referring to specific, known tickets (for the Saturday play), os ingressos with the definite article is the natural choice.

What exactly does ingressos mean? Is it the same as “tickets”?

Yes, ingresso (plural ingressos) is typically:

• ticket for entry to an event: theater, cinema, concert, game, etc.

In Brazil, ingresso is the usual word for event tickets. In European Portuguese, bilhete is more common for that meaning.

So:

• ingressos de teatro / de cinema = theater / movie tickets

Why is there a semicolon () ; ) in the Portuguese sentence? Could it be a period?

Yes, it could also be a period:

• No sábado, vamos ao teatro ver uma peça famosa. Já comprei os ingressos.

The semicolon joins two closely related clauses:

• first: the plan (we’re going to the theater to see a famous play)
• second: an extra, very related comment (I’ve already bought the tickets)

It’s mostly a stylistic choice. A comma there would not be correct; you need at least a semicolon or a period, because each part could stand as its own sentence.

Why is it vamos ao teatro ver uma peça and not vamos ver uma peça no teatro? Are both correct?

Both are grammatically correct; they just focus the information differently:

• vamos ao teatro ver uma peça famosa
  → emphasizes going to the theater, then what you’ll do there (see a play).

• vamos ver uma peça famosa no teatro
  → emphasizes seeing a play, with no teatro as a location.

In normal conversation, both word orders are natural. The original version just flows in a very typical way: ir a algum lugar + verbo (go somewhere to do something).

Why is it No sábado and not Em sábado or capitalized like no Sábado?

Two points:

1. Preposition + article

   • Portuguese normally uses no / na with days of the week for “on”:
     • no sábado, na terça-feira
       Em sábado is not idiomatic in this context.

2. Capitalization

   • In Portuguese, days of the week are written with lowercase:
     • sábado, segunda-feira, sexta-feira
       So no sábado is correct, not no Sábado.

Is vamos always “we go”, or can it mean “let’s go” as well?

Vamos can mean both, depending on context:

1. Simple present / near future (as in the sentence)

   • No sábado, vamos ao teatro...
     = On Saturday, we’re going to the theater...

2. Inclusive command / suggestion (“let’s”)

   • Vamos ao teatro? = Shall we go to the theater? / Let’s go to the theater?
   • Vamos ver uma peça! = Let’s watch a play!

In your sentence, it’s not a suggestion; it’s stating a plan.