Vamos plantar a muda?

Shall we plant the seedling?

Breakdown of Vamos plantar a muda?

• ir: to go (future auxiliary)
• a muda: the seedling; young plant
• plantar: to plant

Questions & Answers about Vamos plantar a muda?

Why does vamos mean let’s here?

In Brazilian Portuguese, vamos + infinitive is a very common way to suggest doing something together. So Vamos plantar... ? means Shall we plant... ? or Let’s plant... ?

Literally, vamos is the we form of ir (to go), but in this structure it works like an invitation or suggestion, not just physical movement.

Examples:

• Vamos comer? = Shall we eat?
• Vamos sair? = Shall we go out?

Why is plantar in the infinitive instead of being conjugated?

Because after vamos in this kind of suggestion, Portuguese normally uses the infinitive of the main verb.

So:

• Vamos plantar = Let’s plant
• Vamos estudar = Let’s study
• Vamos ver = Let’s see

English does something similar with let’s + base verb:

• Let’s plant
• Let’s study

You do not say Vamos plantamos here.

What exactly does muda mean in this sentence?