Vamos juntar os livros na mesa.

We are going to put the books together on the table.

Breakdown of Vamos juntar os livros na mesa.

• ir: to go
• o livro: the book
• em: on
• a mesa: the table
• juntar: to put together

Questions & Answers about Vamos juntar os livros na mesa.

In this sentence, does vamos mean we go or let’s?

Here vamos + infinitive (juntar) is best understood as let’s:

• Vamos juntar os livros na mesa. → Let’s put the books together on the table.
• Literally, vamos is we go / we are going, but vamos + infinitive often has a suggestion / invitation meaning: Let’s + verb.

So:

• vamos (alone) = we go / we are going
• vamos + infinitive (here) = let’s + verb

Why is there no nós (we) in the sentence? Can I say Nós vamos juntar…?

Portuguese usually drops subject pronouns when the verb ending already shows the person:

• Vamos juntar os livros na mesa. = We’ll / Let’s gather the books on the table.

The -mos ending in vamos already tells you it’s we.

You can say:

• Nós vamos juntar os livros na mesa.

It’s grammatically correct, just a bit heavier. You normally add nós only for emphasis or contrast:

• Nós vamos juntar os livros na mesa, não eles.
  (We are going to put the books together on the table, not them.)

What exactly does juntar mean here? Is it “to join”, “to gather”, or “to put”?

The basic idea of juntar is to bring things (or people) together.

Common meanings:

• To gather / collect things:
  
  • Vamos juntar os livros. = Let’s gather the books.
• To put things together in one place:
  
  • Vamos juntar os livros na mesa.
    → Bring the books and put them all together on the table.
• To join things together / connect:
  
  • Juntar duas partes. = To join two parts.
• To join (a group), especially with the reflexive form juntar-se:
  
  • Ela juntou-se a nós. = She joined us.

In this sentence, the natural reading is gather the books and put them all together on the table.

Why is it juntar os livros na mesa and not something with a preposition after juntar, like juntar aos livros?

Here juntar is a direct transitive verb: it takes a direct object without an extra preposition.

• juntar + direct object
  
  • juntar os livros = to gather / put together the books

Then na mesa tells you where you will put them together:

• os livros = what is being gathered
• na mesa = where they will be gathered

If you say juntar algo a algo (with a), the meaning is more like add/attach X to Y:

• Junta este livro aos outros. = Add this book to the others.

That’s a different pattern. In the original sentence, you are simply gathering all the books in one place, which is the table.

What does na mean in na mesa? How is it formed?

Na is a contraction:

• em + a = na (for feminine singular nouns)
  • em = in / on / at (very general)
  • a = the (feminine singular definite article)

So:

• em + a mesa → na mesa = on the table / at the table

Related forms:

• no = em + o (masc. sing.) → no carro (in the car)
• nas = em + as (fem. pl.) → nas mesas (on the tables)
• nos = em + os (masc. pl.) → nos livros (in the books)

Why is it os livros (the books) and not just livros (books)?

Portuguese uses the definite article (o / a / os / as) more often than English does.

• os livros usually means the books in the sense of specific / known books (e.g., the ones in the room, the ones we’ve just talked about).

If you said:

• Vamos juntar livros na mesa.

it would sound like some books in general, not a specific, identifiable set. That’s possible, but context would have to support it. In everyday use, if everyone knows which books, os livros is the default.

Does na mesa mean on the table or at the table?

Na mesa can be translated as on the table or at the table, depending on context.

In this sentence:

• Vamos juntar os livros na mesa.

the natural interpretation is on the table, because books are usually placed on top of a table.

Compare:

• Estamos na mesa.
  Could be We’re at the table (sitting there).
• Os pratos estão na mesa.
  → The plates are on the table.

So na mesa is flexible; context decides between on and at in English.

Could I say sobre a mesa or em cima da mesa instead of na mesa?

Yes, but there are small nuances:

• na mesa
  
  • Very common, neutral. Often understood as on the table in contexts like books, plates, etc.
• sobre a mesa
  
  • Literally over / on top of the table. Slightly more formal or descriptive; clearly emphasizes on the surface.
• em cima da mesa
  
  • Literally on top of the table. More colloquial, very clear about the surface idea.

For your sentence, all are possible:

• Vamos juntar os livros na mesa.
• Vamos juntar os livros sobre a mesa.
• Vamos juntar os livros em cima da mesa.

All mean putting the books together on the table, with na mesa being the most neutral and common.

Is vamos juntar a future tense, or is it an imperative like let’s…?

Grammatically, vamos is present tense of ir (to go):

• (nós) vamos = we go / we are going

But when you do vamos + infinitive, there are two common readings:

1. Immediate / near future:
   
   • Vamos juntar os livros na mesa mais tarde.
     → We’re going to gather the books on the table later.
2. Suggestion / invitation (let’s):
   
   • Vamos juntar os livros na mesa. (said now, as a proposal)
     → Let’s gather the books on the table.

Portuguese doesn’t have a separate we-form imperative, so vamos + infinitive is the usual way to express let’s + verb.

Could I say Juntamos os livros na mesa instead? What’s the difference?

You can say:

• Juntamos os livros na mesa.

But the meaning is different:

• Juntamos os livros na mesa.
  → Usually a statement: We gather the books on the table (habitually) or We gathered the books on the table (in certain contexts, especially in European Portuguese speech).
• Vamos juntar os livros na mesa.
  → Suggestion / invitation (Let’s do it now) or near-future (We’re going to do it).

So use vamos juntar when you want to propose or announce the action, not just describe it.

How would this sentence change if I wanted to say Let’s meet at the table instead of Let’s gather the books on the table?

Then we would be the ones coming together, so you’d use juntar-se (reflexive):

• Vamos juntar-nos à mesa.
  → Let’s gather at the table / Let’s meet at the table.

Key changes:

• juntar-nos (with -nos) = join / gather ourselves
• à mesa = a + a mesa (to the table), often used when people move to the table to sit there.

Compare:

• Vamos juntar os livros na mesa.
  → The books are gathered on the table.
• Vamos juntar-nos à mesa.
  → We gather at the table.

Is this sentence okay in both European and Brazilian Portuguese?

Yes, Vamos juntar os livros na mesa. is perfectly natural in both European Portuguese (Portugal) and Brazilian Portuguese.

Small differences:

• Pronunciation is different (especially os → in Portugal often closer to ush, in Brazil more oos or us depending on region).
• In Brazil, people might be slightly more likely to say things like:
  
  • Vamos colocar/juntar os livros na mesa.
    (colocar = put/place), but juntar is still fine.

Grammatically and in meaning, the sentence works well in both varieties.