Nós vamos ao campo aos domingos.

We go to the countryside on Sundays.

Breakdown of Nós vamos ao campo aos domingos.

• ir: to go
• nós: we
• o campo: the countryside
• o domingo: the Sunday
• aos: to

Questions & Answers about Nós vamos ao campo aos domingos.

What tense is vamos, and what does it express in this sentence?

Vamos is the present indicative of the verb ir (to go), 1st person plural (nós).

In Nós vamos ao campo aos domingos, the present tense is used to express a habitual action: something that happens regularly, in this case on Sundays. So it corresponds to English “we go” (present simple, habitual), not “we are going to go” (future).

Could I say Nós iremos ao campo instead of Nós vamos ao campo?

You could, but it would not mean the same thing.

• Nós vamos ao campo aos domingos.
  → natural way to talk about a routine (habit) in everyday speech.

• Nós iremos ao campo (no domingo / amanhã).
  → simple future, usually used for a specific future event, often sounds a bit more formal or emphatic in spoken Portuguese.

Using iremos with aos domingos (habit) is unusual. For habits, speakers strongly prefer the present: vamos.

Can I drop Nós and just say Vamos ao campo aos domingos?

Yes. In Portuguese, subject pronouns are often omitted because the verb ending already shows the person.

• Nós vamos ao campo aos domingos. – perfectly correct
• Vamos ao campo aos domingos. – also perfectly correct and very natural

You would keep Nós if you want to emphasise the subject, for example in contrast:

• Nós vamos ao campo aos domingos, mas eles ficam em casa.
  (We go to the countryside on Sundays, but they stay at home.)

What exactly is ao, and why isn’t it written as two words?

Ao is a mandatory contraction of:

• preposition a (to)
• definite article o (the, masculine singular)

So: a + o → ao

You can’t normally write a o campo; it must contract to ao campo.

Similar contractions:

• a
  • os → aos
• a
  • a → à
• a
  • as → às

What’s the difference between ao campo, para o campo, and no campo?

All three are common, but they don’t mean the same thing.

• ao campo

  • literally “to the countryside / to the field”
  • uses a after the verb ir to express movement to a place
  • focuses on the act of going there
  • Nós vamos ao campo aos domingos. → we go there (and then come back).

• para o campo

  • also “to the countryside”, but para often emphasises the destination / purpose or a longer stay.
  • Eles vão para o campo nas férias. → They go to the countryside for the holidays (to stay there).

• no campo

  • em
    • o → no = in/on the countryside / in the field (location, not movement).
  • You do not say vamos no campo for “we go to the countryside”.
  • You say estamos no campo, passamos o dia no campo = we are / spend the day in the countryside.

In your sentence, vamos ao campo is the standard way to say “we go to the countryside”.

Does campo mean “camp” here?

No, campo here means “the countryside” or “the fields”, not “camp” in the English sense of a holiday camp or kids’ camp.

Common meanings of campo:

• countryside / rural area:
  
  • Gosto de viver no campo. – I like living in the countryside.
• sports field / pitch:
  
  • campo de futebol – football pitch

To say “camp” (as in a place where people stay), you’d normally use:

• acampamento – camp
• campo de férias – holiday camp
• parque de campismo – campsite / camping site

So ao campo here is “to the countryside”, not “to camp”.

Why do we say aos domingos for “on Sundays”? Could I also say nos domingos?

For regular or habitual actions with days of the week, Portuguese commonly uses a (contracted):

• ao domingo / aos domingos – on Sunday / on Sundays (in general, as a habit)

So:

• Nós vamos ao campo aos domingos.
  → We (usually) go to the countryside on Sundays.

Nos domingos (from em + os) is possible, but it is less typical for a simple habit. It’s more likely to appear in a more specific context:

• Nos domingos de verão vamos ao campo.
  → On summer Sundays we go to the countryside.

Rule of thumb:

• ao / aos + day → usual way to express habit (“on Mondays, on Sundays”)
• no / nos + day → more often specific day(s) (“on Sunday / on those Sundays”)

Can I say ao domingo instead of aos domingos? Is there any difference?

Yes, you can say both:

• Nós vamos ao campo ao domingo.
• Nós vamos ao campo aos domingos.

Both are correct and mean essentially the same: we (usually) go on Sundays.

Very subtle nuance (not everyone feels it strongly):

• ao domingo (singular) – slightly more neutral / generic
• aos domingos (plural) – can sound a bit more like “every Sunday”

But in real life they’re often used interchangeably to talk about a Sunday habit.

Is the word order fixed, or can I move aos domingos to another position?

You can move aos domingos. Some common options:

• Nós vamos ao campo aos domingos. – neutral
• Aos domingos, (nós) vamos ao campo. – emphasises when you go
• Nós, aos domingos, vamos ao campo. – stronger emphasis/contrast on “on Sundays”

All of these are grammatically correct. Like in English, time expressions can go at the beginning or end, or sometimes in the middle for emphasis.

How would I say the same idea using todos os domingos, and is it different from aos domingos?

You can say:

• Nós vamos ao campo todos os domingos.
  → We go to the countryside every Sunday.

Comparison:

• aos domingos – “on Sundays” (habitual); doesn’t insist that it’s absolutely every single Sunday.
• todos os domingos – stronger idea of every Sunday, with no exceptions (at least in theory).

In everyday speech, people don’t always respect that distinction strictly, but todos os domingos does sound more emphatic than aos domingos.

How do I make the sentence negative?

Put não right before the verb:

• Nós não vamos ao campo aos domingos.
  → We do not / don’t go to the countryside on Sundays.

You can still drop nós:

• Não vamos ao campo aos domingos.

You can also move the time expression for emphasis:

• Aos domingos, não vamos ao campo. – On Sundays, we don’t go to the countryside.

How do you pronounce this sentence, and how are ao, aos, and ão different?

In European Portuguese, a careful pronunciation is roughly:

• Nós – /nɔʃ/
• vamos – /ˈvɐ.muʃ/
• ao – /aw/ (like English “ow” in now, but shorter)
• campo – /ˈkɐ̃.pu/ (first vowel is nasal: like “kuhm”, but with air through the nose)
• aos – /awʃ/ (same vowel as ao, with a final /ʃ/ sound, like sh in “she”)
• domingos – /duˈmĩ.ɡuʃ/ (the mi is nasal: /mĩ/)

So the full sentence:

• Nós vamos ao campo aos domingos.
  → /nɔʃ ˈvɐ.muʃ aw ˈkɐ̃.pu awʃ duˈmĩ.ɡuʃ/

Differences:

• ao – /aw/ = “to the” (masc. sing.)
• aos – /awʃ/ = “to the” (masc. plural)
• ão (not in this sentence, but very common) – /ɐ̃w̃/
  
  • nasal diphthong; like saying “uh”
    • w through your nose: e.g.
      
      • não (no, not) – /nɐ̃w̃/
      • pão (bread) – /pɐ̃w̃/

So ao/aos are not the same sound as ão; ão is clearly more nasal.