В субботу мы идём на стадион смотреть матч.

On Saturday we are going to the stadium to watch a match.

Breakdown of В субботу мы идём на стадион смотреть матч.

• на: to
• мы: we
• идти: to go
• смотреть: to watch
• в: on
• суббота: the Saturday
• стадион: the stadium
• матч: the match

Questions & Answers about В субботу мы идём на стадион смотреть матч.

Why is it В субботу and not в суббота?

In Russian, days of the week after в take the accusative case to mean “on [day]”.

• суббота = nominative (dictionary form)
• в субботу = accusative (used with в to mean on Saturday)

So:

• в понедельник, во вторник, в среду, в субботу, etc.

Using в суббота would be grammatically wrong here.

Why does идём look like present tense if the meaning is future (on Saturday)?

Russian often uses the present tense of verbs of motion to talk about planned future actions, especially when there is a clear future time expression:

• В субботу мы идём на стадион…
  = On Saturday we’re going to the stadium… (a plan)

This is similar to English present continuous for the future:

• We are going to the stadium on Saturday.

Context (в субботу) makes it clear that it’s about the future, not right now.

What’s the difference between мы идём, мы пойдём, and мы ходим here?

All three are related but not interchangeable:

• мы идём – present tense, one direction, focus on the process

  • With a future time word: planned single trip
  • В субботу мы идём на стадион. = We’re going (this Saturday).

• мы пойдём – future tense, one direction, focus on the fact of starting/doing the trip

  • В субботу мы пойдём на стадион. = We will go to the stadium (more neutral future).

• мы ходим – present tense, multi-directional/habitual

  • По субботам мы ходим на стадион. = We go to the stadium on Saturdays (regularly).

In your sentence, идём expresses a specific, planned trip.

Why is it на стадион and not в стадион?

Both на and в can mean “to/into”, but with places like stadiums, squares, concerts, matches, Russian usually uses на for the idea of attending/being at the event or open place:

• на стадион – to the stadium
• на работу – to work
• на концерт – to a concert
• на матч – to a match
• на площадь – to the square

в is more for going inside an enclosed space:

• в дом (into the house), в комнату (into the room), в магазин (to/into the shop)

So на стадион is the natural collocation in Russian.

Why на стадион (accusative) and not на стадионе (prepositional)?

Russian uses different cases with the same preposition to show direction vs. location:

• на стадион (accusative) = to the stadium (movement toward)
• на стадионе (prepositional) = at the stadium (location)

Compare:

• Мы идём на стадион. – We’re going to the stadium.
• Мы уже на стадионе. – We are already at the stadium.

What is the role of смотреть here? Why is it an infinitive?

The infinitive смотреть expresses the purpose of the movement:

• идти + infinitive ≈ to go (in order) to do something

So:

• мы идём на стадион смотреть матч
  ≈ we’re going to the stadium *to watch a match*

This is very common:

• идти покупать хлеб – to go (in order) to buy bread
• поехать отдыхать – to go (in order) to rest/for a vacation

You don’t need чтобы here; the infinitive alone shows purpose.

Could I say мы идём на стадион, чтобы смотреть матч instead?

Yes, it’s grammatically correct:

• Мы идём на стадион, чтобы смотреть матч.

However, for simple, everyday speech, Russian usually prefers the shorter infinitive construction:

• …идём на стадион смотреть матч.

Using чтобы sounds a bit more formal or explanatory, like you are emphasizing the reason.

Why is there no comma before смотреть матч?

Смотреть матч here is just an infinitive phrase that depends on идём and shows its purpose. It’s not a separate clause, and there is no conjunction.

Pattern:

• идти (куда?) на стадион (зачем?) смотреть матч

Since it’s one simple clause with a verb + infinitive of purpose, Russian punctuation does not require a comma.

Why is it bare смотреть матч, not something like смотреть на матч?

The verb смотреть normally takes its direct object in the accusative without a preposition:

• смотреть фильм – to watch a movie
• смотреть телевизор – to watch TV
• смотреть матч – to watch a match

смотреть на + accusative is used when you look at something/someone (not necessarily as a “show”):

• смотреть на море – to look at the sea
• смотреть на него – to look at him

A sports match is an event you watch as a whole, so смотреть матч is correct.

Is матч in a special form here, or just the dictionary form?

Матч is a masculine inanimate noun. In Russian, for masculine inanimate nouns, the accusative = nominative:

• Nominative: матч идёт – the match is on
• Accusative: смотреть матч – to watch a match

So here матч is in the accusative, but it looks the same as the dictionary form.

Can the word order be changed, for example to Мы в субботу идём на стадион смотреть матч?

Yes, Russian word order is relatively flexible. Some common variants:

• В субботу мы идём на стадион смотреть матч.
• Мы в субботу идём на стадион смотреть матч.
• Мы идём в субботу на стадион смотреть матч.

All are possible; they mostly change emphasis:

• В субботу мы… – emphasizes when.
• Мы в субботу… – neutral: we, on Saturday, are going…

Your original sentence is very natural and standard.

What’s the difference between В субботу мы идём на стадион смотреть матч and По субботам мы ходим на стадион смотреть матчи?

• В субботу мы идём…
  – one specific Saturday, one planned event.

• По субботам мы ходим…
  – every Saturday / on Saturdays in general, a regular habit.

Changes:

• по субботам (plural, distributive) = on Saturdays (habit)
• ходим (multi-directional motion) = habitual action
• матчи (plural) can be used if you mean matches in general over time.

So:

• В субботу мы идём… – This Saturday.
• По субботам мы ходим… – Usually/on most Saturdays.