Tomamos el desvío antes de la pendiente.

Yes. Tomamos can mean either:

• we take (present tense), or
• we took (preterite, simple past)

For -ar verbs like tomar, the nosotros form is the same in both tenses:

• Present: tomamos
• Preterite: tomamos

So the meaning depends on context. In this sentence, it is understood as we took.

Spanish often leaves out subject pronouns when the verb already shows who is doing the action. In tomamos, the ending -amos tells you the subject is we.

So both are possible:

• Tomamos el desvío...
• Nosotros tomamos el desvío...

The version without nosotros is more natural in many cases.

Here, tomar means something like:

• to take
• to go on
• to use
• to follow

In road/travel contexts, tomar is very common for routes, roads, exits, and detours:

• tomar la carretera = to take the road
• tomar la salida = to take the exit
• tomar el desvío = to take the detour

So it is a very natural choice in this sentence.

Desvío usually means:

• detour
• diversion
• sometimes turnoff or alternate route, depending on context

In travel or road situations, it often refers to a route that leaves the main path.

Also note the accent mark:

• desvío

That written accent shows the stress pattern.

El means the, while un means a/an.

• el desvío = the detour
• un desvío = a detour

Using el suggests the speaker has a specific detour in mind, probably one already known from the situation or context.

Use antes de when it is followed by a noun or noun phrase:

• antes de la pendiente = before the slope

Use antes by itself when nothing follows, or when the rest is implied:

• Llegamos antes. = We arrived earlier.

You also use antes de before an infinitive:

• antes de salir = before leaving

So here de is required because la pendiente comes after it.

In this sentence, pendiente most likely means:

• slope
• incline
• grade

It can refer to a stretch of road or terrain that goes uphill or downhill.

Be careful: pendiente can also mean other things in Spanish depending on context, such as:

• pending
• aware / keeping an eye on
• in some places, earring

But here, because of the road/travel context, it clearly refers to a slope/incline.

Because here pendiente is being used as a noun.

Spanish adjectives can sometimes also function as nouns, depending on context. In this sentence, la pendiente is a thing: the slope.

So:

• adjective: una calle pendiente would not be natural for steep/sloping street
• noun: la pendiente = the slope

The article la helps show that it is being used as a noun here.

A simple approximation is:

• des-VEE-oh

The stress falls on ví because of the written accent: desvío.

Also, the i and o are pronounced in separate syllables:

• des-ví-o

That is important. It is not pronounced as one blended sound.

Both exist, but desvío is very common in everyday road/travel language in much of Latin America.

Very roughly:

• desvío often sounds more everyday and direct
• desviación can sound a bit more formal or technical in some contexts

On road signs and in speech, desvío is extremely common.

Possibly, depending on the context.

Literal structure:

• Tomamos el desvío antes de la pendiente.
• We took the detour before the slope.

But natural English might vary:

• We took the detour before the hill.
• We turned off before the incline.
• We took the turnoff before the slope.

The best English version depends on what desvío refers to in the situation: a detour, a side road, or a turnoff.

Yes. Here it most naturally refers to location/order along a route, not just time.

It means something like:

• before reaching the slope
• prior to the slope on the road

Spanish antes de can describe both:

• time: before
• position/sequence: before

In this sentence, because it is about a route, the idea is spatial.

Grammatically yes, but for Latin America, tomamos is usually the safer and more widely appropriate choice.

Why? Because coger has regional differences:

• In Spain, coger often simply means to take
• In much of Latin America, coger can have a vulgar sexual meaning

So for learners aiming at Latin American Spanish, tomar is a much better option here.