Tomamos el camino directo.

Tomamos is the first-person plural form of tomar, so it goes with we.

One important thing: tomamos can be either:

• present indicative: we take
• preterite: we took

So by itself, Tomamos el camino directo could mean either we take the direct path/route or we took the direct path/route. The context tells you which one is meant.

Spanish often leaves out subject pronouns when they are not needed.

The ending -amos already tells you the subject is we, so nosotros is usually unnecessary:

• Tomamos el camino directo.
• Nosotros tomamos el camino directo.

Both are correct, but the version without nosotros is more natural unless you want emphasis or contrast, for example:

• Nosotros tomamos el camino directo, pero ellos no.

Spanish uses the definite article el very often, especially when talking about a specific thing that the speaker and listener can identify.

So el camino directo means something like:

• the direct path
• the direct route
• the direct road/way

Using el suggests it is a specific route, not just any direct path.

If you said un camino directo, that would mean a direct path/route, which sounds less specific.

Camino literally means path, way, or road, depending on context.

In this sentence, it could refer to:

• a real physical path or road
• a route to get somewhere
• sometimes even a figurative way of doing something

In many situations, English would naturally translate it as route rather than path, even though the Spanish word is camino.

In Spanish, descriptive adjectives usually come after the noun.

So the normal order is:

• el camino directo

not usually:

• el directo camino

Putting the adjective before the noun is sometimes possible in Spanish, but it often sounds literary, emphatic, or unnatural in everyday speech. Here, camino directo is the standard, neutral order.

Because adjectives in Spanish agree with the noun they describe.

Camino is:

• masculine
• singular

So the adjective must also be:

• masculine singular → directo

Compare:

• el camino directo
• la ruta directa

If the noun were feminine, the adjective would change too.

Because directo is an adjective here, not an adverb.

It describes the noun camino:

• el camino directo = the direct path

Directamente is an adverb, so it would describe a verb, not a noun. For example:

• Fuimos directamente a casa. = We went straight/directly home.

So in this sentence, directo is correct because it is modifying camino.

Yes. Tomar is a very common verb meaning to take, and in this sentence it means to take/follow/choose a route.

In Spain, you could also hear:

• Cogimos el camino directo.
• Cojemos el camino directo.
• Seguimos el camino directo.

But the meaning changes slightly:

• tomar el camino = to take/choose the path
• coger el camino = also to take the path; very common in Spain
• seguir el camino = to follow the path

A useful note: in Spain, coger is normal, but in some Latin American countries it can have a vulgar meaning, so tomar is often safer for learners in general.

Yes, that would also be correct.

For example:

• Tomamos la ruta directa.

This sounds very natural too. The difference is mostly one of vocabulary and nuance:

• camino often suggests a path, way, or road
• ruta often suggests a route or itinerary

Depending on the situation, one may sound more natural than the other, but both are possible.

It can be either, depending on context.

Literal:

• Tomamos el camino directo para llegar antes.
  We took the direct road/path to arrive sooner.

Figurative:

• Al final, tomamos el camino directo para resolver el problema.
  In the end, we took the direct approach to solve the problem.

So the structure is the same, but the meaning can be physical or metaphorical.