El sábado veremos un partido de baloncesto entre el equipo local y el equipo visitante.

On Saturday we will watch a basketball match between the home team and the visiting team.

Breakdown of El sábado veremos un partido de baloncesto entre el equipo local y el equipo visitante.

• un: a
• nosotros: we
• el: the
• y: and
• de: of
• ver: to watch
• el equipo: the team
• local: local
• .: period
• entre: between
• el sábado: the Saturday
• el partido: the match
• el baloncesto: the basketball
• visitante: visiting

Questions & Answers about El sábado veremos un partido de baloncesto entre el equipo local y el equipo visitante.

Why is there an article in El sábado instead of just Sábado veremos…?

In Spanish, days of the week are usually used with the definite article (el, los) when you mean a specific day or days in general.

• El sábado = on Saturday (this coming Saturday in context)
• Los sábados = on Saturdays (every Saturday, in general)

You only drop the article with dates in lists, headlines, or very telegraphic styles (e.g. in calendars), but in normal speech you say el sábado.

Could I say Veremos un partido el sábado instead of El sábado veremos un partido?

Yes, both are correct.

• El sábado veremos un partido… puts focus first on when it will happen.
• Veremos un partido el sábado… starts with the action and adds the time at the end.

In everyday speech in Spain, both word orders sound natural.

Why is veremos used instead of a form of ir a + infinitive, like vamos a ver?

Spanish has two very common ways to talk about the future:

• Veremos = simple future (we will watch).
• Vamos a ver = periphrastic future (we are going to watch).

In this sentence, veremos is perfectly normal and maybe a bit more neutral/formal than vamos a ver, but El sábado vamos a ver un partido… would also be correct and natural.

Does veremos mean we will see or we will watch here?

Literally, veremos means we will see, but in Spanish ver un partido normally means to watch a match/game (either on TV or live). Context decides whether it’s see or watch in English, but Spanish just uses ver for both in this kind of situation.

Why is it un partido and not el partido?

Un partido means a (basketball) match/game in a non‑specific sense: it’s just one match among many.

You’d use el partido if both speakers know exactly which specific match is being talked about (for example, one already mentioned: el partido del Madrid contra el Barça).

What is the difference between partido and juego for sports?

In Spain, for organised sports competitions (football, basketball, tennis, etc.) the usual word is un partido.

Juego is more general: a game (as an activity, not a specific match), a board game, children playing, or play in the abstract. For a sports match, partido is the natural choice.

Why is it un partido de baloncesto and not un partido de básquetbol?

In Spain, the standard word for basketball is baloncesto, so partido de baloncesto is the most typical.

Básquet or básquetbol are more common in many Latin American countries. In Peninsular Spanish, baloncesto sounds the most native.

Why are local and visitante placed after equipo, as in el equipo local and el equipo visitante?

In Spanish, adjectives normally go after the noun: equipo local, equipo visitante. Placing them before (el local equipo) would be wrong here.

There are exceptions with certain adjectives, but for this type (describing the role/type of team) the normal order is noun + adjective.

Why is equipo masculine? Shouldn’t a word ending in -o always be masculine, and how does that affect the adjectives?

Yes, equipo is a masculine noun, so it takes masculine articles and adjectives:

• el equipo, not la equipo
• el equipo local / el equipo visitante (adjectives don’t change form here because local and visitante have the same form for masculine and feminine).

In general, most nouns ending in -o are masculine, but there are a few exceptions with other endings (e.g. la mano, el problema).

Why is the preposition entre used here, and does its structure affect the articles?

Entre means between or among. The structure entre X y Y is standard:

• entre el equipo local y el equipo visitante = between the home team and the visiting team.

Entre itself doesn’t change the articles; you still use the normal definite articles (el) because you are talking about specific, known teams (the home side and the away side in that match).

Why don’t we use the personal a before el equipo local and el equipo visitante?

Spanish uses the personal a mainly before direct objects that are people (and some pets), e.g. Veo a María.

Here, el equipo local and el equipo visitante are teams (treated as things, not people), so you say veremos un partido entre el equipo local y el equipo visitante without a.

Do we really need to repeat el equipo before visitante, or could we say entre el equipo local y el visitante?

You can say entre el equipo local y el visitante, and that’s also correct and natural.

Repeating el equipo (entre el equipo local y el equipo visitante) makes the phrase slightly clearer and more balanced, but it’s not obligatory. Both versions are acceptable in Spain.

If I want to say we usually watch a game on Saturdays, how would I change El sábado veremos…?

To express a habitual action, you normally use los sábados and the present tense:

• Los sábados vemos un partido de baloncesto… = On Saturdays we watch a basketball game… (habitually).

El sábado veremos… refers to a specific upcoming Saturday and uses the future for that one occasion.

Could I use mirar instead of ver, like miraremos un partido?

In everyday Peninsular Spanish, ver un partido is by far the most natural expression. Mirar is used more for looking at something briefly or with more active intention (mirar la pantalla, mirar algo con atención).

You might hear mirar un partido in some areas, but in Spain ver un partido is the standard, idiomatic choice.