Breakdown of Vamos a ver el concierto en directo en el portátil.
Questions & Answers about Vamos a ver el concierto en directo en el portátil.
Vamos a ver is an example of ir (present) + a + infinitive, a very common way to talk about the near or planned future.
- Vamos a ver el concierto… ≈ “We’re going to watch the concert…”
- Veremos el concierto… ≈ “We will watch the concert…”
Both are grammatically correct, but:
- Vamos a ver sounds more immediate, planned, or decided (like “we’re gonna watch” / “we’re going to watch”).
- Veremos can sound a bit more formal or distant, and sometimes more like a prediction.
In everyday spoken Spanish (especially in Spain), ir a + infinitive is extremely frequent for future plans, more so than the simple future tense in many contexts.
It’s literal here: “we are going to watch (see) the concert…”.
The expression vamos a ver can also be used as a discourse marker, similar to “let’s see / now then / okay, look”:
- Vamos a ver, ¿qué podemos hacer? – “Let’s see, what can we do?”
You know it’s literal in the sentence Vamos a ver el concierto en directo en el portátil because it is immediately followed by a direct object (el concierto). When it’s a filler, it usually stands alone or is followed by a clause you’re about to evaluate or explain, not a direct object noun phrase.
Very roughly:
- Ver = “to see / to watch”, more passive, to perceive with your eyes.
- Mirar = “to look (at)”, more active, to direct your eyes at something.
For screens, films, shows, concerts online, etc., Spanish typically uses ver:
- Ver la tele – to watch TV
- Ver una película – to watch a movie
- Ver un concierto en directo – to watch a live concert (broadcast / stream)
Mirar is more like:
- Mirar la pantalla – to look at the screen
- Mirar a alguien – to look at someone
You can hear mirar with content sometimes (especially in some regions), but in standard European Spanish, ver is the natural choice for “watching” a concert, film, series, etc.
El concierto (with el) refers to a specific concert that both speakers know about:
- Maybe it’s that special concert they planned to watch.
- Maybe it’s the concert everyone is talking about that’s on tonight.
If you said un concierto, it would mean “a concert (some concert or other)” and sound more vague:
- Vamos a ver un concierto en directo en el portátil.
“We’re going to watch a concert live on the laptop.” (doesn’t specify which)
So el concierto works just like “the concert” in English: it’s definite and refers to a particular one.
En directo is the standard expression in Spain for “live” in the sense of live broadcast / live stream, i.e. not pre‑recorded.
- Ver un concierto en directo – to watch a concert live (as it’s happening)
- Programa en directo – live program
In Spain:
- En directo is the normal, default term for live TV, live streams, radio, concerts broadcast as they happen, etc.
- En vivo is understood (and used), but is more typical in Latin America for this meaning. In Spain it can sound either more Latin‑American or be used in some particular collocations (e.g. música en vivo at a bar, often meaning “live music in person”).
So in peninsular Spanish, en directo is what you usually say for things you watch or listen to as they are being broadcast or streamed.
It can, depending on context.
- Ver un concierto en directo en casa – clearly means “to watch a live‑broadcast concert at home”, not to be there.
- He visto a esa banda en directo – often means “I’ve seen that band live (in person)”.
So en directo can refer to:
- A live broadcast/stream (not recorded), or
- A live performance in front of you, when the context makes it clear you’re physically there.
In your specific sentence, the addition en el portátil (“on the laptop”) makes it obvious we’re talking about a broadcast/stream, not attending the concert in person.
In Spain, portátil in this context means “laptop”.
- The full phrase is ordenador portátil – “portable computer” / laptop.
- In everyday speech, people usually shorten it to just el portátil, and it’s understood to mean “the laptop”.
Regional differences:
- Spain:
- ordenador = computer
- ordenador portátil / portátil = laptop
- Most of Latin America:
- computadora / computador = computer
- computadora portátil, laptop, notebook, etc. = laptop
Since you’re focusing on Spain, portátil as shorthand for ordenador portátil is very natural.
Portátil by itself is an adjective meaning “portable” (and it can be masculine or feminine, singular or plural: portátil / portátil / portátiles / portátiles).
In el portátil = the laptop, Spanish speakers are implicitly shortening el ordenador portátil:
- ordenador is masculine → el ordenador
- When you drop ordenador, the gender stays masculine because you’re still mentally referring to that noun:
- (ordenador) portátil → el portátil
So el portátil is masculine because the “hidden” noun ordenador is masculine.
En is the normal preposition for “on / in / at” when you talk about where something is watched:
- Ver algo en la tele – watch something on TV
- Ver un vídeo en el móvil – watch a video on the phone
- Ver el concierto en el portátil – watch the concert on the laptop
Other prepositions would change the meaning:
- Por el portátil – would suggest something like “because of / via the laptop” and sounds unnatural here for “on the laptop”.
- Desde el portátil – means “from the laptop” and would normally refer to where it is being sent from, not where you are watching:
- Emitimos el concierto desde el portátil. – “We’re broadcasting the concert from the laptop.”
So to express “on the laptop” as a viewing device, en el portátil is the correct and natural choice.
Both are possible in Spanish; the choice depends on what you want to express:
- En el portátil – “on the laptop” (the one that is contextually obvious: our laptop, the laptop we have here, the only laptop around, etc.).
- En mi portátil – “on my laptop” (specifically emphasising that it belongs to me).
Spanish doesn’t always feel the need to mark possession when it’s obvious from context. Using the definite article el is often enough. In everyday conversation between family or friends, en el portátil would easily be understood as “on the laptop (we have here)”, just like English might sometimes say “on the laptop” if it’s clear which one.
Both are correct, but they are slightly different structures:
Vamos a ver el concierto en directo en el portátil.
- The direct object (el concierto) is expressed only as a noun phrase.
Vamos a verlo en directo en el portátil.
- The direct object is expressed as a pronoun (lo) referring to something already known (e.g. “the concert we talked about”), and the noun el concierto is omitted.
You normally do not double the direct object with both lo and the full noun in a sentence like this:
- ❌ Vamos a verlo el concierto. (incorrect / unnatural)
So:
- If you name the concert in the same sentence, use ver + el concierto.
- If the concert is already known from context and you don’t repeat the noun, you can use verlo.
Yes, Spanish allows some flexibility with adverbial phrases, but some orders sound more natural than others. All of the following are grammatically correct:
Vamos a ver el concierto en directo en el portátil.
– Very natural. First you specify the type of concert (it’s live), then where/how you’ll watch it (on the laptop).Vamos a ver el concierto en el portátil en directo.
– Possible, but sounds a bit less smooth. It can feel like an afterthought: “…on the laptop, live.”Vamos a ver en directo el concierto en el portátil.
– Also possible. Emphasises en directo slightly more by placing it earlier.
In everyday speech, option 1 is the most neutral and commonly used order.