Learn Spanish (Latin America): Nosotros vamos al estadio hoy.

Nosotros vamos al estadio hoy.

We are going to the stadium today.

Breakdown of Nosotros vamos al estadio hoy.

Questions & Answers about Nosotros vamos al estadio hoy.

Why do we use al instead of a el?

In Spanish, when the preposition a (to) comes right before the masculine singular article el (the), they combine to form the contraction al. You must always combine them! Saying a el estadio sounds incorrect to a Spanish speaker.

How do I know to use al instead of a la here?

You use al because estadio (stadium) is a masculine noun. If we were going to a feminine place, like the beach (la playa), we would not use a contraction. We would just say vamos a la playa. The contraction al only happens with the masculine word el.

The translation says "are going", but isn't vamos just "we go"?

Spanish uses the simple present tense (vamos) much more flexibly than English. It can mean both "we go" as a general routine, and "we are going" right now or in the near future. Because of the word hoy (today), "we are going" makes the most sense in English.

Do I have to include the word Nosotros?

No, you can easily drop it and just say Vamos al estadio hoy. Because the verb form vamos is only ever used for "we", the listener already knows who is going. Using Nosotros here just adds a little extra emphasis.