Learn Spanish (Spain): No vamos a la playa hoy. - We are not going to the beach today.

No vamos a la playa hoy.

We are not going to the beach today.

Breakdown of No vamos a la playa hoy.

Questions & Answers about No vamos a la playa hoy.

Why is there no Spanish word for "we" in this sentence?

In Spanish, the verb itself usually tells you who is doing the action. Vamos is the "we" form of the irregular verb ir (to go). Because of this, vamos all by itself means "we go" or "we are going". You could say Nosotros no vamos, but leaving the "we" out is the most natural way to speak.

Does vamos mean "we go" or "we are going"?

It means both! In Spanish, the simple present tense covers both general habits ("we go") and actions happening right now or in the near future ("we are going"). The context of hoy (today) makes it clear that "we are going" is the best English translation here.

Why is the word no placed before the verb?

To make a sentence negative in Spanish, you simply put no immediately before the verb. English often uses helping words like "are not" or "do not", but Spanish keeps it easy: no vamos translates directly to "we are not going" (or literally, "not we go").

Why do we use a before la playa?

The verb ir (to go) is almost always followed by the preposition a (to) when you are talking about moving toward a destination. So, vamos a means "we are going to", and la playa is "the beach".

How should I pronounce the word hoy?