Questions & Answers about ¿Vas al gimnasio o al cine?
Why is it "al gimnasio" instead of "a el gimnasio"?
In Spanish, when the preposition a (to) is followed by the masculine word for "the" (el), they must combine to form the single word al. You will never see a el written together as separate words for a destination. Since both gimnasio (gym) and cine (cinema) are masculine nouns, we use the contraction al for both!
Where is the word for "you" in this sentence?
The "you" is built right into the verb vas. In Spanish, verb endings change depending on who is doing the action. Because vas always means "you go" or "you are going" (when speaking to a friend or peer), we don't need to add the subject pronoun tú (you). It sounds more natural to leave it out.
Does "vas" translate directly to "are going"?
Yes, in this context it does. English uses "are you going" for actions happening right now or in the near future. The Spanish simple present tense handles all of this: vas can mean "you go", "do you go", or "are you going".
Would we still use "al" if the destinations were feminine?
No. The contraction al only happens with a + el (the masculine word for "the"). If you were asking about a feminine destination, like the beach (la playa), the words stay entirely separate. You would ask: ¿Vas a la playa?