What is the right way to say "let's go:" "vayamos," "vamonos" or "vamos"?
Are all three variants correct? Is there a difference between them?
I got one answer (thank you!) and would like to add that even here, at spanishdict.com, I see at least 2 variants of 'let's go." Here they are: - "vayamos" here under "Imperativo:" http://www.spanishdict.com/conjugate/ir - and "vamos" here: http://www.spanishdict.com/translate/vayamos
And "vamonos" I see in a textbook as the Imperative for "irse"
10 Answers
IR (with a known specific destination to go to)
1) To encourage or persuade (called imperative by some): ¡vamos! (this form is identical to "we go" in present tense)
2) For typical subjunctive uses, vayamos (e.g. Espero que vayamos). This form is, in general, rarely used instead of "vamos", except in literary cases.
IRSE (leaving the place; no specific destination needed)
1) To encourage or persuade (called imperative by some): ¡vámonos! (in present tense this would be "nos vamos")
2) For typical subjunctive uses, nos vayamos (e.g. Aunque nos vayamos, no...). The form "vayámonos" is, in general, rarely used instead of "vámonos", except in literary cases.
Vamos is also used to encourage somebody, often tennis players shout that (to themselves) when they are playing tennis, or the audience does.
I said this in the sportsmen thread, Rafa Nadal has a web page with this name and all:
¡Vamos, Rafa!
"Imperative" means to be imperial, i.e. to give orders. And Emperor does not give orders to himself (and how can anyone?). But he can exhort his troops to go into combat with him, "Let's go!" So the correct term is "exhortative", o exhortivo.
As for the distinction between Vámonos and Vamos or Vayamos, the one that works best for me is "Let's get out of here!" or "Let's be on our way." versus "Let's go there." or "Let's go and do that." The former put the emphasis on getting away from where you are, the latter on starting to be somewhere else or to do something else.
As for the distinction between Vamos and Vayamos, first note that the latter is a regular form (i.e. as with the other imperatives, based on the present subjunctive). Vamos is probably just the slang version of Vayamos -- and not to be confused with the present tense, Vamos.
Likewise Vámonos. But note that the contraction -- leaving out the 's' -- is common to all reflexive exhortations.
The correct way to say it is Vamonos (Vaa-Moo-noos) It simply means lets go. A short version is Vamos. Now alot of spanish speaking people don't always speak spanish the same way. They may use a slang type of Spanish like Puerto Ricans and Chileans do. I'm half Puerto Rican So Puerto Ricians or Chileans will say Vamo' instead Vamos. Gracias is Thank you in Spanish but we say Gracia. Helado (Eh-laa-doo) means ice cream but we say elao. (Eh-laa-ouuu) Since I'm Spanish and Puerto Rican. I have heard both ways of speaking spanish.
What's going on with the server now. I can't edit my post.
I'm not a native, I'm only parroting what I have read so here goes: (take it with a grain of salt until you can verify it)
all 3 are correct.
vamos is used when it's just you addressing one other person (vámonos with more)
vayamos is used as in "let's go to the movies." ((kind of like Ir where you have a destination)
vámonos is used to say "Let's go (leave)" (kind of like Irse and no destination)
The first one sounds doubtful to me. I like the last two.
What does Paralee say in the beginning of introduction when she brings her arm up, fist closed and her thumb pointing to the rear?
Depende en el contexto de esa cosa. Por exemplo, Yo le digo a el "Tengo hambre, quieres comer?" Maybe he's gonna say to me Sure let's go, or "Si! Vamos!" But maybe he's from somewhere different than me and he may say to me "Vamanos entonces!" Mucho de esto depende...en mucho. If he's cubanito, he may say one thing. If he's buriqua, he may say something else. It's about being well versed and flexible enough to understand lo que te pasara.
Either...depends on when you are saying it..I've learned the hard way that native spanish speakers will normally speak the language that is commom to that of the mexican ancestors...this is what is taught in textbooks and in school.
¡Vamos! (let's go)
vámonos (come on)
vayamos (go or we go)..
It's vámonos (con tilde)
I don't follow what the statement about vayamos being in the subjunctive means.
So are the formal commands and the negative informal ones. That doesn't keep them from being commands.
Vamonos is the correct way to say "let's go" because it is the command form of the verb. Vamos simply means "we go" and "vayamos" is the subjunctive form.
