Voy - I'm confused
voy diciendo apparently means I am saying.
I thought voy meant I go.
So when does voy mean "I" ?
18 Answers
Cut from online discussion. I have read grammar articles on the ir, seguir, andar, (verbs of motion)+gerundio, but this is the first article that I ran across. You can find better explanations if you search for articles on the gerundio (gerund in Spanish; not the same as gerund in English).
Hola Garry - espero que no te moleste si te escribo en inglés - mejor for both of us (you certainly don't want to be reading my bad Spanish!)
This use of ir + gerund seems to me to be very common, and is used to give the idea of doing something slowly or progressively. E.g. Va mejorando, poco a poco, mi espanol. I think it can also be used with any appropriate verb.
Similar to this construction is andar + gerund, which gives the idea of going around doing something. E.g. Mi hermana simpre anda diciendo mentiras.
Also similar is seguir + gerund (to carry on doing e.g. sigo aprendiendo) and salir + gerund (to end up doing e.g. Mi equipo siempre sale perdiendo).
That's my understanding anyway - now I'll wait for the corrections from the natives!
Dave
HI Rachel,
I'ts very common to use the verb ir to express the future.
This Voy a comer means "I am going to eat."
Here is the reference article on that: Future Tense
yo voy - I go, I am going
tú vas- you go , you are going
él, ella, usted va- he, she, you (formal) goes, is going / go, are going
nosotros vamos- we go, we are going
(vosotros vais- you plural go, are going)
ellos, ellas, ustedes van - they, you all go, are going
RachelC says:
Thanks everyone but you didn't address my confusion/question.
In this sentence voy = "I" , not "I go"
Todo lo que voy diciendo aparece aqui abajo escrito. Translated:
All that I am saying appears here written below. I> f you put voy in Google, one of the translations is "I".
(I already know about I am going, etc.)
To answer her question:
I - yo (Yo voy is the proper word to use for the verb "I - Yo". That is why voy comes up in Google.com)
My Spanish teacher just IM'ed me and told me this also:
Estoy diciendo - I am saying
Voy a decir - I am going to say/I will say
Voy a decir - I'm going to say
Estoy diciendo - I am saying
Me voy...... I am going (I go)
Estoy diciendo ...... I am saying
"voy" does mean "I go" - "voy" never means "I" ("I" is a pronoun - "voy" is the 1st pers sing present indicative of "ir").
"diciendo" is a gerundio (present participle, in English) and is used (in Spanish) as an adverb (or for forming progressive tenses). The closest English that preserves the use of "to go", would be "I go around/about saying ..." ("I am always saying ..." would also be a reasonable translation.)
Essentially the same construction appears in a Spanish folksong: "Anda tu madre diciendo que a tí te mereces un rey ..." Same Idea, different verb. "Your mother goes around saying that you deserve/are worthy of a king ..."
RachelC wrote:
voy diciendo apparently means I am saying.
I thought voy meant I go.
So when does voy mean "I" ?
Voy never means 'I'. It is the first person singular conjugation of IR, which means "I go" or more loosely "I am going"
"voy diciendo" does not mean "I am saying". Estoy diciendo means I am saying.
Your original thought was correct. Google or any other translator is hardly ever correct.
Todo lo que voy diciendo aparece aqui abajo escrito.
HI Rachel, sorry, I answered your question before, but it did not stick...grrrrrrr
Well, there is no glitch or anything. voy in Spanish is translated as "I go" or "I am +verb" ( I am working on it)
Your confusion arises as in Spanish we do not use the personal pronoun with the verb, as this should read: Voy = Yo voy.....
the structure in question was alreay explained by Quentin. It explains an action in progress.
(Yo) Voy haciendo las patatas mientras hablo contigo. I am getting on with the potatoes while I am talking to you.
Thanks everyone but you didn't address my confusion/question.
In this sentence voy = "I" , not "I go"
Todo lo que voy diciendo aparece aqui abajo escrito.
Translated:
All that I am saying appears here written below.
If you put voy in Google, one of the translations is "I".
(I already know about I am going, etc.)
voy
vas
va
vamos
vais
van
I've never noticed it before but now I'm looking the expression 'voy diciendo' is REALLY common! But is it grammatically correct? I have no idea??
It would make more sense if it read: "todo lo que estoy diciendo aparece aquí escrito abajo (Not voy diciendo)
= All that I am saying appears here written below
I am willing for a native Spanish speaker/advanced Spanish speaker to correct me if am wrong (incorrect) but I am sure that the sentance that RachelC quoted above is not correct Spanish.
I have never ever heard any competent Spanish Speaker ever say voy diciendo
voy a decir =I am going to say
estoy diciendo = I am saying (only used when a person is actually speaking or when that action is continuous
"Voy diciendo" (I seem to remember the late President Allende using it a few times) has a connotation of "I go on saying/keep on saying" "what I am about to say is something you have heard from me and will hear again".
Comments please good people.
This is from a native speaker, she says that voy in this case is present and future as in all that I am saying and what I am going to say is written below. (voy translates to I )
