"me voy" literal meaning, unclear grammar

Question

I have taken Spanish for three years, I'm an American student. I'm not particularly good at it. In a film I was watching recently, I heard a character say "me voy", which was translated as "I quit". I knew that "quit" was not accurate at all, but it made enough sense as a translation of "go" or "leave". However, that "me" confused me. Everything I've read and heard up to now has indicated that these two-word, object pronoun-followed-by-a verb sentences literally translate to this: "[Unstated Subject] [verb acted upon by the Subject] [Object]". For instance, "Te amo"...I tentatively translate that in my mind first as "You I love" because the literal meaning of "Te amo" is "I love you". And I know that I've got the right idea...I know also, for instance, that "Te lo digo" means "I tell it to you"

So what does "me voy" literally mean? I've searched on the internet and people have said it means "I am leaving" but I don't fully understand that and it doesn't sound right because "leaving" is a present participle. In fact, when I try to figure out what "me voy" might literally mean, I'm a little mystified. Because I come up with: "I go to me" "I go myself" "I go me"

"I go myself" kind of makes sense...it's almost like an odd way of saying "I leave" by saying "I act on myself with going".

Or am I just crazy? Please take as much time explaining this as possible...

Welcome to the forum, :) - 00494d19, Apr 5, 2011

Answer 1

I am burning leaves. Burning in not the gerund (noun ending in "ing"), but the present particle of the present progressive tense.

I am burning. (I am afire). The present participle is being used as an adjective.

Leaving was the most difficult thing that I ever had to do. Leaving (noun) is a gerund.

Te amo and Te lo digo. The Te's are object pronouns.

Me voy. The me is a reflexive pronoun and the phrase has a pronominal meaning, different than the non-pronominal meaning of voy. Many verbs used pronominally have a different meaning than their non-pronominal form. pronominal verbs with changes in meaning

ir (to go), irse (to go away): Fue a la cárcel por "lavar" dólares. He went to jail for laundering dollars. Mi niña se fue a la mar a contar olas. My girl went away to the sea to count the waves.

I stand corrected. I thought I had already conquered my difficulties regarding gerunds and participles in English! Thanks! - 002067fe, Apr 4, 2011

They are quite different than the gerundio in Spanish. - 0074b507, Apr 4, 2011

Absolutely. Thanks for setting me straight, so to speak. :-D - 002067fe, Apr 4, 2011

Thanks. For some reason I made a lot of erors in my post. I referred to "leaving" as a past participle rather than a present participle. Strange. I know that te is an object pronoun, but I think I wrote subject the first time by mistake. - matthewsween, Apr 4, 2011

I hate to bother you...but pointing out that me (along with te, os, se...) is reflexive just confuses me more..."I go away myself"? Why does what appears to mean "I go myself" actually mean "I go away"? Why's there a me when it disappears in the meaning? - matthewsween, Apr 4, 2011

It is pronominal, not reflexive as in me lavo. It is a reflexive pronoun. A reflexive pronoun used with a verb has many other uses than to express reflexivity. - 0074b507, Apr 4, 2011

ah, read Samdie's reply. - 0074b507, Apr 4, 2011

Answer 2

In my house when any of us leave to go somewhere we say "me voy" I go or, I am going, or I am leaving to somewhere, usually accompanied by a kiss. totally common daily usage.

jeje, I want a kiss too, ::.sigh::: lol - 00494d19, Apr 5, 2011

:-)) - pacofinkler, Apr 5, 2011

Answer 3

So what does "me voy" literally mean?

If by "literally" you mean "What is a word-for-word" (with a word in English corresponding to each/every word in Spanish?") then there is no answer to your question (or the answer is that there is no translation). Different languages have different ways of saying things. If there is a word-for-word correspondence that's merely coincidence. "irse" is not reflexive it's pronominal. Any attempt to translate it into English with a reflexive construction will produce total nonsense.The best (general) equivalent in English for "me voy" would be "I'm leaving." If that doesn't seem sufficiently "literal" to you, the problem lies in your expectations. Acceptable "literal" translations are the exceptions, not the rule.

Great response Samdie. I totally agree :) - FELIZ77, Apr 4, 2011

Answer 4

"Me voy" literally means "I leave", but it is usually used to mean "I'm coming".

"I'm coming"? I think you're thinking about "Ya voy". - 002067fe, Apr 4, 2011

I've heard people say "me voy", "ya voy", "voy", "ya vengo", and "vengo" to mean "I'm coming." - lorenzo9, Apr 4, 2011

voy a venir - EL_MAG0, Apr 4, 2011

Me voy = I am leaving I have also heard people say: ya voy in an idiomatic way to mean I am coming /I am on my way :) - FELIZ77, Apr 4, 2011

I cannot see that me voy could ever possibly mean I am coming since voy comes from teh verb ir =to go - FELIZ77, Apr 4, 2011

Answer 5

No confundir "me voy" con "voy" porque significan algo completamente opuesto.

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Cuando alguien se va(= se marcha de un sitio) dice :"me voy".El que habla,se aleja de su interlocutor. Ejemplo :" Es muy tarde.Me voy a la cama"(=marcho de aqui y me dirijo a la cama)

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Cuando alguien dice :"Voy", anuncia su intención de ir hacia donde está su interlocutor , de acercarse a él.

Ejemplo:alguien te dice:¡sube al coche que nos vamos! Y tú contestas : ¡ voy!(=ya voy=ahora voy) .

Estás anunciando a tu interlocutor que te diriges hacia donde está él.

"Voy " tambien sirve para confirmar a tu interlocutor que le vas a obedecer o a hacer caso:Ejemplo:Yo estoy en Madrid y te digo:¡vete a Nueva York! tú entonces contestas:¡voy!(quieres decir que me vas a obedecer o a seguir mi consejo) - lukaaxx, Apr 4, 2011

Answer 6

Like Lorenzo said, "Me Voy" is literally "I leave".

I've searched on the internet and people have said it means "I am leaving" but I don't fully understand that and it doesn't sound right because "leaving" is a past participle and I think "ido" is the past participle for "ir".

EDIT: Take a look at the post below this, by gfreed, who truly has a grasp on English gerunds! Unlike me...