Why ''te'' in "te vas a soprender'', "te vas a reír"?

Question

I'm working on another song, "El Culpable" by Espinoza Paz.

I'm almost done, but don't understand the use of "te" in these phrases. It seems to be part of an informal future tense phrase, but why ''te'', and not ''tú''? I've listened to several versions, and it is "te". What am I missing?

Si te pido perdón, te vas a soprender,,,
If I ask you to forgive me, you are going to be suprised,,,

Si te digo que te amo, te vas a reír,
If I say to you that I love you, you are going to laugh

The song:

¡Corázon!

Si te digo "mi vida" no me entenderás,
    If I say to you "my darling" you will not understand me,
porque nunca te pude llamar de esa forma
    because I was never able to address you that way.
cuando estabas conmigo.
    when you were with me.

Si te digo "mi amor" tú jamás me creerás,
    If I call you "my love" you will never believe me,
porque yo nunca fui cariñoso contigo.
    because I was never loving with you.

Si te pido perdón te vas a soprender,
    If I ask you to forgive me, you'll be surprised,
porque yo nunca quise acepter mis errores
    because I never wanted to accept my mistakes
cuando estuve contigo.
    when I was with you.

Y hoy que te traje flores yo sé
    And today I brought you flowers I know
que no me vas a creer.
    that you won’t believe me

Si te digo que te amo te vas a reír,
    If I tell you that I love you, you'll laugh
y me preguntarás que si me siento bien.
    and ask me if I feel well,
No estás acostumbrada a escucharme decir,
    you're not accustomed to hear me say
que me muero por volver.
    I'm dying to return.

Si te digo que el tiempo me hizo cambiar,
    If I tell you that time made me change
moverás la cabeza diciendo que no.
    you will shake your head saying that no
Sé muy bien que perderte no es casualidad,
    I know very well that losing you is no accident
el culpable de todo ya sé que soy yo.
    The culprit, of it all, I already know that it is I

Te perdí, por mis errores
    I lost you, for my mistakes

**Repita coro**

Yo, el culpable,,
    I, the culprit
de todo,, el culpable,,
    of it all,, the culprit,,
te perdi,, culpable,, culpable
    I lost you,, guilty,, guilty

Good question! =) - NikkiLR, Jan 7, 2012

Answer 1

These usages can be very confusing. One way to consider the need for reflexive is to ask yourself if the verb is affecting something or someone other than yourself. If so, then the personal pronoun is used. If the action affects yourself, then in most cases the reflexive (directed to you) is used.

ie: Me muero ....... I die (I myself die, even if I am killed)

Nací ....... I was born (I didn´t give birth to myself)

Te doy un regalo ...... I am giving you a gift (to you)

Me doy ...... I give up (my action affects myself)

Good answer! - NikkiLR, Jan 7, 2012

This is excellent. Thanks J - patch, Jan 7, 2012

Thank you Julian, I understand it now> - amaken, Jan 7, 2012

Answer 2

I believe because they are being used as reflexive verbs. The "te" belongs to thssorprender and reír.

The lines could read as follows but probably would not fit the song that way.

Si te pido "perdón", vas a soprenderte,,,

Si te digo que te amo, vas a reírte.

My two centavos.

Everything I have watched and read incdicated it had to be attatched to the infinitive, so it can come before the conjugated verb? - amaken, Jan 7, 2012

Yes. It can only be attached to the infinitive, command and gerund. Otherwise it goes in front of the verb. - gringojrf, Jan 7, 2012

Then the lyrics are not grammatically correct? - amaken, Jan 7, 2012

You can put the pronoun in front like in the song or attached to the infinitive, command or gerund. For me it is easier to attach it to the end of the verb when you can. Unfortunately many native speakers put it in front. - gringojrf, Jan 7, 2012

Thank you gringojrf, big help! - amaken, Jan 7, 2012

Answer 3

As someone mentioned above these are reflexive verbs, so the 'te' is part of the verb. The 'te' is always with the verb, no matter what tense it is, it's nothing to do with it being future.

The infinite forms of these verbs are 'reírse' and 'sorprenderse'. These verbs really mean much the same as 'reír' and 'sorprender'. I think it's perhaps just a stylistic choice to use the reflexive versions (but someone can correct me on that if I'm wrong).

It's a question of style with you keep the reflexive pronoun on the end of the infinitive (eg. sorprenderte) or separate it (eg. te ...... sorprender)

Well, for a lot of them, you must use the "reflexive" form in certain situations... (Me lavo la cara) - NikkiLR, Jan 7, 2012

Ah-ha! "A question of style", that's a big help, thought it was a firm rule. Thank You! - amaken, Jan 7, 2012

In some cases it is... like that example I gave you before. "lavarse - Me lavo la cara" or "llamarse - Me llamo Nikki" -- those are just two examples - NikkiLR, Jan 7, 2012

Answer 4

Adding on to gringojrf's answer,

Perhaps this will help you to get a better idea of reflexive verbs.

It is from the SpanishDict Reference Library. =)

I read that before I posted, and watched the 2.5 lesson. They both say the reflexive pronoun is attached to the infinitive form, and why I am confused. ;) Thank you! - amaken, Jan 7, 2012

Well... Like "llamarse" "lavarse" ect. - NikkiLR, Jan 7, 2012

Thank you Nikki - amaken, Jan 7, 2012

Answer 5

I'm almost done, but don't understand the use of "te" in these phrases. It seems to be part of an informal future tense phrase, but why ''te'', and not ''tú''? I've listened to several versions, and it is "te". What am I missing?

Si te pido "perdón", te vas a soprender,,, If I say to you "forgive me'', you are going to be suprised,,,

Si te digo que te amo, te vas a reír, If I say to you that I love you, you are going to laugh

For the same reason you would not write, "If I ask you for forgiveness, will be surprised," or,"If I tell you that I love you, will smile."

But they are confused because "vas a..." already means "you will" ... so it really isn't the same as leaving "you" out in English - NikkiLR, Jan 7, 2012

But the "vas a" without the "te" makes a world of difference, and makes the sentence, as it's written, 'incomplete,' just as if you had left out the "you" in the sentences above. - Naomi_Callas, Jan 7, 2012

Ok... it does change the meaning a little, but still, without it, it still means "you will" or "you are going to" - NikkiLR, Jan 7, 2012

And they are just a beginner it seems. - NikkiLR, Jan 7, 2012

I thought the reflexive pronoun had to be attached to the infinitive (lesson 2.5, and the reference section), guess that's not right, "tú vas a reír" has the same meaning? It is clear if I ignore that infinitive rule. - amaken, Jan 7, 2012

Well, I would not ignore that... like I said, some verbs must be reflexive. =) - NikkiLR, Jan 7, 2012

and most of the time I see "reírse" used. =) - NikkiLR, Jan 7, 2012

Answer 6

They are indirect objects, therefore in the objective case. "tu" is used as a subject, not a direct or indirect object.