"Don't come"

Question

Hola todos! I haven't been able to find an answer for this in any of my internet searches, so I'm hoping a more advanced speaker will be able to help me.

I was supposed to go visit a friend of mine last week, but he had something come up, so he sent me a message not to come. In his message he said "No vayas a venir", which I translated as "Don't come".

However, I know that "no vayas" is "don't go" (negative imperative of ir). Why would that construction be used, as opposed to simply using the negative imperative of venir - "no vengas"? Does the ir a venir construction convey something different than just venir?

(My friend is from Mexico. Maybe this is just a colloquial way of saying it, or maybe he's just using incorrect grammar?)

Thank you!

Answer 1

We say No vayas a plus infinitive. I never thought of it as very colloquial. For me it's not very formal but it's rather standard. There is a slight difference between the imperative and this structure.

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¡No vayas a comer estos frankfurters!

There is something kind of threatening here, though it could be said hillariously. It could be like : " Don't you dare eating these hot dogs".

¡ No vayas a tocar este aparato! Es peligroso Don't you dare touching this device! It's dangerous. Here it would be like a warning.

It could also be with "usted" or " ustedes".

No vaya a sentarse aqui. Hay pintura fresca.
No vayan a entrar en esa casa abandonada. La gente dice que hay culebras. ´

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No vengas a (tú), no venga a (usted) or no vengan a ( ustedes) also exist but this includes more "criticism".

No vengas a decirme que fuiste a la escuela. La abuela te vio en la calle en horas de clase. (criticism)

Thank you! - Spike2780, Apr 26, 2017

Polenta, estoy de acuedo contigo en cuanto a la crítica, sin embargo para mí suena más natural decir "No vayas a decirme ....." Quizás sea regional - 005faa61, Apr 26, 2017

Answer 2

You can say it this way and it´s perfectly acceptable, but No vengas is more commonly used. The difference is nuance. By using vayas there is more of a feeling of future action.

Thank you! I forgot to include that the full text was "No vayas a venir mañana", so that would agree with the feeling of future action. I had only been aware of it in the non-imperative form before: "no voy/vas a venir". - Spike2780, Apr 26, 2017

Answer 3

In Spanish, "ir" has many meanings (like the verb "to go" in English).

Particularly, the verb "ir" plus the preposition "A" has at least to meanings:

1. intr. Disponerse para la acción del verbo con que se junta. Voy A salir. Vamos A almorzar.

2. intr. U. con valor exhortativo. Vamos A trabajar.

So, IR + A + verb in infinitive is used to give orders:

¡Vete A dormir ahora! - Go to sleep now!

Vamos A comer - Let's go to eat!

Váyanse a trabajar! - Go to work!

No vayas a fumar - Don't you even think to smoke!

No vas a ir al cine, estás castigada! - You aren't going to cinema!

Answer 4

Yes, it is a colloquial way to say "Do not come" or "Do not be coming". By the way it is a very common construction.