Si tu te vas

Question

Why does tu and te both appear in this sentence I heard in a song lyric? How can this be correct? If this is correct, is "si te vas'" also correct? What about simply "Si vas'"

Answer 1

Here is more of the lyrics. I understand WHAT they are saying, I don't understand why "si tu vas" is not enough and why Te is added. Or for that matter, why "si vas" is not enough. Doesn't "vas" only apply to the "tu" person? Who else could 'vas" be speaking to?

"Si Tu Te Vas"

Si tu te vas
Te lleveras mi corazon
Y yo sin ti
ya no se por donde ir
Si tu te vas
Nunca te podre olvidar

Answer 2

there's no complete sentence or line to see (context), but you should check out the reference section here. I think it's under grammar/pronouns. You will find more than you ever wanted to know about
spanish pronouns. Also, the te in the bit you submitted will look like an indirect object after reading that page, but it's not. Then we are into a completely different can of sardines.

Answer 3

Rich Waskowitz said:

So, the seemingly redundant tu and te is simply to add emphasis?

Not at all. "Vas" means "you go"; "te vas" means "you leave". Most of the time, that "tú" is used to contrast with others:

Si tú te vas... = If YOU leave (just you; not the others),...
Si te vas... = If you leave
Si vas = If you go

Removing the pronouns would be like turning "It is likely that we will find out soon" into "Is likely that we will find soon", just because in Spanish we wouldn't have used "it" or "out".

However, many people are starting to imitate English and use constructions that sound unnatural to the rest of the Spanish natives, especially in countries very close to USA, and often, in songs, so maybe that "tú" is there for no good reason at all.

Answer 4

Not quite. tú is redundant, not because of te, but because the conjugated verb vas already tells us that tú is the subject.

te is necessary because without it the sentence changes in meaning. Someone more knowledgeable can tell you if this is an aspectual change or a truly pronominal verb, but the point is that irse (te vas) has a different meaning than just ir (vas).

Rich Waskowitz said:

So, the seemingly redundant tu and te is simply to add emphasis?

>

Answer 5

So, the seemingly redundant tu and te is simply to add emphasis'

Answer 6

The real spanish speakers will no doubt correct me, but I think that si te vas is going to be from the verb irse, and mean if you go away.

Answer 7

Songs are difficult, especially with only a phrase posted. My guess:

tú adds emphasis (If YOU go away)
te vas is "go away," "leave" as opposed to just "go". If you search for ir/irse on the forum, you can see a lot more about this.