Does "Vamanos" mean "Let's go"?
Hola a todos,
Recuerdo que alguien mencioné esta pregunta antes, pero no estoy seguro si "vamanos" significa "let's go".
Por favor alguien puede recordarme a esta pregunta.
Muchas gracias de antemano,
Marco
14 Answers
"Vamos" is from "ir", which focuses on the destination, so it normally goes with "a" to indicate direction.
"Vámonos" is from "irse", which focuses on the point of origin (that someone is about to leave), so it normally goes with "de" to indicate origin.
When you don't use these verbs with the strict sense of motion, this distinction is more than just a matter of personal choice or style. For example, in the "¡Vamos!" that Natasha suggested, "ir" means to "move forward" in a particular task. If you say that to a group of natives, they'll get to work; if you say "¡vámonos!", they'll assume that they have to leave the place, and you'll end up teaching the walls. In this sense, "irse" makes no sense, because you are not focussing on the starting point, but looking ahead in terms of completing an activity.
Natasha said:
I declare I was taught in school that "vámonos" and "vamos" are interchangeable. Why do all these myths keep getting perpetuated, anyway'?
They can be roughly interchangeable if they indicate motion, but that doesn't mean that they are identical, because in many cases the implications are different. For example, "irse" is often implicitly understood as leaving permanently in some contexts, but not if you use "ir" instead.
If you are in a party with a friend, and he suddenly says to you "¡Vamos!", a natural answer could be: "¿Vamos? ¿Adónde'", because the main focus of that verb is on the destination, he hasn't stated one yet, and we had no immediate plans to go anywhere, so the sentence sounds incomplete or confusing, because he is telling you to focus on the destination, but he is not giving you one. If he say to you "¡Vámonos!", then a natural answer would be "¿Por qué? (¿No te gusta la fiesta')", since "irse" focusses on the point of origin, and you know that the main idea he is trying to communicate is about leaving the place where we are now, and since the destination is missing in the sentence, where to go is not the main issue; not staying here is.
However, in "Vámonos a la calle" and "Vamos a la calle" the difference is too subtle to be significant, for both pointing to a destination, so it is just a matter of mental perspective and how each word "feels" to a native. If you and your friends are about to go somewhere, then "¡Vamos!" and "¡Vámonos!" would be understood similarly, because there is an implicit destination. To me, "¡vámonos!" sounds simply more expressive.
If you are with someone in a place where you feel uncomfortable, and you both had planned to go somewhere else afterwards, you are most likely going to say "¡Vámonos!", because although there is an implicit destination, the main focus of your comment is on how uncomfortable this place makes you feel. A "¡Vamos!" would only focus on the destination, and wouldn't imply anything about how this place makes you feel - a much more "neutral" comment. Subtle, but there you are: you can express different nuances with each form.
On the other hand, "¡Vámonos!" could also mean "let's discard (some cards)" or "let's fart", but "¡Vamos!" does not mean that. You can say "¡Vamos apañados!", but "¡Vámonos apañados" doesn't make sense. "¡Vamos contra corriente!" is fine, but with "vámonos" is silly. "¡Vamos!" can be used as an interjection to mean something like "There is no doubt about it!", but you cannot say "¡Vámonos" here. Finally, you don't tell your students "¡Vámonos!" if you want them to start working on something, or to cheer someone in a competition, but "¡Vámos!" in both cases.
¿Same? If they say so...
Thanks Lazarus, I love your advice.
the most acclaimed grammarians in Spain still insist on theories about the language that are not quite right, so let's acknowledge the complexity of languages, and let's be humble about our knowledge of them too.
lazarus1907 said:
Marco said:
Gracias, lazarus por tu sugerencia.
Some textbooks say that we do not need to use "yo", "te" - first or second person forms most times, but sometimes we need to use "él" or "ella" because the third person form may refer to "usted" form.
In this case, I got your idea because we knew that we were talking about her. That's why "ella" was not needed.
pero quería decir "we are leaving"
Does this mean "but she wanted to say "we are leaving"? If I understand it correctly, the whole sentence sounds strange.
If she uses "vámonos", but she wanted to say "we are leaving", (I think that "we are going" should be used here if "pero" is used), her teachers are going to correct her.
This sentence sounds really strange unless I made some mistakes on the translation.
Would you please give me any suggestions?
Marco
Marco said:
>
lazarus1907 said:
Natasha said:
I declare I was taught in school that "vámonos" and "vamos" are interchangeable. Why do all these myths keep getting perpetuated, anyway'?
They can be roughly interchangeable if they indicate motion, but that doesn't mean that they are identical, because in many cases the implications are different. For example, "irse" is often implicitly understood as leaving permanently in some contexts, but not if you use "ir" instead.If you are in a party with a friend, and he suddenly says to you "¡Vamos!", a natural answer could be: "¿Vamos? ¿Adónde'", because the main focus of that verb is on the destination, he hasn't stated one yet, and we had no immediate plans to go anywhere, so the sentence sounds incomplete or confusing, because he is telling you to focus on the destination, but he is not giving you one. If he say to you "¡Vámonos!", then a natural answer would be "¿Por qué? (¿No te gusta la fiesta')", since "irse" focusses on the point of origin, and you know that the main idea he is trying to communicate is about leaving the place where we are now, and since the destination is missing in the sentence, where to go is not the main issue; not staying here is.However, in "Vámonos a la calle" and "Vamos a la calle" the difference is too subtle to be significant, for both pointing to a destination, so it is just a matter of mental perspective and how each word "feels" to a native. If you and your friends are about to go somewhere, then "¡Vamos!" and "¡Vámonos!" would be understood similarly, because there is an implicit destination. To me, "¡vámonos!" sounds simply more expressive.If you are with someone in a place where you feel uncomfortable, and you both had planned to go somewhere else afterwards, you are most likely going to say "¡Vámonos!", because although there is an implicit destination, the main focus of your comment is on how uncomfortable this place makes you feel. A "¡Vamos!" would only focus on the destination, and wouldn't imply anything about how this place makes you feel - a much more "neutral" comment. Subtle, but there you are: you can express different nuances with each form.On the other hand, "¡Vámonos!" could also mean "let's discard (some cards)" or "let's fart", but "¡Vamos!" does not mean that. You can say "¡Vamos apañados!", but "¡Vámonos apañados" doesn't make sense. "¡Vamos contra corriente!" is fine, but with "vámonos" is silly. "¡Vamos!" can be used as an interjection to mean something like "There is no doubt about it!", but you cannot say "¡Vámonos" here. Finally, you don't tell your students "¡Vámonos!" if you want them to start working on something, or to cheer someone in a competition, but "¡Vámos!" in both cases.¿Same? If they say so...
Gracias, lazarus por tu explicación.
Tu explicación es muy útil así también. Creo que Paralee use "vamos" en vez de "vámonos" en el vídeo de estudio. Si ella usa "vámonos", la significación este "we are leaving". Ella tenga cero estudiente.
Of course, I might hear the word incorrectly.
Marco
Natasha said:
Thank you for all the explanations. I think in the leave-the-party situation, a lot of us would say "Let's get out of here!"
Well Gus, with his predilection for hippie-era expressions would probably prefer "Let's split this scene!"
Thank you for all the explanations. I think in the leave-the-party situation, a lot of us would say "Let's get out of here!"
I declare I was taught in school that "vámonos" and "vamos" are interchangeable. Why do all these myths keep getting perpetuated, anyway'?
Lazarus said:
this distinction is more than just a matter of personal choice or style
So in your opinion, should Paralee say "¡Vamos!" on the lessons? She says "¡Vámonos!" when it's time to begin.
Eleanore said:
I'd like to add on...vámonos is the command form that someone in a group of people in the context of "hey everyone, let's go!" You use it in the sense of departing, where just "vamos" is saying we're going, as in "we're going to the store." To go along with this example, one might say. "Nosotros vamos a la tienda." Later at the point of departure, you call to the people who are going with you "vámonos!"
>
I'd like to add on...vámonos is the command form that someone in a group of people in the context of "hey everyone, let's go!" You use it in the sense of departing, where just "vamos" is saying we're going, as in "we're going to the store." To go along with this example, one might say. "Nosotros vamos a la tienda." Later at the point of departure, you call to the people who are going with you "vámonos!"
While Natasha is correct that the nuance is different from that of vamos, the fact remains that both of these are used in situations where English speakers would say "let's go." The only problem is that you have to know when to use which in Spanish.
However, for most non-natives, I think it's a moot point, since we will be understood perfectly well, with no confusion at all, regardless of which one we use. By the time we get to the level where it matters, we will already know intuitively which is best.
I hear both used all the time when people get ready to leave a restaurant or place of business, for example.
Natasha said:
The spelling is vámonos. The short answer is yes. The long answer is that this has been discussed before, and native Spanish speakers disagreed about the exact nuance carried by vámonos.One thread, for example:[url=http://my.spanishdict.com/forum/topic/show'id=1710195%3ATopic%3A481761&page=1&commentId=1710195%3AComment%3A482366&x=1#1710195Comment482366]http://my.spanishdict.com/forum/topic/show'id=1710195%3ATopic%3A481...[/url]
Gracias, Natasha por tu respuesta.
Oía "Vámonos" de Paralee cuando estaba aprendiendo de "Learn Section" en este foro.
Creí que "vámonos" signifiqué "let´s go", pero sólo quise tener la aclaración.
Marco
The spelling is vámonos. The short answer is yes. The long answer is that this has been discussed before, and native Spanish speakers disagreed about the exact nuance carried by vámonos.
One thread, for example:
[url=http://my.spanishdict.com/forum/topic/show'id=1710195%3ATopic%3A481761&page=1&commentId=1710195%3AComment%3A482366&x=1#1710195Comment482366]http://my.spanishdict.com/forum/topic/show'id=1710195%3ATopic%3A481761&page=1&commentId=1710195%3AComment%3A482366&x=1#1710195Comment482366[/url]
