vamanos?

[london777]

I have just started learning Spanish at an advanced age, but one of the few Spanish words I thought I already knew since childhood (from watching westerns in the UK), was "vamanos". I have always understood it meant "let's go!" (i.e."together").

Needing now to check out the word in my reference books, I cannot find it anywhere, not in my usual bible "501 Spanish Verbs", not in my big Collins dictionary, nor in my various language primers. I do have it on video, where I am giving piggy-backs to my friend's little daughter in the pool and before each charge across the pool she shouts out "Vamanos!" (or something very similar) so I am not entirely imagining the word.

Could some cunning Spanish linguist please tell me:

1) What is the correct spelling?
2) What grammatical part of which verb it is?
3) Is it correct Castellano or slang?

[Chirimoya]

You got it right, apart from a slight spelling blip.

"Vámonos" means "let's go" and is the first person plural imperative of the verb "IR" (to go) which is irregular.

It is correct Spanish, not slang.

Conjugation of IR.

[Lesley D]

Actually, to be more precise vamos is the imperative of the verb "ir", vámonos, the pronominal form is the imperative of "irse". Ir vs. irse have different nuances although some people use the verbs interchangeably there is a difference between voy and me voy and the same holds true for the imperative forms with and without the pronoun.

One interesting aspect and possibly one of the most difficult about Spanish is pronoun usage and IMO there comes a time when those learning should move way from using the term reflexive verbs but rather use the term pronominal verbs because not all verbs that have "se" are reflexive. Verbs like lavarse (me lavo), ducharse (me ducho), peinarse (me peino) etc. are true reflexive verbs because the "doer" and "receiver" of the action are the same. I wash myself. I= myself. However, a verb like irse (me voy) does not convey the same meaning as a true reflexive verb like lavarse although it falls under this category. Ir has a pronominal form "irse" which changes the meaning/ nuance of the verb.

In advanced grammar studies there are several chapters dedicated to pronoun usage and all verb forms with "se" are referred to as pronominal verbs (verbs that take the pronoun "se") and then further broken down by category and "reflexive" (or el "se" reflexivo) is one of the categories.


-LDG.

[london777]

Originally Posted by Chirimoya

"Vámonos" means "let's go" and is the first person plural imperative of the verb "IR"

Conjugation of IR.

Thanks for your quick response, but this has only baffled me more. I did assume it was the first person plural imperative, but the URL you link to (thanks for the useful site, by the way) cites it as "vamos" or "vayamos", as do all my reference books at home.

[london777]

Sorry, Lesley D, the postman distracted me before I could press the send button for my reply to Chirimoya so it crossed with your post.

Originally Posted by Lesley D

Actually, to be more precise vamos is the imperative of the verb "ir", vámonos, the pronominal form is the imperative of "irse".

Further apologies. Irse in all its forms (including this) does appear in "501 Spanish Verbs" so I had the answer all the time at home. How careless of me!

Originally Posted by Lesley D

One interesting aspect and possibly one of the most difficult about Spanish is pronoun usage and IMO there comes a time when those learning should move way from using the term reflexive verbs but rather use the term pronominal verbs because not all verbs that have "se" are reflexive ... in advanced grammar studies there are several chapters dedicated to pronoun usage and all verb forms with "se" are referred to as pronominal verbs

"Advanced" I am not, but it is never too soon to learn something which adds precision.

The reason I wanted to look up the word is that my correspondent in the DR used "vámonos" to tell someone else to go away. Is this an acceptable usage of the first person similar to, for example, in English a teacher saying to an unruly class "Let's all settle down, shall we" ?

[Chirimoya]

I did initially put "first person plural reflexive imperative" but was worried about muddying the waters...

[rolfdog]

Vámonos is, do I dare say, a contraction for vamo(s)nos, allowing the pronoun to be attached at the end of the imperative.

Steve

[Lesley D]

Questions that refer to "contextual" situations are always harder to answer because they refer to a "specific" context. I was not there to understand the whole scenario/ nuance but personally I would say "vete" if it's just one person.


-LDG.

Originally Posted by london777

The reason I wanted to look up the word is that my correspondent in the DR used "vámonos" to tell someone else to go away. Is this an acceptable usage of the first person similar to, for example, in English a teacher saying to an unruly class "Let's all settle down, shall we" ?