BajaNomad

Still puzzled - vamos DE?

Alm - 12-10-2014 at 12:08 AM

Have seen this a few times already: Vamos de paseo, vamos de compras etc. There is even a comedy "Vamos de Robo".

I used to think that De= "of/from", A="to". Mostly, they follow this rule. But sometimes they just use De instead of A. Can't see any pattern here. Any ideas?

woody with a view - 12-10-2014 at 10:16 AM

and then there is the little tidbit that Mexican is not Spanish, as in Castilian Spanish. ALOT of slang mixed in the Mexican lingo.

DENNIS - 12-10-2014 at 10:44 AM




Put "DE" into Google Translate. It means many things....and them some, I'm sure.

A slight hi-jack

Howard - 12-10-2014 at 12:23 PM

What about using Lo rather than El or is there a actual grammatical reason to use Lo rather than El?

Example

Lo Mismo

Lo Siento

4x4abc - 12-10-2014 at 01:12 PM

https://www.google.com.mx/search?q=Vamos+de+paseo&oq=Vam...

bajajudy - 12-10-2014 at 01:40 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Howard  
What about using Lo rather than El or is there a actual grammatical reason to use Lo rather than El?

Example

Lo Mismo

Lo Siento


Lo mismo means "the same thing"
El mismo means "the same"

Lo siento means I feel it...used to say you are sorry

The lo is the object.
El would be article indicating a masculine noun not the pronoun he.
Hope that doesn't confuse you more

Howard - 12-10-2014 at 03:19 PM

I thought I had it down with Judy's explanation. Now you used those big words and the next post might even break out what a dangling participle is! :biggrin:

Alm - 12-10-2014 at 07:05 PM

Just what I expected from this forum. Hijacking a topic when they don't know answer :). I tried to google Vamos De and Vamos A. There are both. Mostly A. Sometimes De. There is website Vamos de Pesca, and website Vamos a Pescar.

NO PATTERN, NO EXPLANATIONS. All grammar pages that I've seen, explain that De=of/from. None suggests that De= to.

Lo/El is nothing in comparison, perfectly by textbook.

Lo= singular masculine form of direct object pronoun and therefore means Him, It, some unspecified thing, or, indeed "stuff" as it's usually called here.

El= either subject pronoun He, OR a singular masculine form of definite article like English "the".

So, when you see "el mismo", there is a tail missing in this phrase, a noun that this "mismo" is referring to.
OTH, "lo mismo" is perfectly complete piece that is translated "same thing, or same stuff" - adjectives in Spanish (usually) go after the noun or pronoun, not before.

[Edited on 12-11-2014 by Alm]

BajaGringo - 12-10-2014 at 08:28 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Alm  
Have seen this a few times already: Vamos de paseo, vamos de compras etc. There is even a comedy "Vamos de Robo".

I used to think that De= "of/from", A="to". Mostly, they follow this rule. But sometimes they just use De instead of A. Can't see any pattern here. Any ideas?


Used to describe an action:

Vamos de paseo - We're going to go cruising / riding around
Vamos de compras - We're going shopping
Vamos de pesca - We're going fishing

If they direct it towards you in the way of an invitation it can mean:

Vamos de paseo - Let's go cruising / riding around
Vamos de compras - Let's go shopping
Vamos de pesca - Let's go fishing

Alm - 12-11-2014 at 02:27 AM

Quote: Originally posted by BajaGringo  

Used to describe an action:

Vamos de paseo - We're going to go cruising / riding around
Vamos de compras - We're going shopping
Vamos de pesca - We're going fishing

Yeah. I have never seen this mentioned in grammar anywhere. Looks like some "action" needs De and some - A. Vamos a la marcha - Let's go party, sure sounds like an "action", but they use A. Will try and memorize.

With "Let's go" it is clear, imperative form of "ir" (order or invitation) in this case is the same as indicative (stating the fact).

bajalinda - 12-11-2014 at 06:57 PM

Well hey - and to confuse things a bit more. Around here at least people often use "igual" instead of "mismo" to mean 'the same' or 'the same thing'. So, in a restaurant, if you want to order the same thing that someone else has just ordered, you just say "igual".

So much in language depends on context as BajaGringo says...is it an invitation or a statement of intention? You need to be in the situation to know.

Sometimes it's helpful to know the grammatical explanation and sometimes you can analyze it to death and go bonkers trying to figure it out. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow and simply accept that that's the way it is.

Alm - 12-12-2014 at 03:20 PM

No, see, when they use De instead of A, it doesn't matter whether it's an indicative or imperative. And there is no grammatical explanation or any pattern as to when use De and when A if you want to say "... to".

Of course, from the context it's obvious that Vamos de paseo = Let's go (or we are going) for a walk. But there is no way for a non-native speaker to know whether to use De or A, other than memorize.

Prepositions can indeed drive you crazy. Especially when they use interchangeably these 2 prepositions that are exact opposites of one another.

bajajudy - 12-12-2014 at 03:36 PM

I was taught to say vamos en la playa, not vamos a la playa.

More confusion

BajaBill74 - 12-12-2014 at 09:53 PM

In high school, whenever we made a mistake about some of the above, our teacher would say "Don't change Spanish. Learn it."

That didn't help me "learn it."

Louis List, our instructor was born in Russia and was probably the only teacher who spoke Spanish with a Russian accent.

BajaBill74 - 12-13-2014 at 09:35 PM

lencho,

That class was in 1957. I was an A student in Math and lousy in spelling, reading, and languages in general.

I didn't use Spanish until 1999 when I first started driving to Baja. There were many funny things that happened over the years. Can you imagine walking into a Motel and saying "Es posible un calle?" I thought calle meant room.

Over the years, everyone was kind when I screwed up because they liked it that I was trying. I screw up often.

Russ - 12-14-2014 at 07:05 AM

I'm with Bill. Just go for it and they will correct you and or smile at your effort to learn. Vamos a aprender:)

BajaBlanca - 12-14-2014 at 02:00 PM

My Spanish is street Spanish since I have never gone to school

So, for what it is worth, my gut says that:

With verbs - vamos pasear, vamos a passear
And with nouns - vamos de passeo

Vamos comprar algo, vamos a comprar algo
Vamos de compras

And I love the expression: me explico??? Get it? Understand?

Forgive the non sequitor.

BajaBlanca - 12-16-2014 at 07:41 PM

I never use DE because it sounds, to my ears, way too formal.

bajabyjetski.com - 1-27-2015 at 12:15 PM

Ok, lets get something clear, we do not speak American in the US, we speak English, so in the Baja, they speak Spanish, not Mexican...:tumble:

As for all the moving back and forth, it is a language guys, not a science and what I mean by that is that there are MANY different ways to say the same thing. The only thing that will separate what is said from being perfect is contextual (practice). I learned English after learning Spanish and there are so many different ways to say the same thing in english also, as well, too, similarly, etc...

Have another corona! And sorry for not being much help...

David K - 1-27-2015 at 06:05 PM

'Rico' instead of 'Bueno' if the food is good was an interesting tid bit.