Anonymous:What's the difference between vamos and vámonos. Im not sure if this was asked already. Thanks :)
I think it was, though I’m not sure what I tagged it as.
When they both mean “Let’s go”, they’re called “First person commands”.
A first person command is a command issued to anosotros / nosotras.
- 1st person = I (singular), We (plural)
- 2nd person = You (singular), You all (plural)
- 3rd person = Him / Her / It (singular), They (plural)
If you wanted to be to be technical,vamos andvámonos are “first person plural”, the same way thattú is singular butvosotros / vosotras is “second person plural”
Here comes the big difference:ir vs.irse.
ir = to go
irse = to leave, to go away
Truthfully,ir as anosotros command would look likevayamos orvayámonos but in simple speech,vayamos is more common for subjunctive not a command:supongo que vayamos “I suppose we’ll go”… andvayámonos, while correct, is not as common asvámonos for “Let’s go”.
In application they can differ in this respect:
¡Vamos! = “Come on!” / “No way!” / “Get real!”
¡Vamos! = Let’s go! / Hurry up!
¡Vámonos! = We’re leaving! / Let’s move on!
vamos can imply impatience or being unable to believe something, butvámonos is more commonly used for actual motion.
The difference is thatir is a simple verb, andirse is a reflexive verb, which is why there’s thenos added.
In present tense it would look likevamos vs.nos vamos which is “we go” and “we are leaving”.
Mostnosotros commands take on something that looks like subjunctive, which is whyvayamos andvayámonos are technically correct but rather bulky as commands.
But here are some commonnosotros commands and maybe some reflexive ones too:
Seamos simpáticos. = Let’s be nice. [ser]
Esperemos. = Let’s wait. [esperar]
Comamos y bebamos. = Let us eat and drink. [comer y beber]
Juguemos. = Let’s play. [jugar]
Levantémonos. = Let’s stand up. [levantarse]
Sentémonos. = Let’s sit down. [sentar]
Tranquilicémonos. = Let’s all calm down. [tranquilizarse]
Amémonos. = Let’s love each other. [amar = to love / amarse = to love one another]
Abrámonos. = Let’s open ourselves up. / Let’s keep ourselves open. / Let’s be open-minded. [abrirse = to open oneself up]
Quedémonos aquí. = Let’s stay here. [quedarse]
Veámonos pronto. = Let’s see each other soon. [verse]
The commands with a -nos ending are correct but not always very common.
Takingveámonos for example it’s simpler to saynos vemos “we’ll see each other (again soon)” or “until next time”. You could even sayvamos a vernos “we’ll see each other again”. Usingveámonos is more emphatic to me. Not wrong, just a little bit more “let’s DEFINITELY meet up!”
Usually you would just see it asvamos a +reflexive verb.
But the-nos commands are used for when you are addressing a group that you are a part of, and so it’s more specialized in that regard. And in some cases it has a kind of “shall we” ring to it.
