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Reading Astérix, came across a sentence that didn't really make any sense. I know s'en aller, but not s'aller. Could this be a typo? Surely not, but ChatGPT couldn't explain it either.

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temporary_user_name
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    Perhaps the me of the beneficiary, similar to your previous question, but in a different order for some reason? – Luke Sawczak Nov 04 '23 at 04:50
  • Oh dang is it that again? I see it so, so rarely that I didn't recognize it the second time around either. Especially since the pronoun is in a different place this time - "je vais te me" last time, "je me vais te" this time. At least it doesn't resemble anything else, it's so weird. – temporary_user_name Nov 04 '23 at 05:26
  • I would still love to see an answer with a good explanation of why the order is different, if it's the same one! I've been perplexed by variations in this phenomenon too, e.g. https://french.stackexchange.com/questions/52791/je-te-vous-lui-ai-crach%c3%a9-%c3%a0-la-figure?noredirect=1#comment110533_52791 – Luke Sawczak Nov 04 '23 at 13:34
  • @LukeSawczak It's just familiar/slang. – Frank Nov 04 '23 at 15:45

1 Answers1

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Like with the previous question on a similar subject, it's a case of ethical dative. The me is there, as Grevisse says, to express the interest of the locutor in the action. The pronoun location, more regular than in je vais te me les disperser doesn't affect its role and makes the sentence less surprising to the ear. It can be compared to Je m'en vais te chauffer ça.

Following is a gem found in an Achille Talon comic strip (Greg, Fou et usage de fou, Pilote #425, 1967), containing a triple ethical dative ! It is even reinforced by the final moi.

Comme dans la question précédente sur le même sujet, il s'agit bien d'un datif éthique. Le me sert à, comme le dit le Grevisse, exprimer l'intérêt que le locuteur prend à l'action. L'emplacement du pronom, plus régulier que dans dans je vais te me les disperser n'affecte pas son rôle et rend la phrase moins surprenante à l'oreille. On peut la rapprocher de Je m'en vais te chauffer ça.

Voici une perle extraite d'un épisode d'Achille Talon (Greg, Fou et usage de fou, Pilote n°425, 1967), où l'on trouve un triple datif éthique ! Il est même renforcé par un moi final.

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temporary_user_name
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jlliagre
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  • How do you even tell which one is the "real" one in "te lui vous faire"? is it always the last one? – temporary_user_name Nov 05 '23 at 01:14
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    The context tells the "root" sentence is *Je vais lui faire un petit dessin, then je me vais* insists on the interest of the subject (like the final *moi), the te* includes the character in front of the speaker in the action and finally the *vous* widens this inclusion to everyone around him. – jlliagre Nov 05 '23 at 01:54
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    Note that a triple ethical dative is pretty extreme. I never heard any in my whole life. The one I found is likely an hapax. – jlliagre Nov 06 '23 at 09:43
  • Wow, learned a new word in English out of this too. Thanks for the bonus, @jlliagre! By the way, is it a coincidence that every case of this we've seen in both my questions as well as your additional citation involver aller? Does it only (or most often) occur in French with aller? – temporary_user_name Nov 06 '23 at 10:15
  • Most examples use aller indeed. There is one on this page that doesn't: le premier qui dit le contraire, je te me le bastonne* en beauté !* – jlliagre Nov 06 '23 at 12:17