Confused by example

Question

In the example: Estoy por prestarle yo el dinero a Carmen... 
I am confused by the inclusion of the first person pronoun "yo". Please explain why "yo" is needed/included in the sentence. 
 
Saludos,
 
I. Pati Ecuamiga

Inma Sánchez · Accepted Answer

Hola I.Pati,
In this example:

Estoy por prestarle yo el dinero a Carmen. Está pasando apuros económicos.
I feel tempted to lend Carmen the money. She is having financial problems.

the pronoun is included to put emphasis as if saying "I am prepared to lend her the money myself".
Another example could be:

Estoy por decírselo yo, ya que nadie se atreve. 
I’m about to tell him/her myself, since nobody else dares to.

It stresses that "I" will be the one to do it, especially because nobody else is willing to.
It works with other pronouns too and not only with this verbal structure of "estar por". Here are other general examples:

Eso lo dijiste tú, no yo. 
You said that, not me. (It was you who said it)
 
Esta vez pagamos nosotros. 
This time we’re paying. (It's our turn)
 
Que lo haga él.
Let him do it. / He can do it.

I hope this helps.
Saludos
Inma