3.4: El verbo "ir"

Conjugation

Observations

• The verb "ir" is irregular in all the forms.
• Conjugations do not have accent marks.
• Often used with the preposition "a" (to). If followed by the definite article "el", they combine to form the contraction "al".

Examples:

Los estudiantes van "a" la biblioteca a estudiar.

Nosotros vamos "al" estadio a ver el partido de básquetbol.

Uses

The construction "ir + a + [article + noun]" is used to talk about the present. It refers to something that usually happens or to something happening at a specific time.

Examples:

La chica va a la clase los lunes. (The girl goes to class on Mondays.)

La chica va a la clase en este momento. (The girl is going to class right now.)

The construction "ir + a + [infinitive]" is used to talk about actions that are going to happen in the near future.

Examples:

Voy a esquiar este fin de semana con mis amigos. (I'm going skiing this weekend with my friends.)

¿Vais a ir de excursión el sábado? (Are you going on a hike on Saturday?)

In the nosotros form, "vamos + a + [infinitive]" can also express the idea of "let's" (do something).

Examples:

¡Vamos a ver una película! (Let's watch a movie!)

¡Vamos a comer en el centro! (Let's eat downtown!)

(In the examples above, all the constructions used with "ir" are in bold.)