Ir conjugation in every tense, with ir a and irse
Ir means “to go”, and it is one of the most irregular verbs in Spanish. Its forms look like three different verbs: voy, fui and iba. You need it for movement, for talking about plans with ir a, and in its reflexive form irse, “to leave”. This page has every tense in tables, and how the verb is used.
The full table is also on the ir conjugation page, where you can type every form of ir from memory and see which ones you got wrong.
When to use ir
Use ir for going somewhere. Put a before the destination: Voy a Madrid, Vamos al cine. A and el join as al.
Use ir a with an infinitive to talk about plans and the near future: Voy a estudiar, “I’m going to study”. This is the most common way to talk about the future in speech. See the Spanish future tense.
Use irse for leaving: Me voy, “I’m off”. Se fue sin pagar, “He left without paying”.
Use ir with en for transport: Voy en tren, Fuimos en autobús. Walking and riding are exceptions: Voy a pie, “I’m walking”, and a caballo, “on horseback”.
Use ir with a gerund for something happening gradually: Voy entendiendo, “I’m beginning to understand”.
Present
| Person | ir | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | voy | I go, I’m going |
| tú | vas | you go |
| vos | vas | you go |
| él, ella, usted | va | he, she goes / you go |
| nosotros, nosotras | vamos | we go |
| vosotros, vosotras | vais | you go (Spain) |
| ellos, ellas, ustedes | van | they go / you go |
With vos, the form is vas, the same as with tú. Vais has no written accent because it is one syllable.
In Spanish you use the simple present where in English you say “I’m going”: ¿Adónde vas?, “Where are you going?” Estoy yendo exists but is used much less.
Preterite
The preterite of ir is the same as the preterite of ser. Fui a Roma is “I went to Rome”. Fui profesor is “I was a teacher”.
| Person | ir | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | fui | I went |
| tú, vos | fuiste | you went |
| él, ella, usted | fue | he, she went / you went |
| nosotros | fuimos | we went |
| vosotros | fuisteis | you went (Spain) |
| ellos, ustedes | fueron | they went / you went |
Imperfect
Use the imperfect for habits and for what was going on: Iba al colegio andando, “I used to walk to school”. Iba a llamarte is “I was going to call you”.
| Person | ir | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | iba | I used to go, I was going |
| tú, vos | ibas | you used to go |
| él, ella, usted | iba | he, she used to go / you used to go |
| nosotros | íbamos | we used to go |
| vosotros | ibais | you used to go (Spain) |
| ellos, ustedes | iban | they used to go |
Future and conditional
The future and conditional are regular, built on the infinitive ir.
| Person | Future | Conditional |
|---|---|---|
| yo | iré | iría |
| tú, vos | irás | irías |
| él, ella, usted | irá | iría |
| nosotros | iremos | iríamos |
| vosotros | iréis | iríais |
| ellos, ustedes | irán | irían |
Iré sounds more formal or more certain than voy a ir. Iría is common in advice: Yo iría temprano, “I’d go early”.
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is built on vay-: Quiero que vayas, “I want you to go”.
| Person | ir |
|---|---|
| yo | vaya |
| tú, vos | vayas |
| él, ella, usted | vaya |
| nosotros | vayamos |
| vosotros | vayáis |
| ellos, ustedes | vayan |
¡Que te vaya bien! is a common goodbye, “All the best!”
Imperfect subjunctive
These are the same as the forms of ser.
| Person | -ra form | -se form |
|---|---|---|
| yo | fuera | fuese |
| tú, vos | fueras | fueses |
| él, ella, usted | fuera | fuese |
| nosotros | fuéramos | fuésemos |
| vosotros | fuerais | fueseis |
| ellos, ustedes | fueran | fuesen |
Si fuera a México, visitaría Oaxaca is “If I went to Mexico, I would visit Oaxaca”.
Commands
| Form | Affirmative | With irse | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|
| tú | ve | vete | no vayas, no te vayas |
| vos | andá | andate | no vayas, no te vayas |
| usted | vaya | váyase | no vaya, no se vaya |
| vosotros | id | idos | no vayáis, no os vayáis |
| ustedes | vayan | váyanse | no vayan, no se vayan |
| nosotros | vamos | vámonos | no vayamos, no nos vayamos |
Ve is also the command of ver, “see”. ¡Vete! is “Go away!” and can be rude, depending on tone. ¡Vámonos! is “Let’s go!”
In Spain you will hear iros in speech instead of idos.
Compound tenses and other forms
The participle is ido and the gerund is yendo.
| Tense | yo form | English |
|---|---|---|
| Present perfect | he ido | I have gone, I have been |
| Pluperfect | había ido | I had gone |
| Future perfect | habré ido | I will have gone |
| Conditional perfect | habría ido | I would have gone |
¿Has ido alguna vez a Cuba? is “Have you ever been to Cuba?” In English you say “been”, in Spanish ido or estado.
Prepositions with ir
| Spanish | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ir a | go to | Voy a la playa. I’m going to the beach. |
| ir de | go on, go as | Vamos de viaje. We’re going on a trip. Voy de blanco. I’m wearing white. |
| ir en | go by | Voy en bici. I’m going by bike. |
| ir con | go with | ¿Vas con tu hermano? Are you going with your brother? |
| ir hacia | head towards | Iba hacia el centro. He was heading towards the centre. |
| ir por | go along, go for | Ve por esta calle. Go along this street. |
To fetch something, people in Spain say voy a por pan, “I’m going for bread”. In Latin America it is voy por pan. A por is standard in Spain and is not used in Mexico, Colombia or Argentina.
Everyday phrases with ir
| You want to say | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| How’s it going? | ¿Cómo te va? | Friendly greeting |
| How did it go? | ¿Qué tal te fue? or ¿Cómo te fue? | After an exam, a trip, an interview |
| Coming! | ¡Ya voy! | When someone calls you |
| Come on! | ¡Vamos! | Encouragement |
| Let’s see | Vamos a ver | |
| To go shopping | ir de compras | |
| To go on holiday | ir de vacaciones | |
| To go well, badly | ir bien, ir mal | El negocio va bien. |
| Wow, well I never | ¡Vaya! | Common in Spain |
| No way, not at all | ¡Qué va! | Common in Spain |
Worked examples
- Voy al supermercado. I’m going to the supermarket.
- ¿Adónde vas? Where are you going?
- Vamos a cenar fuera. We’re going to eat out.
- Mañana voy a ir al médico. Tomorrow I’m going to go to the doctor.
- Voy en metro al trabajo. I go to work by metro.
- Me voy, que llego tarde. I’m off, I’m going to be late.
- El verano pasado fuimos a la costa. Last summer we went to the coast.
- De niño, iba a casa de mis abuelos cada domingo. As a child, I used to go to my grandparents’ house every Sunday.
- Iba a decírtelo, pero no tuve tiempo. I was going to tell you, but I didn’t have time.
- ¿Qué tal te fue la entrevista? How did the interview go?
- Espero que vayas a la fiesta. I hope you go to the party.
- Si fueras en tren, llegarías antes. If you went by train, you’d get there sooner.
Common mistakes English speakers make
| Wrong | Right | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Voy a el cine. | Voy al cine. | A + el is always al. |
| Voy comer. | Voy a comer. | Always include the a. |
| Voy en pie. | Voy a pie. or Voy andando. | Use a pie for walking. In Latin America people also say voy caminando. |
| Vamos a playa. | Vamos a la playa. | Keep the article. |
| Estoy yendo al trabajo ahora. | Voy al trabajo. | Grammatical, but the simple present is the normal “I’m going”. |
| Voy. (meaning I’m leaving) | Me voy. | Leaving is irse. |
Regional notes
Vos. In Argentina, the present is vos vas and the command is andá, from andar. Andá a dormir is “Go to bed”. Andate is “Go away”.
Vosotros. In Spain people use vais, fuisteis, id. In Mexico, Colombia and Argentina people use ustedes for all groups: ¿Van a venir?
Car. The word for car changes by country. Voy en coche in Spain, voy en carro in Mexico and Colombia, voy en auto in Argentina.
¡Vaya! and ¡Qué va! are typical of Spain. In Mexico you will hear ¡Órale! for “wow” or “okay, come on”.
Practise it
In the Vozelu grammar course there are two lessons on ir: “Future with ir a” and “Present tense verbs”. To take them, create an account. In the lessons you learn the forms and how to use ir a for the future, then you type them in full sentences and are told what you got wrong.
Questions people ask
What are the forms of ir in the present tense? Voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van. With vos, the form is also vas.
Why are ir and ser the same in the preterite? Both come from the past forms of the Latin verb esse, “to be”. In practice, you tell from the context whether fui means “I went” or “I was”.
What is the difference between ir and irse? Ir is going to a place: Voy al parque. Irse is leaving: Me voy del parque.
What is the gerund of ir? Yendo. It is correct but used less than English “going”, because in Spanish people usually say voy for “I’m going”.
How do you say “let’s go” in Spanish? Vamos or vámonos. In Mexico, vámonos and ándale are both very common.
How do you say “I’m going home” in Spanish? Voy a casa, or me voy a casa if you are leaving somewhere. Use casa without an article when you mean your own home.
How do you say “I’ve been to” in Spanish? He ido a or he estado en: He estado en Perú dos veces. In Argentina, fui a Perú dos veces is more common.