Ir Conjugation: All Spanish Tenses

Ir (to go) is the most irregular verb in Spanish: it combines three different stems. The present voy comes from Latin vadere, the preterite fui is borrowed from ser, and the imperfect iba is one of only three irregular imperfects in the language (together with ser and ver). The gerund is yendo and the imperative has special forms: ve (tú), vamos (nosotros). On top of that, ir a + infinitive is the most common way to express the future: Voy a viajar mañana (I am going to travel tomorrow). The pronominal form irse means to leave: Me voy a casa (I am going home).

Indicative Tenses of Ir

Ir in the Present (Presente)

Habits and movement; with a + infinitive it expresses the near future: Voy al trabajo en metro todos los días (I go to work by metro every day).

Present tense rules →

Ir in the Preterite (Pretérito indefinido)

Completed actions in the past; the forms are identical to ser: El verano pasado fuimos a México (Last summer we went to Mexico).

Preterite rules →

Ir in the Present Perfect (Pretérito perfecto)

Past connected to the present: Hoy he ido al gimnasio por la mañana (Today I went to the gym in the morning).

Present perfect rules →

Ir in the Imperfect (Pretérito imperfecto)

Habitual actions in the past; one of only three irregular imperfects (with ser and ver): De pequeño iba a la playa con mis abuelos (As a child I used to go to the beach with my grandparents).

Imperfect rules →

Ir in the Past Perfect (Pluscuamperfecto)

An action before another past action: Cuando llamaste, ya había ido a la farmacia (When you called, I had already gone to the pharmacy).

Past perfect rules →

Ir in the Future (Futuro simple)

Plans and predictions; here ir is regular: El año que viene iremos a Argentina (Next year we will go to Argentina).

Future tense rules →

Ir in the Future Perfect (Futuro perfecto)

An action that will be completed in the future: Para las ocho ya habrá ido al banco (By eight he will have already gone to the bank).

Future perfect rules →

Ir in the Conditional (Condicional simple)

Advice and hypothetical situations: Yo iría contigo, pero tengo que trabajar (I would go with you, but I have to work).

Conditional rules →

Ir in the Conditional Perfect (Condicional compuesto)

Hypotheses about the past: Habríamos ido a la fiesta, pero llovía mucho (We would have gone to the party, but it was raining hard).

Conditional perfect rules →

Subjunctive Tenses of Ir

Present Subjunctive of Ir (Presente de subjuntivo)

Wishes, doubts and emotions; the stem changes to vay-: Quiero que vayas al médico esta semana (I want you to go to the doctor this week).

Present subjunctive rules →

Present Perfect Subjunctive of Ir (Pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo)

Evaluating a recent past action: Espero que hayan ido a clase hoy (I hope they have gone to class today).

Perfect subjunctive rules →

Imperfect Subjunctive of Ir (Pretérito imperfecto de subjuntivo)

Hypothetical conditions; the forms are identical to ser: Si fueras a la fiesta, te divertirías (If you went to the party, you would have fun).

Imperfect subjunctive rules →

Past Perfect Subjunctive of Ir (Pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo)

Unreal hypotheses about the past: Si hubiéramos ido en tren, habríamos llegado antes (If we had gone by train, we would have arrived earlier).

Past perfect subjunctive rules →

Imperative of Ir

Affirmative Commands of Ir (Imperativo afirmativo)

Orders and requests; for nosotros Spanish uses vamos, not vayamos: ¡Ve a casa, ya es tarde! (Go home, it's late!)

Affirmative commands rules →

Negative Commands of Ir (Imperativo negativo)

Prohibitions, formed with the present subjunctive: No vayas solo por la noche (Don't go alone at night).

Negative commands rules →

Expressions with Ir

• Ir al grano - to get straight to the point
• Ir de mal en peor - to go from bad to worse
• Ir sobre ruedas - to go smoothly (literally: to run on wheels)
• Irse por las ramas - to beat around the bush
• ¡Vamos! - come on!, let's go!