Verb · irregular
ir
to go
The thing that catches people out
ir plus a plus an infinitive is the easy future: voy a comer, I am going to eat. Learn this and you can talk about tomorrow without touching the future tense at all.
Present
What happens, and what is happening now.
| yo | voy | |
| tú | vas | |
| él, ella, usted | va | |
| nosotros | vamos | |
| ellos, ustedes | van | |
| vosotros, Spain only | vais |
Preterite, the finished past
Something that happened and is over: yesterday, last year, once.
| yo | fui | |
| tú | fuiste | |
| él, ella, usted | fue | |
| nosotros | fuimos | |
| ellos, ustedes | fueron | |
| vosotros, Spain only | fuisteis |
Imperfect, the background past
What used to happen, or was going on when something else happened.
| yo | iba | |
| tú | ibas | |
| él, ella, usted | iba | |
| nosotros | íbamos | |
| ellos, ustedes | iban | |
| vosotros, Spain only | ibais |
Future
Will do. In conversation, ir a plus the verb is more common: voy a comer.
| yo | iré | |
| tú | irás | |
| él, ella, usted | irá | |
| nosotros | iremos | |
| ellos, ustedes | irán | |
| vosotros, Spain only | iréis |
Present perfect
Have done. Used far more in Spain, where it covers today; most of Latin America uses the preterite there.
| yo | he ido | |
| tú | has ido | |
| él, ella, usted | ha ido | |
| nosotros | hemos ido | |
| ellos, ustedes | han ido | |
| vosotros, Spain only | habéis ido |
Other forms
The -ing form, the form that follows he, has and ha, and how to tell someone to do it.
| -ing form | yendo | |
| participle | ido | |
| command, to tú | ve | |
| command, to usted | vaya |
In a sentence
voy al mercado
I am going to the market
vamos a comer
we are going to eat