How to conjugate "ir" in Spanish: every tense, with examples.
Ir means "to go" — and it's one of the most irregular verbs in Spanish. The forms barely look like the infinitive in some tenses. Plus the "ir a + infinitive" structure that's the easiest way to talk about the future.
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Ir: the verb that doesn't look like itself
Ir is famously irregular. The infinitive is "ir", but in present tense it becomes "voy, vas, va…" — completely different stem. In preterite it becomes "fui, fuiste, fue…" — and that form is identical to the preterite of "ser" (to be). You tell them apart by context.
It's a small irregular verb that does an outsized amount of work in everyday Spanish. Beyond literal motion, it's the building block of the most common future construction: "voy a + infinitive" (I'm going to…).
Present tense (presente)
yo voy
"Voy al trabajo." (I'm going to work.)
tú vas
"¿A dónde vas?" (Where are you going?)
él/ella va
"Va al cine." (She's going to the movies.)
nosotros vamos
"Vamos a casa." (We're going home.)
vosotros vais
"¿Vais juntos?" (Are you guys going together?)
ellos van
"Van a la playa." (They're going to the beach.)
These forms look nothing like the infinitive. Just memorize them as a unit: voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van. They come up in every conversation.
Preterite (pretérito) — careful: same as ser!
yo fui
"Fui al supermercado." (I went to the supermarket.)
tú fuiste
"¿Fuiste a la fiesta?" (Did you go to the party?)
él/ella fue
"Fue a México el año pasado." (He went to Mexico last year.)
nosotros fuimos
"Fuimos al parque." (We went to the park.)
vosotros fuisteis
"¿Fuisteis a la cena?" (Did you all go to the dinner?)
ellos fueron
"Fueron a un concierto." (They went to a concert.)
Crucial detail: the preterite of "ir" is identical to the preterite of "ser" (to be). "Fui feliz" could mean "I was happy" (ser) or theoretically "I went happy" (which doesn't make sense). Context disambiguates: if there's a destination, it's "ir"; if there's a description, it's "ser".
Quick test: "Fui a Madrid" = I went to Madrid (clearly "ir" — there's a destination). "Fui estudiante" = I was a student (clearly "ser" — there's a description).
Imperfect (imperfecto)
yo iba
"De niño, iba al parque cada día." (As a kid, I used to go to the park every day.)
tú ibas
"Ibas mucho a esa cafetería." (You used to go to that café a lot.)
él/ella iba
"Iba al gimnasio antes." (She used to go to the gym before.)
nosotros íbamos
"Íbamos juntos a la escuela." (We used to go to school together.)
vosotros ibais
"¿Ibais a esos sitios?" (Did you used to go to those places?)
ellos iban
"Iban de vacaciones cada verano." (They used to go on vacation every summer.)
The imperfect of ir is one of three irregular imperfects in all of Spanish (the others are "ser" → era, and "ver" → veía). Highly worth memorizing.
Future and conditional
Future: regular forms
iré, irás, irá, iremos, iréis, irán. "Iré contigo." (I'll go with you.) Standard -ir endings.
Conditional: regular forms
iría, irías, iría, iríamos, iríais, irían. "Iría si tuviera tiempo." (I'd go if I had time.)
"Ir a + infinitive": the easy future
In everyday spoken Spanish, the most common way to talk about the future is NOT the future tense ("iré, iremos"). It's the construction "ir a + infinitive" — exactly like English "I'm going to + verb".
Voy a + verb
"Voy a estudiar esta noche." (I'm going to study tonight.) Sounds completely natural — far more common than "estudiaré".
Vamos a + verb
"Vamos a comer algo." (Let's eat something / We're going to eat something.) Also functions as "let's" in many contexts.
Va a + verb
"Va a llover." (It's going to rain.)
If you struggle with the future tense conjugations, default to "ir a + infinitive" in spoken Spanish. It's natural, easy, and used by native speakers constantly.
Subjunctive (subjuntivo)
Present subjunctive: "vaya"
vaya, vayas, vaya, vayamos, vayáis, vayan. "Quiero que vayas conmigo." (I want you to come with me.)
Imperfect subjunctive: "fuera"
fuera, fueras, fuera, fuéramos, fuerais, fueran. "Si fuera contigo, sería divertido." (If I went with you, it would be fun.) Note: also identical to imperfect subjunctive of ser.
Imperative — "vamos" and "vámonos"
"Vamos"
"Vamos!" (Let's go!) The most common command form. Used to suggest, to encourage, to start moving.
"Vámonos"
"¡Vámonos!" (Let's get out of here / let's go.) The reflexive form, often used when emphasizing the leaving.
"Ve" / "vete"
"Vete a casa." (Go home.) Tú command. "Ve" alone is the basic command; "vete" is the reflexive (more common).
"No vayas"
"No vayas allí." (Don't go there.) Negative tú command — uses subjunctive form.
Keep learning
Ir — small verb, huge usage.
Practice the forms in real conversation with TucoLingo. Once "voy", "fui", "iba" all roll off the tongue, your Spanish flows much more easily.
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