Ir Conjugation: How to Conjugate the Irregular Spanish Verb Ir

Spanish verbs fall into different groups, and each group is conjugated a little differently. If you’re going to master Spanish verbs like ir, you need to be able to identify which group a verb belongs to: regular (follows regular conjugation rules for -ar, -er, and -ir verbs), stem-changing (morphs depending on how you use it in a sentence), spelling-changing (has consonant-spelling changes in some forms to follow pronunciation rules), or reflexive (reflects the action back on the subject of the sentence).

But then there are those verbs that refuse to be lumped into a category: the irregulars. Other popular irregular Spanish verbs include ser, tener, dormir, and hacer. Ir (eer) (to go) is the ultimate irregular -ir verb; that’s all it is, i and r! It doesn’t follow most normal ending patterns, so your best bet is to just memorize its conjugations. Here it is in the present tense:

The Present Tense of Ir

Conjugation                     Translation
yo voy                                I go
tú vas                               You (informal) go
él/ella/ello/uno va       He/she/one goes
usted va                          You (formal) go
nosotros vamos            We go
vosotros váis                You all (informal) go
ellos/ellas van             They go
ustedes van                  You all (formal) goThe following examples show you ir in action

>Nosotros vamos al teatro a veces. (We go to the theater sometimes.)
>Mi madre va al supermercado ahora. (My mother is going to the supermarket now.)
The following table shows you ir in the preterit tense. Think you’ve seen these conjugations before? You probably have; it just so happens that they’re also the preterit forms of the verb ser (to be). It may be confusing, but look on the bright side: It’s one fewer set of verbs you have to memorize.

The Preterit Tense of Ir

Conjugation                                   Translation
yo fui                                                I went
tú fuiste                                           You (informal) went
él/ella/ello/uno fue                     He/she/one went
usted fue                                        You (formal) went
nosotros fuimos                           We went
vosotros fuisteis                          You all (informal) went
ellos/ellas fueron                       They went
ustedes fueron                           You all (formal) went
You use the preterit tense like this:
>>Los turistas fueron al museo. (The tourists went to the museum.)
>>¿Fueron ustedes al baile? (Did you go to the dance?)
Ir is one of only three irregular imperfect verbs. Here’s that conjugation; notice that, like regular verbs, the first-person and third-person singular forms (yo and usted) are the same.

The Imperfect Tense of Ir

Conjugation                                  Translation
yo iba                                             I used to go
tú ibas                                           You (informal) used to go
él/ella/ello/uno iba                   He/she/one used to go
usted iba                                      You (formal) used to go
nosotros íbamos                        We used to go
vosotros ibais                             You all (informal) used to go
ellos/ellas iban                          They used to go
ustedes iban                                You all (formal) used to go
Here are some examples of the imperfect tense:
>>Yo iba a Europa cada año. (I used to go to Europe every year.)

>Nosotros íbamos a Chicago. (We used to go to Chicago.)

Good news! Ir is regular in the future tense, so you can apply the regular verb endings here.

The Future Tense of Ir

Conjugation                      Translation
yo iré Â                                I will go
tú irás                                You (informal) will go
él/ella/ello/uno irá        He/she/one will go
usted irá                            You (formal) will go
nosotros iremos             We will go
vosotros iréis                  You all (informal) will go
ellos/ellas irán                They will go
ustedes irán                    You all (formal) will goThe following samples put the future tense to work:
Nosotros iremos a Orlando.  (We will go to Orlando.)
Yo iré a tu casa esta tarde.    (I will go to your house this afternoon.)