The Spanish language classifies its verbs in three different groups we call first, second and third conjugations, which are commonly known as -ar, -er, and -ir conjugations, because of their last two letters.  

Remember: all Spanish verbs end with -ar, -er, and -ir when they are not conjugated, but they might change a bit when the time for conjugation comes. To conjugate a Spanish verb like ir, we need to define if it is regular (a verb that follows the regular conjugation rules for -ar, -er, and -ir verbs) or irregular (a verb that changes vowels and/ or consonants in different grammatical persons).

The irregulars are those verbs which seem not to follow rules, and sometimes they don’t. The reasons for the existence of irregular verbs lie in the depths of history, and the only way to get a good conjugation is learning them by heart.

Ir (which you should pronounce eer and means to go) is an irregular verb of the group –ir; since it shares exactly the same letters of the conjugation ending, it behaves a bit randomly. Here it is in the present tense:

The Present Tense of Ir

ConjugationTranslationyo voyI gotú vasYou (informal) goél/ella/ello/uno vaHe/she/one goesusted vaYou (formal) gonosotros vamosWe govosotros váisYou all (informal) goellos/ellas vanThey goustedes vanYou all (formal) go

This is how the verb ir looks in an actual phrase:

• Nosotros vamos a Barcelona en tren. (We go to Barcelona by train.)
• Greta va a la escuela ahora. (Greta is going to the school now.)

In the next table you will find the verb ir in the simple past tense. This conjugation, you might notice, seems very similar to the conjugation of the verb ser. It is in fact identical. While it might seem confusing, ir and ser share the same structures when they are conjugated in the past tense due to historical linguistic reasons. Please note that the verb ir is normally followed by a preposition.

The Preterit Tense of Ir

ConjugationTranslationyo fuiI wenttú fuisteYou (informal) wentél/ella/ello/uno fueHe/she/one wentusted fueYou (formal) wentnosotros fuimosWe wentvosotros fuisteisYou all (informal) wentellos/ellas fueronThey wentustedes fueronYou all (formal) went

You use the simple past tense like this:

• Mis padres fueron al cine. (My parents went to the cinema.)
• ¿Tu hermano fue a la universidad? (Did your brother go to university?)

Ir is one of only three irregular imperfect verbs. In its conjugation table you will notice that the first person and third person singular forms (yo and usted) are identical.

The Imperfect Tense of Ir

ConjugationTranslationyo ibaI used to gotú ibasYou (informal) used to goél/ella/ello/uno ibaHe/she/one used to gousted ibaYou (formal) used to gonosotros íbamosWe used to govosotros ibaisYou all (informal) used to goellos/ellas ibanThey used to goustedes ibanYou all (formal) used to go

Have a look at these examples of the imperfect tense:

• Yo iba a Sydney cada verano. (I used to go to Sydney every summer.)
• Nosotros íbamos a la escuela en bus. (We used to go to school by bus.)

Finally, in the future tense the verb Ir is regular for the first time. That makes an easy conjugation.

The Future Tense of Ir

ConjugationTranslationyo iréI will gotú irásYou (informal) will goél/ella/ello/uno iráHe/she/one will gousted iráYou (formal) will gonosotros iremosWe will govosotros iréisYou all (informal) will goellos/ellas iránThey will goustedes iránYou all (formal) will go

Here you can see the future tense of ir in action:

• Nosotros iremos a casa. (We will go home.)

Yo iré a Madrid la semana que viene. (I will go to Madrid next week.)

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