español · A1 · verb · 4 minutes
Ir in the present
Move toward destinations and prepare the near-future pattern.
Understand the choice
Use ir to talk about movement, destinations, and plans. Learn each present form with a destination and remember the contraction al before masculine singular places.
Core rule: Ir is irregular in the present: voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van; destinations normally follow a.
Notice it in context
Voy al mercado y después vamos a casa.
I go to the market and afterward we go home.
Voy matches yo; vamos matches nosotros and casa follows a without an article.
¿Vas al centro hoy?
Are you going downtown today?
A + el becomes al.
Mis amigos van en tren.
My friends go by train.
Van agrees with a plural subject; en marks transport.
What to remember
- Ir a + infinitive also expresses a near plan.
- Casa often appears without an article in the destination phrase a casa.
Common trap: Do not omit a before an ordinary destination: voy la tienda is wrong; say voy a la tienda.