español · A2 · verb · 4 minutes
Ir in the preterite
Use destinations and context to read fui as went.
Understand the choice
Use fui forms for completed journeys and visits. The forms are identical to the preterite of ser, so a destination introduced by a, al, or adonde is the clearest signal that the meaning is “went.”
Core rule: Ir shares its preterite forms with ser; destinations and context reveal the meaning went.
Notice it in context
Fui al museo y después fuimos a cenar.
I went to the museum and afterward we went to dinner.
Ir shares its preterite forms with ser; destinations and context reveal the meaning went.
¿Fuiste al mercado ayer?
Did you go to the market yesterday?
The destination makes fuiste mean went.
Mis padres fueron a Perú en junio.
My parents went to Peru in June.
Fueron agrees with a plural subject.
What to remember
- Fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuisteis, fueron carry both ir and ser meanings.
- Ir still requires a before a destination: fui al museo; fuimos a cenar.
Common trap: Do not choose between ir and ser from the isolated form fui. Read the complement: fui médico means I was a doctor; fui al médico means I went to the doctor.