Ir Conjugation in Spanish, Translation, and Examples

Dr. Jocelly Meiners has taught language courses at the University of Texas at Austin since 2008. She holds a Ph.D. in Hispanic linguistics and an M.A. in French linguistics.

The verb ir is one of the most frequently used verbs in Spanish. It is typically translated as to go. You might not expect fue and vaya to be conjugations of the same verb, but that is what happens with the verb ir. As would be expected for a verb that uniquely has an ending only —with no stem—, ir is highly irregular. Most unusually, it shares its preterite and imperfect subjunctive forms with ser. The context typically will indicate which verb is being conjugated. The verb ir is also frequently used to form the periphrastic future.

In the tables below you can find the conjugations of ir in the indicative mood (present, past, and future), the subjunctive mood (present and past), the imperative mood, and other verb forms.

Ir Present Indicative

Notice that the present tense conjugations are highly irregular, since none of the verbs resemble the infinitive ir.

Ir Preterite Indicative

Notice that in the preterite tense, the conjugations of ir are exactly the same as the preterite conjugations of the verb ser. Therefore, you need context to determine which verb is being used.

Ir Imperfect Indicative

The verb ir is also conjugated irregularly in the imperfect tense. The imperfect can be translated to English as "was going" or "used to go."

Ir Future Indicative

The future tense is normally conjugated starting with the infinitive of the verb, and then adding the future tense endings. This is one of the few verb tenses for which ir is conjugated regularly.

Ir Periphrastic Future Indicative

In the periphrastic future, the verb ir is used twice, since this verb tense is formed with the verb ir followed by the preposition a and then infinitive of the verb. This is similar to the English form "going to go."

Ir Present Progressive/Gerund Form

The gerund of -ir verbs is normally formed with the stem of the verb and the ending -iendo. Since ir doesn't really have a stem, the -ie in the ending changes to y and you end up with the form yendo. This verb form can be used in the present progressive and other progressive tenses.

Ir Past Participle

The past participle for -ir verbs usually ends in -ido. For the verb ir, you end up simply using ido as the past participle. This verb form is used in the perfect tenses with the auxiliary verb haber.

Ir Conditional Indicative

In the conditional tense, ir is conjugated regularly. Just like in the future tense, you simply add the conditional endings to the infinitive ir.

Ir Present Subjunctive

The present subjunctive conjugations of ir are completely irregular.

Ir Imperfect Subjunctive

In the imperfect subjunctive tense, ir also shares the same conjugation as the verb ser (just like in the preterite tense), so you need context in order to know which verb is being used. There are two ways in which you can conjugate the imperfect subjunctive:

Option 1

Option 2

Ir Imperative

The imperative mood consists of orders or commands. These verb forms are also irregular.

Positive Commands

Negative Commands

Meiners, Jocelly. "Ir Conjugation in Spanish, Translation, and Examples." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/conjugation-of-ir-3079623. Meiners, Jocelly. (2023, April 5). Ir Conjugation in Spanish, Translation, and Examples. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/conjugation-of-ir-3079623 Meiners, Jocelly. "Ir Conjugation in Spanish, Translation, and Examples." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/conjugation-of-ir-3079623 (accessed September 9, 2024).

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