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Spanish grammar

Ir a + infinitive: the easy Spanish future (voy a nadar)

The simplest way to talk about the future in Spanish is the same one English uses: going to. Voy a nadar mañana, I'm going to swim tomorrow. It is built from the present tense of ir (voy, vas, va, vamos, van), the word a, and the plain infinitive. The sections below start with ir as a verb of motion (voy a la playa) and then put a verb where the place was.

In short

  • ir in the present: voy, vas, va, vamos, van.
  • voy a + place is going somewhere: voy al parque, voy a la playa.
  • voy a + infinitive is a plan: voy a nadar mañana, va a hacer frío.
  • a + el contracts to al: voy al cine. a la never contracts.
  • Negate by putting no before the form of ir: no voy a trabajar mañana.

I'm going…

«voy» is I'm going, I go. «voy a» + a place: «a» means to. «voy a la playa», I'm going to the beach.

  • La playa

    the beach

  • Voy a la playa

    I'm going to the beach

  • El parque

    the park

  • El parque está aquí

    the park is here

  • Tengo hambre

    I'm hungry

  • Hoy voy a la playa

    today I'm going to the beach

a + el = al

«al» is a + el squeezed into one word — el-words ALWAYS contract: «voy al parque», never «voy a el parque». La-words stay two words: «voy a la playa» stays «a la». One rule, two kinds of words.

  • El cine

    the movie theater

  • El cine está aquí

    the movie theater is here

  • Voy al cine

    I'm going to the movies

  • El mercado

    the market

  • Voy al parque

    I'm going to the park

  • Voy al mercado

    I'm going to the market

  • El agua

    the water

«ir» in the plural — and «¡vamos!»

«voy», «vas» — I go, you go. The plural: «vamos», we go; «van», they go, you all go. «vamos al cine» — we go to the cinema. «ellos van a la playa» — they go to the beach. «¿ustedes van al mercado?» — are you all going to the market? And «vamos» on its own is what Spanish says for 'let's go' — «¡vamos!» — the we form doing the inviting.

  • Vamos al cine

    We go to the cinema

  • Ustedes van al mercado

    You all go to the market

  • Vamos al restaurante juntos

    We go to the restaurant together

  • Ana quiere un café

    Ana wants a coffee

  • Vamos al cine y ellos van al parque

    We go to the cinema and they go to the park

  • Hoy vamos al cine juntos

    Today we go to the cinema together

Voy a — the near future

«voy a» + a place means I'm going to that place. «voy a» + an infinitive (the verb's plain dictionary form: «ir», «nadar», «trabajar») means I'm going to do that, a plan for later: «voy a nadar mañana». The same «voy a», with a verb where the place was.

  • Voy a nadar mañana

    I'm going to swim tomorrow

  • Voy a estudiar hoy

    I'm going to study today

  • Quiero ir a la playa mañana

    I want to go to the beach tomorrow

  • Mañana voy a nadar

    Tomorrow I'm going to swim

Check yourself

Questions from the course. Pick an answer to check it; nothing is saved.

  1. 1.Which one means 'we go'?

  2. 2.Which one means 'to go' (the plain dictionary form)?

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