Ir is one of the most important irregular verbs in Spanish — it appears in virtually every GCSE and A-Level task.
Practice ir free →Ir means 'to go', and it is both extremely common and spectacularly irregular — its forms borrow from a completely different Latin root, so voy, vas, va bear no resemblance to the infinitive. Strangely, its preterite (fui, fuiste, fue) is identical to that of ser, so context tells you which verb is meant. Ir also powers the near future: ir a + infinitive means 'going to' do something (voy a estudiar), which is the easiest way to talk about future plans at GCSE. Given how often you need to say where you are going and what you are going to do, ir is a verb you want fully automatic — and its overlap with ser in the past is a favourite exam talking point.
Quick facts
Ir (to go) is an irregular -ir verb.
Real sentences across different tenses — the kind of thing you'd actually say or write.
To go somewhere: voy al colegio (I go to school), ¿vas a la fiesta? (are you going to the party?). Note ir a + place.
Ir a + infinitive expresses 'going to': voy a viajar (I'm going to travel). This is the simplest and most reliable future structure for GCSE.
Vamos a + infinitive can mean 'let's': vamos a empezar (let's begin).
Irse means 'to leave / go away': me voy (I'm off / I'm leaving), a subtly different idea from plain ir.
Fixed expressions worth knowing — they come up in listening, reading and writing tasks.
Idiomatic expressions
The preterite of ir (fui, fuiste, fue…) is identical to the preterite of ser. Context tells them apart: fui al cine = I went to the cinema; fui estudiante = I was a student. Also: voy a + infinitivo = near future.
Completely irregular — no stem pattern exists. All six forms must be memorised individually.
Shares all its preterite forms with ser. Context tells you which verb is meant.
One of only three verbs irregular in the imperfect. The stem is ib- throughout.
Regular: just add the standard future endings directly to ir.
Completely irregular imperative: ve (tú — same form as ver!), vaya (él), vayamos (nosotros), id (vosotros), vayan (ellos).
The gerund of ir is yendo. Estoy yendo is rarely used — speakers usually just say voy.
Type conjugations from memory and get instant feedback. That's how you actually build the automatic recall the exam needs — not from reading tables.
Practice ir now →Three questions, no account needed. Type the form, then press Enter or tap Check.
yo: voy, tú: vas, él: va, nosotros: vamos, vosotros: vais, ellos: van
Ir is irregular. The tenses with irregular forms are: Presente, Pretérito Indefinido, Pretérito Imperfecto, Futuro, Imperativo, Presente Progresivo.
The past participle is ido (he ido) and the gerund is yendo (estoy yendo).
Verbs that are easy to confuse with ir or that behave like it.
Ir is on the AQA, Edexcel and Eduqas GCSE Spanish vocabulary lists. Compare the exam boards.
Written by Daniel Holmes for GCSE & A-Level Spanish students.