Why Ir Is Far More Than "To Go"
Ir is the most irregular verb in Spanish — and one of the most essential. Beyond literal movement, it drives the future tense, describes activities, powers farewells, and expresses gradual change. Once you learn its chunk patterns, you'll find ir in almost every conversation.
Pattern 1: Voy a + infinitive — Immediate future
The most productive ir chunk in the language. Ir a + infinitive is the most common way to express future plans in spoken Spanish — more natural than the simple future tense in most everyday contexts.
- Voy a llamarte esta tarde. — I'm going to call you this afternoon.
- ¿Qué vas a hacer este fin de semana? — What are you going to do this weekend?
- Va a llover. — It's going to rain.
Chunk to learn:
Voy/Vas/Va a + [infinitive] (immediate future)
Pattern 2: ¿Cómo te va? — Asking how things are going
A warmer, more open alternative to ¿cómo estás?. It asks how things are going rather than how you're feeling — slightly broader and very common in casual conversation. The response uses the same verb.
- ¿Cómo te va? — How's it going? / How are things?
- Me va muy bien, gracias. — Things are going really well, thanks.
- ¿Cómo te va con el nuevo trabajo? — How's the new job going?
Chunk to learn:
¿Cómo te va (con + [noun])? / Me va + [bien / mal / regular]
Pattern 3: Ir de + noun — Going on / doing an activity
Ir de introduces a type of outing or activity — going on holiday, going shopping, going for a walk. It's the natural frame for describing leisure activities and plans.
- Vamos de vacaciones la semana que viene. — We're going on holiday next week.
- ¿Vamos de compras? — Shall we go shopping?
- Fueron de excursión al monte. — They went on a trip to the mountains.
Chunk to learn:
Ir de + [vacaciones / compras / excursión / paseo…]
Pattern 4: Que te vaya bien — Warm farewells
One of the most common farewell expressions in Spanish. The subjunctive vaya expresses a wish — may it go well for you. It's warmer than a simple adiós and used constantly when parting from someone you won't see for a while.
- Que te vaya muy bien. — I hope things go well for you.
- Que os vaya bien en el viaje. — Hope the trip goes well for you all.
- ¡Hasta luego, que vaya bien! — See you later, take care!
Chunk to learn:
Que te/os vaya bien (farewell wish)
Pattern 5: ¿A qué viene esto? — "What's this about?"
Venir and ir both anchor expressions of relevance and purpose. ¿A qué viene esto? is the natural way to ask what something is about or why something is happening — slightly impatient in tone.
- ¿A qué viene esa pregunta? — What's that question about? / Why are you asking that?
- No sé a qué viene tanta prisa. — I don't know what all the rush is about.
- ¿A qué viene eso ahora? — What's that supposed to mean? / Why bring that up now?
Chunk to learn:
¿A qué viene + [noun / esto]? — what's this about / why now
Pattern 6: Ir + gerund — Gradual progression
Already introduced in the [Estar + Gerund] Chunks post, but worth revisiting here in the context of ir's full chunk family. Ir + gerund expresses something unfolding gradually — step by step, little by little.
- Ve añadiendo el agua poco a poco. — Add the water little by little.
- Las cosas van mejorando. — Things are gradually getting better.
- Ve acostumbrándote, que aquí es así. — Get used to it, that's how it is here.
Chunk to learn:
Ir + [gerund] — gradual / step-by-step progression
The Verb That Goes Everywhere
Ir is irregular, ancient, and indispensable. It drives the most common future construction in spoken Spanish, powers the warmest farewells, and frames activities in a way no other verb does.
Start with voy a and ¿cómo te va? — the future frame and the check-in. Between the two, you'll have ir covered for most of what you need day to day.
This post is part of the Spanish Chunk Series — a growing collection of chunk patterns for natural Spanish.