Ir + A + Infinitive: The Near Future

The most common way to talk about the future in everyday Spanish is the construction ir + a + infinitive. This is equivalent to the English "going to" and is overwhelmingly preferred in spoken Spanish over the simple future tense.

How It Works

The structure is straightforward:

Conjugated form of ir + a + infinitive verb

Think of it like English:

English	Spanish
I am going to eat	Voy a comer
She is going to study	Va a estudiar
We are going to travel	Vamos a viajar

Conjugation of Ir (To Go) — Present Tense

Since we need the present tense of ir, here is the full conjugation:

Subject Pronoun	Ir	Example with Infinitive
yo	voy	Voy a hablar (I'm going to speak)
tú	vas	Vas a comer (You're going to eat)
él / ella / usted	va	Va a salir (He/She is going to leave)
nosotros/as	vamos	Vamos a estudiar (We're going to study)
vosotros/as	vais	Vais a correr (You all are going to run)
ellos / ellas / ustedes	van	Van a viajar (They're going to travel)

Tip: The verb ir is highly irregular in the present tense. Memorise these six forms — you will use them constantly.

Examples with -AR Verbs

Spanish	English
Voy a hablar con mi jefe.	I'm going to speak with my boss.
¿Vas a comprar algo?	Are you going to buy something?
Ella va a cocinar esta noche.	She's going to cook tonight.
Vamos a bailar en la fiesta.	We're going to dance at the party.
¿Vais a estudiar para el examen?	Are you all going to study for the exam?
Ellos van a viajar a México.	They're going to travel to Mexico.

Examples with -ER Verbs

Spanish	English
Voy a comer a las dos.	I'm going to eat at two.
¿Vas a beber agua?	Are you going to drink water?
Él va a aprender español.	He's going to learn Spanish.
Vamos a leer este libro.	We're going to read this book.
Van a correr en el parque.	They're going to run in the park.

Examples with -IR Verbs

Spanish	English
Voy a vivir en Madrid.	I'm going to live in Madrid.
¿Vas a escribir un correo?	Are you going to write an email?
Ella va a abrir la puerta.	She's going to open the door.
Vamos a salir temprano.	We're going to leave early.
Van a decidir mañana.	They're going to decide tomorrow.

Time Expressions Commonly Used

These time expressions frequently appear with ir + a + infinitive:

Spanish	English
mañana	tomorrow
esta noche	tonight
esta tarde	this afternoon/evening
la semana que viene	next week
el mes que viene	next month
el año que viene	next year
luego	later
después	afterwards
pronto	soon
en un rato	in a while

Examples with Time Expressions

Mañana voy a ir al médico. — Tomorrow I'm going to go to the doctor.
Vamos a salir esta noche. — We're going to go out tonight.
¿Qué vas a hacer la semana que viene? — What are you going to do next week?
Van a mudarse el mes que viene. — They're going to move next month.
Pronto voy a terminar. — Soon I'm going to finish.

Negative Form

To make a negative sentence, place no before the conjugated form of ir:

Affirmative	Negative
Voy a estudiar.	No voy a estudiar.
Va a llover.	No va a llover.
Vamos a salir.	No vamos a salir.

Question Form

Questions can be formed by inversion or simply by adding question marks and raising intonation:

¿Vas a venir a la fiesta? — Are you going to come to the party?
¿Qué van a hacer? — What are they going to do?
¿Cuándo vamos a comer? — When are we going to eat?
¿Dónde va a vivir? — Where is he/she going to live?

Ir + A + Infinitive vs. English "Going To"

The parallel is almost exact:

English	Spanish
I'm going to work	Voy a trabajar
Are you going to eat?	¿Vas a comer?
She's not going to come	No va a venir
We're going to watch a film	Vamos a ver una película

Tip: Whenever you would say "going to" in English, use ir + a + infinitive in Spanish. It is natural, correct, and very widely used.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Forgetting the a: It is NOT voy comer, it is voy a comer.
Conjugating the second verb: The second verb stays in the infinitive. NOT voy a como, but voy a comer.
Using the wrong form of ir: Make sure ir agrees with the subject — yo voy, tú vas, él va, etc.

Quick Practice

Translate the following into Spanish using ir + a + infinitive:

I'm going to study tonight.
Are you going to travel next week?
She's going to cook dinner.
We're not going to watch television.
They're going to buy a car.

Answers

Voy a estudiar esta noche.
¿Vas a viajar la semana que viene?
Ella va a cocinar la cena.
No vamos a ver la televisión.
Van a comprar un coche.

Summary

Ir + a + infinitive is the most common way to express the future in spoken Spanish.
Conjugate ir in the present tense, add a, then the infinitive of the main verb.
It works with -AR, -ER, and -IR verbs identically.
Use it with time expressions like mañana, esta noche, la semana que viene.
It directly mirrors the English "going to" construction.