ir Imperfect Conjugation
ir — to go
Ir is one of only three irregular verbs in the imperfect: iba, ibas, iba, íbamos, ibais, iban.
ir Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect to describe where you used to go habitually or to set the scene for a journey that was in progress when something else happened.
Notes on ir in the Imperfect
While most verbs use -aba or -ía, ir uses 'iba'. Note the accent mark only on the 'nosotros' form (íbamos).
Example Sentences
De niño, iba al parque todos los sábados.
As a child, I used to go to the park every Saturday.
yo
Íbamos a salir cuando empezó a llover.
We were going to leave when it started to rain.
nosotros
Ellos iban a la misma escuela.
They used to go to the same school.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Writing 'ibamos' without the accent.
Correct: It must be 'íbamos'.
Why: The 'nosotros' form of the imperfect 'iba' always requires a written accent to maintain the stress on the first syllable.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: voy
The present tense of ir is highly irregular: voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van.
Preterite
yo: fui
The preterite of ir is identical to the verb ser: fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuisteis, fueron.
Future
yo: iré
The future tense of ir is regular: iré, irás, irá, iremos, iréis, irán.
Conditional
yo: iría
The conditional of ir is regular: iría, irías, iría, iríamos, iríais, irían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: vaya
The present subjunctive of ir uses the stem 'vay-': vaya, vayas, vaya, vayamos, vayáis, vayan.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: fuera
The imperfect subjunctive of ir uses the 'fu-' stem: fuera, fueras, fuera, fuéramos, fuerais, fueran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: ve
The affirmative imperative is mostly irregular: ve (tú), vaya (usted), vamos (nosotros), id (vosotros), vayan (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no vayas
The negative imperative uses the present subjunctive: no vayas, no vaya, no vayamos, no vayáis, no vayan.