ir conjugation

Q: What is the difference between ser and ir?

In the present, ser is about what something is (es alto — he's tall) and ir is about movement or destination (va a casa — he's going home). In the preterite they're identical: fue means both "he was" and "he went", and the sentence tells you which.

Q: How do you say 'let's go' in Spanish?

¡Vamos! — one word, no pronoun. And vamos a + infinitive is how you say "let's" in general: vamos a comer (let's eat), vamos a ver (let's see).

Updated October 23, 2026

Ir means "to go" and is irregular in the present (voy, vas, va), the preterite (fui, fuiste, fue) and the imperfect (iba, ibas, iba). Its preterite is identical to that of ser, which is why the two are often confused: fue means both "he was" and "he went", and context decides which.

ir has two irregularities: a present that belongs to neither family, and a preterite shared with ser, where fue means both "he was" and "he went".

One word, two meanings: fue is "he went" and "he was". The sentence tells you which.

ir — to go. Voy. The most irregular verb in Spanish, and one of the first you learn.

Present indicative

Pronoun	ir	Say
yo	voy	voy
tú	vas	vahs
él / ella / usted	va	vah
nosotros	vamos	VAH-mohs
vosotros	vais	vah-ees
ellos / ellas / ustedes	van	vahn

Vamos is the one to learn properly: on its own it means "let's go" or just "come on", but as a verb phrase it means "we go" or "we're going" — vamos a la playa (we're going to the beach). It's also the origin of the very common vamos a + infinitive, which is the everyday way to say "let's" or "going to".

Preterite

Pronoun	ir	Say
yo	fui	FOO-EE
tú	fuiste	WEES-teh
él / ella / usted	fue	weh
nosotros	fuimos	FOO-mohs
vosotros	fuisteis	WEES-tay-ees
ellos / ellas / ustedes	fueron	weh-ROHN

Identical to the preterite of ser. Fue is both "he was" and "he went", and fueron is both "they were" and "they went". Context decides: Fué a Madrid (he went to Madrid) versus Fue un buen maestro (he was a good teacher).

Imperfect

Pronoun	ir	Say
yo	iba	EE-bah
tú	ibas	EE-bahs
él / ella / usted	iba	EE-bah
nosotros	íbamos	EE-bah-mohs
vosotros	ibais	EE-bah-ees
ellos / ellas / ustedes	iban	EE-bahn

Future, conditional and subjunctive

Pronoun	Future	Conditional	Pres. subj.	Imp. subj.
yo	iré	iría	vaya	fuera
tú	irás	irías	vayas	fueras
él / ella / usted	irá	iría	vaya	fuera
nosotros	iremos	iríamos	vayamos	fuéramos
vosotros	iréis	iríais	vayáis	fuerais
ellos / ellas / ustedes	irán	irían	vayan	fueran

Imperative

Pronoun	Affirmative	Negative
tú	ve	no vayas
usted	vaya	no vaya
nosotros	vayamos	no vayamos
vosotros	id	no vayáis
ustedes	vayan	no vayan

ser or ir?

In the preterite they're the same word and the meaning depends on the sentence: fue = "he was" or "he went". In the present they're different: es (he is) versus va (he goes). And where a person went, ir is about the destination: Voy a México (I'm going to Mexico).

There's a related trap worth knowing: vamos used on its own means "let's go" or "come on", but vamos a + infinitive is the ordinary way to say "let's" — vamos a comer (let's eat).

Reading a word once is not remembering it. A verb you look up today is gone tomorrow. A verb that comes back to you — in a sentence you'd read anyway, on the day you'd have forgotten it — is yours.
No streak, no guilt. Kin tracks one number: how many words are in reach today. It goes down honestly when you drift and comes back when you return.

Questions

What is the difference between ser and ir?

In the present, ser is about what something is (es alto — he's tall) and ir is about movement or destination (va a casa — he's going home). In the preterite they're identical: fue means both "he was" and "he went", and the sentence tells you which.

Why is the preterite of ir the same as ser?

They came from the same Latin verb, which meant both "to go" and "to be". Spanish kept one past form and split the meanings by context. It's a fossil: the shared form is why Spanish speakers immediately understand fue from either meaning.

How do you say 'let's go' in Spanish?

¡Vamos! — one word, no pronoun. And vamos a + infinitive is how you say "let's" in general: vamos a comer (let's eat), vamos a ver (let's see).

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