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SpanishConjugationImperfect

Ir (to go) · Imperfect

By TutorLily Editorial Team · Last updated

Ir in the Spanish imperfect (pretérito imperfecto) is: yo iba, tú ibas, él/ella/usted iba, nosotros/as íbamos, vosotros/as ibais, ellos/ellas/ustedes iban. The imperfect of ir describes habitual past going, ongoing past motion ('iba al trabajo cuando…'), or past intention ('iba a llamarte'). Ir is one of only three Spanish verbs with an irregular imperfect — the others are ser and ver.

ir conjugation in the Imperfect (Pretérito imperfecto)
To GoIr
I used to go
yo iba
you used to go
tú ibas
he/she used to go
él/ella/usted iba
we used to go
nosotros/as íbamos
you used to go
vosotros/as ibais
they used to go
ellos/ellas/ustedes iban
Examples

Ir (to go) in context

Sentences that use ir in the imperfect. Tap each to hear it.

De niño, iba a la playa cada verano.

As a child, I used to go to the beach every summer.

Siempre ibas al mismo café por las mañanas.

You always used to go to the same café in the mornings.

Mi abuela iba a la iglesia los domingos.

My grandmother used to go to church on Sundays.

Íbamos al parque después de clase.

We used to go to the park after class.

Ibais al gimnasio todos los martes.

You used to go to the gym every Tuesday.

Los niños iban caminando al colegio.

The children used to walk to school.

Tip

Working with the imperfect

The imperfect paints the background of a past scene: weather, age, habits, descriptions, ongoing actions that get interrupted. "Era de noche" (it was nighttime), "tenía cinco años" (I was five years old), "iba al parque cuando me llamaste" (I was going to the park when you called me). Only three verbs are irregular in the imperfect — ser (era), ir (iba), and ver (veía). Every other Spanish verb is regular here, which makes the imperfect one of the easiest tenses to learn.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

How do you conjugate ir in the imperfect?
The imperfect of ir is: yo iba, tú ibas, él/ella/usted iba, nosotros/as íbamos, vosotros/as ibais, ellos/ellas/ustedes iban. The nosotros form 'íbamos' carries an accent on the 'í'. Ir is one of only three verbs with an irregular imperfect — alongside ser (era) and ver (veía).
What does 'iba a + infinitive' mean?
'Iba a + infinitive' expresses a past intention that was usually interrupted or never carried out: 'Iba a llamarte, pero se me olvidó' (I was going to call you, but I forgot). It's the past-tense version of 'voy a + infinitive' and is one of the most common ways to talk about plans that didn't happen.
Why does ir have one of only three irregular imperfects?
Most Spanish verbs follow predictable -aba (-ar verbs) or -ía (-er/-ir verbs) imperfect endings. Ir, ser, and ver kept ancient irregular forms inherited directly from Latin (ibam, eram, videbam) that never regularized — they're among the oldest and most-used verbs in the language and were spoken too often for analogical regularization to take hold.
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More tenses of Ir (To Go)

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Ir (to go) · Subjunctive

More verbs in imperfect

All tenses
Ir (to go)
imperfect
Ser (to be)
imperfect
Estar (to be)
imperfect
Tener (to have)
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