conjugation.future.periphrastic-ir-a
The everyday future: ir a + infinitive
Voy a comer, vas a ver, vamos a salir: conjugated ir + a + infinitive is the default way to talk about the future in spoken Spanish.
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Explanation
Conjugate ir in the present (voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van), add a, then the infinitive: voy a trabajar, van a llegar tarde. It mirrors English 'going to'.
In conversation across the Spanish-speaking world this construction is far more frequent than the simple future for plans and intentions, especially near-term ones.
The a is mandatory and easy to miss in fast speech (vamos a ir sounds like 'vamos air'). In the past, iba a + infinitive expresses 'was going to': iba a llamarte.
Examples
Voy a comprar pan.
I'm going to buy bread.
I'm going to buy bread.
Region: global
¿Vas a venir a la fiesta?
Are you going to come to the party?
Are you going to come to the party?
Region: global
Íbamos a salir, pero empezó a llover.
We were going to go out, but it started raining.
We were going to go out, but it started raining.
Region: global