The Future in Spanish with IR A + Infinitive (Sentences + Practice)

Hello! Welcome to a grammar lesson. On this occasion, we will learn how to talk about the future in Spanish using IR A + Infinitive. This lesson will explain how to use this structure in sentences through many useful examples. You will also have the opportunity to practice grammar with some exercises in a grammar quiz. Well, let’s get to work…

The grammatical structure IR A + Infinitive

IR A + Infinitive is a structure that is commonly used to talk about future actions in Spanish. It is very useful in different situations, and it is the equivalent to the structure “be going to” from the English language, although it differs in some aspects. The Royal Spanish Academy defines IR A + infinitive as follows:

A verbal periphrasis that indicates that the action designated by the infinitive will occur in a more or less immediate future: «Vas a tener miles de problemas» (You will have thousands of problems); very often, it implies purpose or intention on the part of the subject: «Te voy a leer una carta de mi padre» (I am going to read you a letter from my father)

The IR A + Infinitive structure is quite common and very easy to use as compared to the future simple in Spanish since you only need to know how to conjugate the irregular verb IR and keep the verb in infinitive, that is, in its original form, for example:

Él va a dar el discurso. (He’s going to give the speech)
Ella dará el discurso. (She will give the speech)

If you are not familiar with the conjugation rules for Spanish verbs in the future, then the “IR A + Infinitive” can help a lot. It is very common to use “IR A + Infinitive” to talk about future plans, actions in the immediate future or things you are certain that are going to happen. Take a look at the sample sentences in the picture below:

Samples sentences talking about the future in Spanish using IR A + Infinitive

Making sentences with IR A + Infinitive: examples + practice

In order to make sentences with IR A + Infinitive, it is necessary to conjugate the irregular verb IR (to go) properly so that it agrees with the subject of the sentence. If you are still unsure about the uses of the IR verb in Spanish, we invite you to watch this short video explaining how it works and its different uses.

The following table presents the basic structure that we follow when forming sentences with IR A + Infinitive in Spanish. Note that the preposition “A” is necessary in all sentences.

Subject	IR	A	Infinitive
Yo	voy	a	comer
Tú/Vos	vas	a	cantar
El/Ella/Usted	va	a	salir
Nosotros	vamos	a	entender
Vosotros	vais	a	olvidar
Ellos/Ustedes	van	a	aprender

In the previous chart, we can see that the verb IR changes its form for each personal pronoun as it is irregular. The main verb of the sentence will remain in the infinitive form, just as shown in the last column of the table. Likewise, we can add circumstantial time complements (CCT in Spanish) to indicate when the action will be executed. Besides, we will have to conjugate verbs reflexively such as dormirse ( to sleep) or reunirse (to gather) appropriately when we need them, like in these examples:

Yo voy a comprar un auto hoy. (I’m going to buy a car today.)
¿Tú vas a ir con nosotros mañana? (Are you going with us tomorrow?)
Francisco va a viajar a Londres la próxima semana. (Francisco is going to travel to London next week)
Isabel va a abrir otra tienda el próximo año. (Isabel is going to open another store next year.)
Nosotros vamos a reunirnos en un par de semanas. (We are going to meet in a couple of weeks.)
¿Vosotros vais a ocupar este libro justo ahora? (Are you going to use this book right now?)
Ellos se van a ir a dormir después de hacer la tarea. (They are going to go to sleep after doing their homework.)

In the sentences above, phrases like “today, tomorrow”, etc, which represent the time complement that we have already mentioned. Finally, here is a group of sample sentences using IR A + Infinitive to talk about the future in Spanish. As we mentioned before, we should only pay special attention to the conjugation of the IR verb in Spanish. Once you finish reviewing the examples, practice with the interactive quiz in the lesson.