when to use va or van?

Question

Hi I am having a bit difficult with regard to when to use either va or van. As far as I can you use va when it is followed by the infinitive e.g. "Para aprender vocabulario va muy bien leer". And van is used when not using the ifinitive such as e.g. Creemos qur para recordar una palabra van bien escribirla. If anyone could tell me if my understanding is correct or could point out why each are used in different instances that would be great. Thanks!

Escribir is the infinite, no? - clairehelen, Oct 7, 2010

Hola Claire i think escribirla means to wrtie it as in to write down the word so you will remenber it so i dont think it would be considered an infinitive i may be wrong though. Do you know in what instances it is suitable to use van or va? thanks again - alanreen, Oct 7, 2010

hi - hello232, Jan 9, 2014

Answer 1

No, I'm afraid you made that rule up. The right conjugation is "va" in both of your examples, simply because the subject of "ir" is singular: "leer" and "escribirla". Even if you put a list of infinitives the subject would still be considered singular with that verb: "para aprender vocabulario va muy bien leer, ver películas y hacer ejercicios".

Answer 2

'Va' - singular subject. 'van' plural subject. What follows is irrelevant, to the grammar.