Va a volver

Question

“Va a volver a las 9 de la noche.”

Why doesn't the verb volver conjugate??

-> Va a vuelve a las~ ???? Is this not right?? Why?

Answer 1

Hi and welcome to the forum

Well, it is like be going to do you have to use it like that because after the verb ir you need to put an a which stands for to and after that an infinitive verb. So the rule is:

ir + a + hacer you conjugate the verb ir. For example:

Voy a tomar un café. ¿Tú también quieres algo?

Answer 2

"Va a volver a las 9 de la noche."

Why doesn't the verb volver conjugate??

Va a vuelve a las~ ???? Is this not right?? Why?

Ok, sakura, I'll give you a definite logical answer. First, infinitives in Spanish are nouns. Infinitives simply mention the action, like nouns do. Now, originally people simply said "Va a la montaña" or "Va a Roma", and eventually, they started saying "Va a volver", where "volver" is a noun, like "montaña" or "Roma". It is not a place, it is true, but languages are full of metaphors, and this is a metaphor common to a lot of languages (cf. the English "He is going to think")

I was thinking that in "a volver" volver would be a noun since it followed a preposition, but then I thought it might be a special use of "a" or something. I like the bit about the metaphor. - webdunce, Jan 6, 2011

Answer 3

in English, some verbs are followed by the gerund rather than the infinitive, while Spanish doesn't have a gerund and uses the infinitive instead;

What??? Lorenzo, I really need to correct you on this. In Spanish you can have infinitives, "gerundios" and past participles after a conjugated form:

Estoy aprendiendo japonés.

Anda diciendo tonterías.

Comienza explicando la teoría.

Continúa engañándome.

Empecé limpiando el suelo.

Va mejorando mucho.

Lleva diciéndolo desde ayer.

Terminó cantando el himno.

Viene avisándotelo desde hace tiempo.

in Spanish, some verbs require a preposition when followed by an infinitive, while most English verbs don't.

I reckon the preposition is used more in English than in Spanish. If you want we'll do a rough count:

I have to correct you.

I want to correct you

I am going to correct you

I need to correct you

I expect to correct you

I start to correct you

I begin to correct you

You are quite correct in pointing out that I was overly restrictive about what can follow a verb in both languages, but I was trying to focus on verbs conjugated to the subject as opposed to infinitives. - lorenzo9, Jan 6, 2011

"to correct" is the infinitive, "to" is not being used as a prepostiion here. - lorenzo9, Jan 6, 2011

I guess it is a matter of terminology, but my Cambridge Dictionary says: "to" [preposition] used before a verb to show that it is in the infinitive. In any case, you can't write I want eat. - lazarus1907, Jan 6, 2011

Answer 4

well, hi frieds,

befor all, it is not verbs like "ír" which accept proposition "a" in after. "venir", "salir" and some other verbs also accept it in order to load the meaning of these verbs onto some thing. for example, if yot want to say : " I am leaving to have lunch", you can say in spanish : " salgo a comer el almuerzo another ex: " I came to see you" > " vine a verle"

as you see, the "a" here is a proposion and proposition come before nouns, so it is needed to bring the infinitive form after propositions.

preposition, not proposition. Some verbs with prepositions are listed here: http://www.elearnspanishlanguage.com/grammar/verbs/verbswithprep.html - lorenzo9, Jan 6, 2011

Answer 5

In Spanish, as in English, when there are mulitple verbs in a row, only the first one is conjugated to agree with the subject. There are some differences between the languages: in English, some verbs are followed by the gerund rather than the infinitive, while Spanish doesn't have a gerund and uses the infinitive instead; in Spanish, some verbs require a preposition when followed by an infinitive, while most English verbs don't.

Here is an English example:
I want to learn to speak Spanish.
The first verb, to want, is conjugated to agree with the subject I, while the following verbs, to learn and to speak, are in the infinitive.

Answer 6

Your question is very good!, In the sentence "Va a volver a las 9 de la noche" the verb "volver" isn't conjugate because this phrase is in subjuntive form.

If you want conjugate the verd "volver" without change the meaning of the phrase, you can use the future form

Verb: volver

Person Future
-Él/Ella volverá

Using the 3rd singular person:

El/Ella volverá a las 9 de la noche

Subjunctive?????? - lorenzo9, Jan 6, 2011