Question about a IR verb

Question

This may sound like a stupid question, but I cannot seem to get this one. I am not sure what it is I'm missing here.

---

The IR verb conjugation I get. Using voy, vas, va, vamos, or van for "go to" makes sense.

Example:

Ella va a la oficina

---

I even get "going to."

Example:

Vamos a comer en media hora.

---

Here is what I am confused about. Why is some versions of "go to" not using the conjugated voy, vas, va, vamos, or van. Sometimes "IR a" is used for "go to."

Examples:

Yo puedo ir al cine con ustedes

---

But here it is used both ways

Yo voy a poder ir al cine con ustedes.

---

How do I know when to use the conjugated form of Voy...? or the IR A form. I had the above sentences that use both the Voy... and IR A and it does not come out the same. I just do not get why. I'm missing something here right?

I thought AR, ER, and IR were the last two letters in a verb. But here with these, its neither. Estar, Ser, and others have the AR, ER ending.

IR is in the infinitive form, a form with it's own uses. See my post below for some uses of the infinitive. - HackerKing, Jun 8, 2013

Answer 1

I'm not sure I really understand your question, but I guess I could try to explain the sentence.

In the example, Yo puedo ir al cine con ustedes the infinitive of ir is used. The first verb poder means "to be able," so yo puedo... means I am able... Then we use ir to mean "to go" so it would be yo puedo ir... = i am able to go.. If ir were conjugated and we said yo puedo voy we would essentially be saying, I am able I go which doesn't make much sense.

I'm not really sure if that helped answer your question at all, but if it did then this link might be useful.

I think I understand what you are saying. Why couldn't we just say, yo puedo voy. Which is "I'm going." - T_Bladel, Jun 8, 2013

Answer 2

Going to = voy a

I am going to eat ... = I will got eating = Iré a comer/Voy a ir a comer/estoy yendo a comer

Yo voy a poder ir al cine con ustedes. = I am going to be able to go to the cinema...

would that help any?

EDIT:

go to = ir a

Any better?

Re-Edit:

I am going to the beach tomorrow = Estoy yendo a la playa mañana = (future) right?

Well, it would be the same as saying "I am going to go to the beach tomorrow", right?

that "I am going to go" = "voy a ir"

Any better?

My confusion revolves around why in the sentences above we sometimes seem to use the conjugated ir, such as voy, va, vas, vamos,ect. But not on all of them. Sometimes its ir a, instead of va a or vamos a. - T_Bladel, Jun 8, 2013

not exactly sure where is it that you are losing it... I will edit my post. - chileno, Jun 9, 2013

I am re-editing... - chileno, Jun 13, 2013

Answer 3

If I understand your question; it´s not a matter of when to use a certain conjugation of ir but of context, which dictates sentence structure.

Yo puedo ir al cine con ustedes

Here you declare that you are able to go now or go in the future (using present to indicate future) to the cinema.

Yo voy a poder ir al cine con ustedes.

Here you declare that in the future you are going to be able to go to the cinema. Voy affects only poder giving a clear indication future ability. This variant has the nuance of your not being able to go now, but in the future you will be able.

What I am confused about is the IR AL use. Doesn't both -- IR al and voy a -- both mean "go to." - T_Bladel, Jun 8, 2013

Oh wait, so is it that to go is actually translated to "to go" and the conjugation form mean "I Go", "She Go" and such. - T_Bladel, Jun 8, 2013

Answer 4

Howdy.

This isn't really about ir. Although " ir + a" is special, as in the use of " a " is somewhat unique. Here is a helpful rule. You must never conjugate a verb that immediately follows a preposition. Though do realize that although "para" is a preposition " para que " is not just a preposition, so para que allows you to conjugate, but para doesn't.

Here is what I hope you will consider a very short rebuff on how sentence structures must work.

For a sentence to be complete, it requires a subject and a conjugated verb that is finite. (Don't worry about what finite is unless you're just interested, conjugated verb pretty much suffices.)

I am going to the store. "Voy a ir a la tienda" In this case we have one verb.

Is this a complete sentence? Yes, there is a subject I and a conjugated verb, voy. Why do we not conjugate ir the second time it occurs? Because when we speak we want there to be at most one conjugated verb per complete sentence.

One does not say in English " I love I eat apples" we say " I love to eat apples" or even "I love eating apples." In much the same way one does not say in Spanish "Me gusta como manzanas" one says " me gusta comer manzanas."

This may lead you to believe, if you are not careful, that every sentence should have only one conjugated verb. Although this is not entirely wrong, you must be cautious. 1 sentence can be composed of many sentences. If you use a conjunction, such as y, pero, ni, asi, etc. then this joins two complete sentences. Fui al cine y me gusta la pelicula allí. Or if there is a relative pronoun that causes an object in one sentence to be come the subject of the next. Fui al cine que mostró la pelicula que me gusta.

But until you've been doing this long enough to understand the previous text, here are some tips to go on, that are pretty much always true.

• If you have two verbs directly next to each other, only the one on the left is conjugated.

  EX: I want to leave. Quiero salir. Salir must not be conjugated.

• If you have a verb directly on the right hand side of a preposition, you do not conjugate the verb.

EX: I picked up the keys to leave. Recogí las llaves para dejar.

In those examples, both translate to "irme" - chileno, Jun 13, 2013

Answer 5

So you're confusion lies in why sometimes "ir" is used and others "voy"?

There is a form of verbs called the infinitive and it ends with "r". For example, "Ir" is in the infinitive form. So is the verb "caminar" as well as "comer" for example. The infinitive form the form listed in dictionaries. However, it's also used for a lot of other things. For example:

To say "to be able to ____" as in "I am able to swim" or "I can sing", you use the following construction:poder + INFINITIVE where the verb you can do is in it's infinitive form.

"Nadar" is the infinitive form of "to swim" so "Yo puedo nadar" means "I can swim". In your sentence above, "poder ir" means "to be able to go".

There is another construction that uses the infinitive form. To say "to be going to ______" as in "I am going to sing" you say ir + INFINITIVE where the infinitive is the verb you are going to do. "Cantar" is the infinitive form of "to sing" to "Vamos a cantar" means "We're going to sing".

---

Your last sentence uses both of these constructions. Let's break it down:

• To go = "Ir" (the infinitive form in English starts with "to")
• To go to the movies = "Ir al cine"
• To be able to go = "poder ir al cine" (This is the first construction)
• I am going to be able to go = "voy a poder ir al cine" (This is using the second construction)
• I am going to be able to go with y'all = "voy a poder ir al cine con ustedes"

---

Let's try another sentence: "He can go with me but he is going to go with José"

• "to go" = "Ir"
• "He can go" = "Puede ir"

• "He can go with me" = "Puede ir conmigo".

• "to go" = "Ir"

• "He is going to go" = "va a ir"
• "He is going to go with José" = "va a ir con José"

He can go with me but he is going to go with José = "Puede ir conmigo pero va a ir con José"