ir de compras. Help!

Question

In school, i learned that if you want to say "is going to ______", you say "ir+a+infinitive". I just came across this situation-

I like to go shopping. : Me gusta ir de compras.
I like to go play. : Me gusta ir a jugar.
I am going to travel to Spain. : Yo voy a viajar a España.

ir de compras: go shopping
ir a la playa: go to the beach
ir a jugar: go play

My question is, why don't u use "ir de compras" instead of "ir a compras"? This question has been bugging me for awhile and i really need help with it. thank u.

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Answer 1

My question is, why don't u use "ir de compras" instead of "ir a compras"? This question has been bugging me for awhile and i really need help with it. thank u.

De in this case indicates the kind of journey you are going on, so compras is acting as, but is not, an adjective, ie: What kind of trip are you going on? answer: A shopping trip.

thank u. one more question, why isn't compras in it's infinitive form? I mean why don't we use the phrase "ir de comprar"? - CurryinaHurry, Aug 23, 2016

Grammatically if there were a noun, ie: "excusión", then you could use "de" with infinitive, but it would sound very unnatural because "ir de compras" is an established phrase - 005faa61, Aug 23, 2016

Answer 2

The way to look at it from an English speakers standpoint is to think that "de compras" is a "stock expression" in Spanish like "de vacaciones"

Ex. María va de vacaciones. (She's going on vacation.)

María está de vacaciones. (She is on vacation.)

Maria va de compras. (She is going shopping)

María está de compras. {She is (in the act of) shopping.}

There are a few more, I can only think of one right now. "de excursión" (on a hike or hiking.)

:) - FELIZ77, Aug 23, 2016

Answer 3

Ir de compras (to go shopping) = ir a comprar cosas distintas (ropa, decoración, etcétera) (going to buy specific things [clothes, decorations, etc.])

Hacer la compra (to do the shopping) = ir a comprar cosas del día a día (comida, productos de limpieza, etcétera) (going to buy daily necessities [food, cleaning products], etc.)

Compras is the plural noun of the sentence. I believe that you could use "ir de comprar [algo]" (go to buy [something]), it would just be necessary to state what you're going to buy or otherwise leave the listener hanging.