Ir in the Imperfect | Spanish (Latin America) Grammar

The verb ir (to go) is irregular in almost every tense, and the imperfect is no exception. Its forms look nothing like the infinitive, but the pattern is short and the uses are straightforward.

Conjugation of ir

The forms are iba, ibas, iba, íbamos, iban. Only the nosotros form takes a written accent.

Subject	Form
yo	iba
tú	ibas
él / ella / usted	iba
nosotros	íbamos
ellos / ellas / ustedes	iban

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Despite looking like an -ar verb ending, iba comes from a different stem entirely. Do not try to build it from ir — just memorize the five forms.

Going somewhere, habitually

The most common use of ir in the imperfect is for places you used to go — regular trips, old routines, childhood destinations. It pairs beautifully with time markers like siempre, todos los veranos, de niño, antes.

Cuando era niño, iba a la playa todos los veranos.

When I was a boy, I used to go to the beach every summer.

Mi mamá iba al mercado cada sábado por la mañana.

My mom would go to the market every Saturday morning.

Íbamos al cine juntos casi todos los viernes.

We used to go to the movies together almost every Friday.

Going at a moment in the past

Ir in the imperfect also describes an action in progress — you were going somewhere when something else happened.

Iba a la escuela cuando empezó a llover muy fuerte.

I was going to school when it started to rain very hard.

Ir a + infinitive: "was going to"

Just as the present-tense construction ir a + infinitivo means going to do something, the imperfect construction means was/were going to do something. This is how Spanish expresses plans or intentions in the past that may or may not have happened.

Spanish	English
iba a llamar	I was going to call
ibas a salir	you were going to leave
iba a llover	it was going to rain
íbamos a comer	we were going to eat
iban a viajar	they were going to travel

Iba a llamarte anoche, pero me quedé dormido.

I was going to call you last night, but I fell asleep.

Íbamos a salir temprano, pero cambió el plan.

We were going to leave early, but the plan changed.

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Iba a + infinitivo is the go-to way to talk about past intentions, especially ones that were interrupted or never carried out.

Ir versus fue

As with ser, be careful not to confuse the imperfect iba with the preterite fue/fui. The preterite frames a trip as a completed event; the imperfect frames it as a routine or as an action in progress.

Imperfect (iba)	Preterite (fui)
Iba al gimnasio todos los días.	Fui al gimnasio ayer.
Íbamos a visitarlos cada verano.	Fuimos a visitarlos en julio.
Siempre iba solo.	Esa vez fui con mi hermana.
De niño, iba a la escuela en autobús.	El lunes fui a la escuela caminando.
Iba a llamarte.	Fui a tu casa a las seis.

Todos los domingos íbamos a casa de los abuelos.

Every Sunday we would go to our grandparents' house.

Mientras iba al trabajo, vi un accidente.

While I was going to work, I saw an accident.

Common mistakes

❌ Yo ía al parque todos los días.

Wrong: the imperfect of ir is iba, not ía.

✅ Yo iba al parque todos los días.

Correct: iba — memorize the full form.

❌ Iba a llamarte ayer, pero llamé.

Wrong if the plan was not carried out — iba a implies an unfulfilled intention.

✅ Iba a llamarte, pero me quedé dormido.

Correct: iba a + infinitive for interrupted or unfulfilled past intentions.

❌ Todos los veranos fui a la playa.

Wrong: habitual actions need the imperfect, not the preterite.

✅ Todos los veranos iba a la playa.

Correct: iba (imperfect) for a repeated past routine.

Next up: the third and final true irregular imperfect, ver. Or jump to habitual actions to see iba in its most natural habitat.