Breakdown of Voy a devolver el dinero a mi hermano mañana.
yo
I
mi
my
mañana
tomorrow
el hermano
the brother
Questions & Answers about Voy a devolver el dinero a mi hermano mañana.
Why is “voy a devolver” used here? What tense or structure is this?
“Voy a devolver” is the “ir a + infinitive” construction, often called the “going to” future.
So “voy a devolver” literally looks like “I’m going to return”, and it works very much like English “I’m going to give back…” to talk about a future plan or intention.
It’s extremely common in everyday speech in Latin America to talk about things you’re planning to do in the (usually near) future.
Could I say “Devolveré el dinero a mi hermano mañana” instead? What’s the difference?
Yes, you can say “Devolveré el dinero a mi hermano mañana.” It’s grammatically correct.
Difference in feel:
Voy a devolver el dinero…
- Sounds like a concrete plan or intention, often near future.
- Very common in spoken Latin American Spanish.
Devolveré el dinero…
- Uses the simple future tense.
- Can sound a bit more formal, more distant, or more “statement-like.”
- Still used in speech, but in everyday conversation, many people prefer “voy a + infinitive”.
In many contexts, both mean the same: “I’ll give the money back to my brother tomorrow.”
Why is there no “yo” at the beginning? Shouldn’t it be “Yo voy a devolver…”?