Iba a llamar a mi mamá, pero me quedé dormido en el sofá.

I

Breakdown of Iba a llamar a mi mamá, pero me quedé dormido en el sofá.

• mi: my
• en: on
• la mamá: the mom

Questions & Answers about Iba a llamar a mi mamá, pero me quedé dormido en el sofá.

Why is it “Iba a llamar” and not just “Llamé” or “Llamaba”?

Iba a llamar literally means “I was going to call”.
The structure ir (imperfect) + a + infinitive expresses:

• an intention or plan in the past that didn’t happen (or we’re focusing on the intention), similar to:
  • “I was going to call”
  • “I was about to call”

In this sentence:

• Iba a llamar a mi mamá = I was going to call my mom (but something got in the way).
• Then pero me quedé dormido explains why the plan didn’t happen.

If you said:

• Llamé a mi mamá = I called my mom (completed action; you actually did it).
• Llamaba a mi mamá = could mean I used to call my mom (habit), or I was calling my mom (interrupted action), depending on context.

So iba a llamar focuses specifically on the unfulfilled intention in the past.

What tense is “iba”, and why is it used here?

Iba is the imperfect tense of ir (to go), first person singular:

• yo iba = I was going / I used to go

In the construction ir (imperfect) + a + infinitive, the imperfect is used to:

• Set up background intentions, plans, or things that were about to happen in the past.
• It does not say the action actually happened; it highlights the plan.

So iba here is:

• imperfect “ir” (yo iba)
• used with a llamar to mean I was going to call.