Breakdown of Mi amiga iba a viajar hoy, pero canceló el vuelo por la tormenta.
mi
my
hoy
today
a
to
ir
to go
Questions & Answers about Mi amiga iba a viajar hoy, pero canceló el vuelo por la tormenta.
What does iba a viajar literally mean, and what tense is iba?
Iba is the imperfect tense of ir (to go), 3rd person singular: “he/she was going.”
The structure ir (imperfect) + a + infinitive means “was going to do something” (a plan or intention in the past).
So iba a viajar literally = “was going to travel.”
It describes a planned action in the past that is not presented as completed (and here we know it didn’t happen, because she canceled the flight).
Why is iba a viajar used instead of va a viajar (“is going to travel”) or viajará (“will travel”)?
- Va a viajar hoy = “She is going to travel today” (a plan in the present or near future).
- Viajará hoy = “She will travel today” (future tense, often more formal or neutral prediction).
- Iba a viajar hoy = “She was going to travel today” (a plan viewed from the past).
In the sentence, the speaker is talking about a plan that existed earlier (before now) and that was affected (canceled) by the storm. That’s why the imperfect (iba a viajar) is the correct choice.
Could I say Mi amiga fue a viajar hoy to mean the same thing?