Expressing unfulfilled intentions
Sometimes plans go tragically wrong—especially when a cold ice cream cone meets a hot summer day. To talk about things you "were going to" do but didn't, use the imperfect tense of the verb ir (to go), followed by a, and the infinitive of the action verb.
The imperfect forms of ir are irregular:
| Subject | Imperfect of ir |
|---|---|
| yo | iba |
| tú | ibas |
| él / ella / usted | iba |
| nosotros / nosotras | íbamos |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | iban |
Let's see this in action as we narrate the messy disaster of a rapidly melting ice cream cone.
| I was going to savor the ice cream, but the sun is very strong. | Yo iba a saborear el helado, pero el sol está muy fuerte. |
| We were going to buy a crunchy cone with two scoops. | Nosotros íbamos a comprar un cono crujiente con dos bolas. |
| What heat! I was going to eat the cone, but it melted too fast. | ¡Qué calor! Yo iba a comer el cono, pero se derritió demasiado rápido. |
Working with pronouns
When using a reflexive verb or an object pronoun with this structure, you have two options for where to place the pronoun: you can put it immediately before the conjugated form of ir, or you can attach it directly to the end of the infinitive verb.
| I was going to put the cone in my mouth, but I stained my shirt. | Yo me iba a meter el cono en la boca, pero me manché la camisa. |
| I was going to clean my hand, but it was already dripping down my thumb. | Iba a limpiarme la mano, pero ya iba chorreando por el pulgar. |
| The cone was going to crumble in my hands! | ¡El cono se iba a desmoronar en mis manos! |
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