Breakdown of ¿Estás listo para ir a la fiesta?
para
for / in order to (+ infinitive) / by (a deadline)
estar
to be (location/state)
listo
ready
ir
to go
Questions & Answers about ¿Estás listo para ir a la fiesta?
The lesson is about the present tense of "ir", but here it's just "ir". Why isn't it conjugated as "vas" (you go)?
In Spanish, when a verb immediately follows a preposition like para (for / in order to), it stays in its dictionary (infinitive) form. So para ir translates to "to go" or "in order to go". You only conjugate the main verb of the sentence, which here is estás (you are).
Why do we need the word "a" after "ir"? Can't I just say "ir la fiesta"?
The verb ir (to go) almost always needs the preposition a (to) right after it when you are talking about going to a destination. You will see this pattern, ir a [place], all the time in Spanish.
Both "estar" and "ser" mean "to be". Why does this sentence use "estás" instead of "eres"?
We use estar (which estás comes from) for temporary states, conditions, and locations. Being "ready" (listo) is a condition right now, not a permanent characteristic of the person, so it requires estar.