Spanish Grammar: The Verb [IR]+[A] with the Periphrastic Future

Spanish Grammar: The Verb [IR]+[A] with the Periphrastic Future

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Spanish Grammar: The Verb [IR]+[A] with the Periphrastic Future
la gramática española: el verbo [ir]+[a] con el futuro perifrástico.

  • The verb [IR] means to go. It is an irregular verb.
  • May be used to indicate intended actions in the near future.

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Don’t be afraid by the word “periphrastic“. It just means that it’s a roundabout or indirect way of saying something.

This is NOT the future tense, Spanish has a different way of expressing the future tense. That’s coming later on.

The IR+A construction is used when you are “going to” do something. It indicates the intention to act in the future. So whenever you are going to do something in particular, you’ll use IR+A to say it!

The periphrastic future has three major components.

1. A conjugated form of the verb IR (to go)…
yo voy, tú vas, el/ella/usted va … etc. (more in the chart below!)

2. A “phrase relator” – namely, the preposition “A”
Yo voy A comer.
Tú vas A bailar.
Ella va A escribir.

3. And an infinitive verb
Yo voy a leer.
Nosotros vamos a correr.
Ellos van a aprender.

When you use IR+A with an infinitive verb, the final verb must be infinitive! Don’t conjugate it!

Yo voy a estudiar.
I am going to study.

Nosotros vamos a jugar.
We are going to play.

Ella va a descansar.
She is going to rest.

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