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Apr

28

To IR is human

Ir is one of the first verbs a person learns when they start studying Spanish. One thing that may not be immediately clear to English speakers is the difference between IR and IRSE. Doesn’t it all just mean “go”? Yes, but with some differences.

Use ir when you simply mean “to go.” Voy al mercado. (I’m going to the market.)

Use irse when you mean to leave, but in the sense of “to go away.” Me voy a Barcelona mañana. (I’m leaving for Barcelona tomorrow. I’m headed to Barcelona tomorrow.)

It’s for this reason why you’ll hear native Spanish speakers say “me voy” not “voy” when they’re leaving a place.

3 Comments

  1. Erik R. says:
    April 29th, 2008 | 1:10 am

    Nice post. This was never adequately explained in any of my Spanish classes. It really is that simple.

  2. Cyril says:
    April 30th, 2008 | 3:00 pm

    Nice post and very usefull!

    Many people doesn´t seem to know this difference and use IR all the time, even when they are actually leaving.

    There are a lot of such ´simple´ things in Spanish which many people don´t seem to know.

    Thank you for sharing this valuable information!

  3. Eleena says:
    May 1st, 2008 | 9:52 pm

    You’re welcome. Yes, I personally always try to follow the KISS method of learning Spanish. (Keep It Simple, Stupid) :)

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