The Present Tense of ir (to go)
and hacer (to do; to make)
(El tiempo presente de los verbos ir y hacer)
The verb ir = to go
Its conjugation
voy
vas
va
The verb ir is irregular not
only in its yo form, but in all
other forms as well.
vamos
vais
van
Essentially, ir is conjugated
like a regular -ar verb in all
its forms except yo.
The verb ir = to go
Since we generally go to a place, the verb ir is
almost always used with the preposition a.
Voy a la tienda para comprar pan.
Vas al museo con tus amigos, ¿no?
(a + el = al)
Mario va a la biblioteca a estudiar.
Occasionally, ir is used in isolation, as when answering a
knock at the door:
¡Voy!
I’m coming!
The verb ir = to go
Similarly, when we ask where someone is
going, we use the question word ¿adónde?
(to where?) rather than ¿dónde? (where?)
I’m going to
do my
homework in
the library.
Hi, Susana!
Where are
you going?
The useful construction ir
a + infinitive is used in
Spanish to express a
future action, that is, what
someone is going to do.
ir a + infinitive
It is important to remember that,
with this construction, we conjugate
only the verb ir . . . then add a . . . and then an infinitive that
expresses what we are
going to do.
Vamos a estudiar los verbos.
We’re going to study . . .
We never conjugate both verbs!
The verb hacer = to do; to make
Its conjugation
hago
haces
hace
The verb hacer is
irregular only in its
yo form.
hacemos
hacéis
hacen
The verb hacer = to do; to make
Yo hago mi tarea todos los días.
I do my homework every day.
Me gusta cuando mamá hace tacos.
I like it when mom makes tacos.
¿Qué haces los fines de semana?
What do you do on weekends?
The verb hacer = to do; to make
When you are asked a question using hacer, you usually
respond with another verb . . .
¿Qué hacen los estudiantes ahora?
What are the students doing now?
Comen en la cafetería.
They’re eating in the cafeteria.
. . . unless, of course, your response involves making or doing.
¿Qué hacen los estudiantes ahora?
What are the students doing now?
Hacen la tarea.
They’re doing the homework.
FIN