Ir and Venir: Talking About Coming and Going

In this lesson, you will learn two essential Spanish verbs for movement: — to go and — to come.

Use when movement goes away from the speaker or toward another destination. Use when movement comes toward the speaker or toward the place that is the current point of reference.

Ir — to go

is irregular in the present tense.

Subject	Spanish	English
yo		I go / I am going
tú		you go / you are going
él / ella / usted		he / she goes; you go
nosotros / nosotras		we go / we are going
vosotros / vosotras		you all go / you are going
ellos / ellas / ustedes		they go; you all go

Because is highly irregular, learn the six forms as a complete set: , , , , , .

Using ir with a destination

Use + a + place to say where someone goes.

— I go to the school / I am going to the school.
— I go to the office / I am going to the office.
— You go to the university / You are going to the university.
— He / she goes to the hospital.
— We go to the restaurant / We are going to the restaurant.
— They go to the hotel.

Remember that a + el becomes al.

Ir with familiar neighborhood places

— I go to the bank.
— I go to the pharmacy.
— I go to the supermarket.
— We go to the park.
— They go to the station.

The structure is always a form of followed by a destination.

Asking where someone is going

A useful question is:

— Where are you going?

Possible answers include:

— I am going to the office.
— I am going to the hospital.
— I am going to the university.

Adónde asks about destination.

A short conversation with ir

Person A: — Where are you going?

Person B: — I am going to the supermarket.

Person A: — And Ana?

Person B: — She is going to the pharmacy.

Venir — to come

is also irregular in the present tense.

Subject	Spanish	English
yo		I come / I am coming
tú		you come / you are coming
él / ella / usted		he / she comes; you come
nosotros / nosotras		we come / we are coming
vosotros / vosotras		you all come / you are coming
ellos / ellas / ustedes		they come; you all come

The yo form is . The forms , , and change e to ie. and keep the original e.

Using venir from a place

Use + de + place to say where someone comes from.

— I come from the office / I am coming from the office.
— I come from the school / I am coming from the school.
— You come from the university.
— He / she comes from the hospital.
— We come from the restaurant.
— They come from the hotel.

Remember that de + el becomes del.

Asking where someone comes from

Use:

— Where are you coming from?

Possible answers include:

— I am coming from the school.
— I am coming from work.
— I am coming from the supermarket.

A short conversation with venir

Person A: — Where are you coming from?

Person B: — I am coming from work.

Person A: — And Carlos?

Person B: — He is coming from the university.

Going versus coming

The difference between and depends on the direction of movement.

Spanish	English	Direction
	I am going to the hotel.	toward another destination
	I am coming from the hotel.	toward the speaker or reference point

focuses on going to a destination. focuses on coming toward a reference point.

Using ir and venir with work

— I am going to work.
— I am coming from work.
— He / she is going to the office.
— He / she is coming from the office.

Using ir and venir with study

— I am going to the school.
— I am coming from the school.
— We are going to the university.
— We are coming from the university.

Using ir and venir with everyday errands

— I am going to the supermarket.
— I am coming from the supermarket.
— I am going to the pharmacy.
— I am coming from the pharmacy.

Adding a time

You can combine or with familiar time expressions.

— I go to the office at eight.
— We go to the restaurant at two.
— I come from work at six.
— They come from the university at five.

Asking when someone goes

Use cuándo — when.

— When do you go to the office?

Person A: — When do you go to the office?

Person B: — I go at eight.

Asking when someone comes

Use:

— When are you coming?

Person A: — When are you coming?

Person B: — I am coming at six.

Using venir toward the speaker

Imagine that you are already at the office and another person is moving toward you.

Person A: — Are you coming to the office?

Person B: — Yes, I am coming to the office.

Here, is natural because the office is the speaker’s current reference point.

Using ir away from the speaker

Imagine that both people are at home and one person leaves for the office.

Person A: — Where are you going?

Person B: — I am going to the office.

Here, is natural because the movement is toward another place.

Comparing the yo forms

— I am going to work.
— I am coming from work.

and are both irregular yo forms, so learn them as complete forms.

Comparing tú forms

— You are going to the school.
— You are coming from the school.

Comparing nosotros forms

— We are going to the restaurant.
— We are coming from the restaurant.

Combining movement and obligation

You can combine or with the obligation language from the previous lesson without adding a new tense.

— I have to go to work.
— I have to come to the office.
— We have to go to the hospital.
— They have to come to the school.

After tener que, and stay in the infinitive.

Combining movement and need

— I need to go to the pharmacy.
— I need to come to the office.

After necesitar, the movement verb also stays in the infinitive.

A short work conversation

Person A: — Where are you going?

Person B: — I am going to work.

Person A: — When are you coming?

Person B: — I am coming at six.

A short study conversation

Person A: — Where are you coming from?

Person B: — I am coming from the university.

Person A: — Where are you going now?

Person B: — I am going home.

A short everyday sequence

— In the morning I go to work. At six, I come from work.

This sequence contrasts destination and origin with familiar time language.

Do not confuse ir + place with a later plan structure

In this lesson, use with a destination such as — I am going to the office.

Spanish also has another important structure with followed by an infinitive, but that structure is taught later in the course. For now, focus only on movement to places.

A practical choice method

Use this sequence when choosing between and :

Identify the direction of movement.
Use when someone goes toward another destination.
Use when someone comes toward the speaker or current reference point.
Use a + place for the destination.
Use de + place for the origin.
Remember al for a + el and del for de + el.

From Ir and Venir to Writing Messages

You can now use and in the present tense to talk about going to places and coming from places, ask about destinations and origins, and combine movement with familiar times, needs, and obligations. The next lesson teaches you how to write simple Spanish messages to a teacher or colleague.