⇒ Learners of Spanish often have trouble distinguishing when to use ir (to go) and irse (to leave)
⇒ Below you'll find some tips and examples to help you on your way to becoming the master of the ir / irse distinction.
⇒ Ir is an irregular, intransitive verb that is used to refer to a destination.
⇒ Ir often makes use of prepositions such as a, hacia, and hasta
| Voy a la tienda.I am going to the store. |
| Fuimos hasta la esquina.We went to the corner. |
⇒ Ir can also be used to indicate a mode of transportation where there is an unspoken or implied destination.
| Van en avión.They are going (somewhere) by plane. |
| ¿Vas a pie?Are going (somewhere) on foot? |
⇒ Ir is used with a to form the periphrastic future. This future form uses the formula ir + a + verb in the infinitive.
| Va a almorzar a las doce.He is going to have lunch at noon. |
| Voy a ir a la escuela mañana.I'm going to go to school tomorrow. |
⇒ Irse is a pronominal verb that uses reflexive pronouns and tends to focus on the act of leaving a starting point or origin. The origin is presumed to be here (or wherever the subject is at the time).
⇒ Irse often makes use of prepositions such as de and desde
| Tengo que irme de aquí.I have to leave here. |
| ¿Te vas a las seis?Are you leaving at six? |
| ¡No se vayan!Don't go! |
| ¿Por qué te vas tan temprano?Why are you leaving so soon? |
⇒ Ir would be incorrect in the above sentences because no destination is mentioned.