The Imperfect Tense of Ir is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, for example: Yo iba a la escuela todos los días. (I used to go to school every day.)

Ir is an irregular verb, meaning its conjugations do not follow the typical patterns of regular verbs. You’ll need to memorize its unique set of conjugations in each tense.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Ir (to go) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Latin American Spanish):

The imperfect tense of ir is used to describe ongoing, repeated, or habitual actions in the past.

Expressing ongoing actions in the past: For example, Iba al parque todos los días después de la escuela. (I used to go to the park every day after school.)

Describing habitual actions or states in the past: For example, De niño, iba a la iglesia todos los domingos. (As a child, I used to go to church every Sunday.)

Expressing actions in progress at a specific time in the past: For example, Iba camino a la escuela cuando me encontré con mi amigo. (I was on my way to school when I ran into my friend.)

Expressing age: For example, Cuando me mudé, iba para los 18 años. (When I moved, I was going on 18 years old.)

Expressing the idea of “to be about to” or “to be on the verge of”: For example, Iba a salir cuando sonó el teléfono. (I was about to leave when the phone rang.)

Colloquial usage: In some Latin American countries, ir in the imperfect tense can be used informally to express surprise or disbelief, like ¡Iba yo a saber! (How was I supposed to know!)

Examples

Examples of Ir in the Imperfect Tense

Yo iba al parque todos los fines de semana. (I used to go to the park every weekend.)

Ellos iban al cine con frecuencia. (They often went to the movies.)

Nosotros íbamos de vacaciones cada verano. (We went on vacation every summer.)

Tú ibas a la escuela en autobús. (You used to go to school by bus.)

Ella iba a la iglesia los domingos. (She went to church on Sundays.)

Ustedes iban a la fiesta cada fin de semana, ¿no? (You guys used to go to the party every weekend, right?)

Yo iba al gimnasio tres veces por semana. (I went to the gym three times a week.)

Ellos iban a la playa en verano. (They went to the beach in the summer.)

¿Adónde ibas después del trabajo? (Where did you used to go after work?)

Mis amigos y yo íbamos de compras los sábados. (My friends and I used to go shopping on Saturdays.)

Ella iba al mercado cada mañana. (She went to the market every morning.)

Ustedes iban a la biblioteca a estudiar, ¿verdad? (You guys used to go to the library to study, right?)

Nosotros íbamos al parque de diversiones en las vacaciones. (We went to the amusement park during vacations.)

Tú ibas a la universidad en autobús. (You used to go to university by bus.)

Ellos iban al bar después del trabajo. (They went to the bar after work.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Ir (to go) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Latin American Spanish) with English Translations:

This post covers Latin American Spanish. For Castilian Spanish, click here

Synonyms

The Imperfect tense is also known as the Past Imperfect, Descriptive Past, Past Progressive, or Imperfect Indicative in English, and as Pretérito Imperfecto, Copretérito, Imperfecto de Indicativo, or Pasado Descriptivo in Spanish.