You’re Going in Spanish | Natural Phrases For Real Talk

To say that someone is heading somewhere in Spanish in the tú form, use vas, usually with a and a destination, as in vas a casa.

When you try to say that someone is heading out in Spanish, you meet several options at once: vas, te vas, estás yendo, fuiste, ibas. They all look close, yet each one carries a slightly different idea. Pick the wrong one and the sentence still works, but it sounds off to a native ear.

This guide walks you through the main ways to say that someone is going somewhere in Spanish, with real phrases you can lift straight into daily chat. You will see how the verb ir behaves, when to add the reflexive form irse, and how to swap between present, past, and later plans without sounding like a textbook.

By the end, you will know when simple vas does the job, when te vas fits better, and how forms like fuiste or ibas change the time frame. You will also have clear tables and ready-made lines that match the way people actually speak.

You’re Going In Spanish: Core Meaning

The backbone of this topic is the verb ir, which Spanish speakers use for movement from one place to another and for many other types of change. The dictionary of the Real Academia Española lists several senses, but for everyday talk about heading somewhere, you can think of it as “to go.” :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}

When you say “you are going” in Spanish, you first decide which kind of “you” you need. Spanish marks formality and number, so there is a familiar tú, a polite usted, and plural forms as well. Each one pairs with a different shape of ir in the present tense.

Present Tense Forms For You

Here are the main present forms of ir that match English “you are going” in different situations:

• Tú vas – you go / you are going (informal, singular).
• Usted va – you go / you are going (polite, singular).
• Vosotros vais – you all go / are going (informal plural, mainly Spain).
• Ustedes van – you all go / are going (polite plural in Spain; regular plural in Latin America).

In spoken Spanish, the subject pronoun usually drops because the verb already shows who is doing the action. So “you’re going to the store” normally comes out as Vas a la tienda, not Tú vas a la tienda, unless you want extra emphasis on “you.”

How Ir And Irse Change The Message

Spanish also has the reflexive form irse. It keeps the idea of movement, but it focuses more on leaving a place than on the destination. In English you often translate it as “you are leaving” or “you take off.”

• Vas points to where someone heads: Vas al trabajo – “You’re going to work.”
• Te vas points to the fact that someone is leaving: ¿Ya te vas? – “Are you leaving already?”

This small shift matters when you comment on someone walking out of a room, or when you want to mention a destination, or both. You can even mix them: Te vas a casa puts a bit more weight on the idea of leaving, while Vas a casa keeps the focus on the destination.

Saying You Are Going In Spanish In Real Conversations

In daily speech, most sentences follow a simple pattern:

[Ir form] + [preposition] + [place or activity]

This pattern covers lines like Vas a la oficina (you’re going to the office) and Vas al médico (you’re going to the doctor). A resource such as the LibreTexts section on el verbo ir shows the same pattern with beginner-friendly examples. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}

Questions You Hear All The Time

Many high-frequency questions rely on the “you’re going” idea. Here are a few you will meet often:

• ¿Adónde vas? – Where are you going?
• ¿Vas a salir esta noche? – Are you going out tonight?
• ¿Vas al gimnasio después del trabajo? – Are you going to the gym after work?
• ¿Vas a clase mañana? – Are you going to class tomorrow?

In all of these, vas carries the main meaning. Time words such as esta noche, después, or mañana give extra detail, but they do not change the verb form.

Short Replies With Vas

Often you do not need a long sentence to answer. Short replies still need the correct form of ir:

• —¿Vas al supermercado?
  —Sí, voy. – “Yes, I am.”
• —¿Vas a la fiesta?
  —No, no voy. – “No, I’m not.”
• —¿Vas al médico hoy?
  —Creo que sí, voy más tarde. – “I think so, I’m going later.”

If you talk to someone politely, you swap vas for va: ¿Usted va a la reunión? Still the same idea of “you’re going,” just a different level of formality.

You Are Going In Spanish Across Key Tenses

As soon as you move away from a simple present action, you need other forms of ir. The following table gathers common ways to say that someone goes or went somewhere while keeping “you” as the subject.

Time Frame	Tú Form	Other You Forms
Right now / general present	Vas	Usted va, ustedes van, vosotros vais
Ongoing action right this moment	Estás yendo	Usted está yendo, ustedes están yendo
Plan for later using ir a + infinitive	Vas a ir	Usted va a ir, ustedes van a ir
One finished trip in the past	Fuiste	Usted fue, ustedes fueron
Repeated or ongoing past action	Ibas	Usted iba, ustedes iban
Hypothetical action (“you would go”)	Irías	Usted iría, ustedes irían
Wish or condition (“that you go”)	Vayas	Usted vaya, ustedes vayan
Command (“go!”)	Ve	Vaya, vayan, id

You do not need all of these on day one, yet seeing them side by side helps you guess what native speakers mean when you hear forms like ibas or irías. Reference tables such as the IR conjugation page from Collins keep the full set in one place for later review. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}

Talking About Past Trips And Habits

English uses “you went” for a finished trip in the past, and “you used to go” or “you were going” for ongoing or repeated actions. Spanish splits these ideas between fuiste and ibas, both of which still connect to the core phrase “you were going” in a broad sense.

One Finished Trip: Fuiste

Use fuiste when the movement started and ended at a clear point. You can place a time marker, and the action feels complete:

• Fuiste al cine ayer. – You went to the cinema yesterday.
• ¿Fuiste a casa de tus padres el fin de semana? – Did you go to your parents’ place over the weekend?
• No fuiste a la reunión del martes. – You did not go to the meeting on Tuesday.

In these cases, “you’re going” has already happened, so Spanish switches to a past form while keeping the same verb ir.

Repeated Or Ongoing Past Action: Ibas

The form ibas covers habits and background actions in the past. English might say “you used to go” or “you were going” in a descriptive way.

• Cuando eras niño, ibas al parque todos los días. – When you were a child, you used to go to the park every day.
• Ibas al gimnasio tres veces por semana. – You used to go to the gym three times a week.
• Ibas a la oficina en tren. – You went to the office by train on a regular basis.

Some learners mix fuiste and ibas because both relate to the past. A simple check helps: if you talk about a single, finished trip, fuiste fits; if you talk about a pattern or a long stretch of time, ibas fits better.

Using Ir For Plans And Intentions

English lines such as “you’re going to travel” or “you’re going to study” often talk about a plan rather than motion right now. Spanish handles that idea with the structure ir a + infinitive. It still uses ir, but now the verb points toward an action instead of a place.

Plans With Vas A + Infinitive

Here are common ways to talk about what someone plans to do, built around the tú form vas:

• Vas a viajar a México en verano. – You’re going to travel to Mexico in summer.
• Vas a estudiar esta noche. – You’re going to study tonight.
• ¿Vas a cocinar o vas a pedir comida? – Are you going to cook or order food?

Polite and plural forms follow the same pattern: Usted va a trabajar, Ustedes van a salir, and so on. A grammar reference such as the ir conjugation page on SpanishDict collects plenty of examples that use this structure in real sentences. :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}

When Estás Yendo Sounds Natural

The form estás yendo mirrors English “you are going” when the movement is in progress right now and you want to stress that fact:

• ¿Estás yendo al trabajo en este momento? – Are you on your way to work right now?
• Estás yendo muy rápido. – You are going very fast.

Even in these cases, many speakers still prefer simple vas plus a time word. So Vas al trabajo ahora sounds just as natural as Estás yendo al trabajo ahora and appears more often in casual speech.

Sample Phrases For You’re Going In Spanish

The next table gathers everyday situations where you need some version of “you’re going” in Spanish. Notice how the form of ir shifts with time and intent.

Situation	Spanish Phrase	English Meaning
Asking about destination	¿Adónde vas?	Where are you going?
Commenting on leaving a place	¿Ya te vas?	Are you leaving already?
Heading to work	Vas al trabajo temprano hoy.	You are going to work early today.
Talking about a past trip	Fuiste a España el año pasado.	You went to Spain last year.
Talking about a past habit	Siempre ibas a esa cafetería.	You always used to go to that café.
Plan for later	Vas a ir al médico mañana.	You are going to go to the doctor tomorrow.
Polite single person	¿Va a venir con nosotros, señor García?	Are you going to come with us, Mr. García?
Plural you	¿Van al concierto esta noche?	Are you all going to the concert tonight?

Practising these short lines out loud helps your mouth get used to the rhythm of vas, fuiste, ibas, and the rest. Free online resources, such as resources from Instituto Cervantes, often include audio that you can shadow to match native pronunciation. :contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4}

Common Mistakes With You’re Going In Spanish

Once you know the main patterns, it helps to notice a few traps English speakers fall into when they try to say “you’re going” in Spanish.

Using Estás Yendo For Everything

Because English uses “you are going” a lot, some learners try to translate every line with estás yendo. In many cases, Spanish sounds much smoother with a plain present form:

• Vas al médico mañana. feels more natural than Estás yendo al médico mañana.
• ¿Vas al centro? covers both “are you going downtown?” and “are you planning to go downtown?”

Keep estás yendo for actions that are in progress right now or when you really want to stress the ongoing movement.

Forgetting A And Al

Another common pattern is to drop the preposition a or the combined form al (a + el). Spanish needs that link before most destinations:

• Vas a la playa. – You are going to the beach.
• Vas al supermercado. – You are going to the supermarket.
• Vas a casa. – You are going home.

If you only say Vas la playa or Vas el supermercado, the sentence sounds incomplete. Think of a / al as the little bridge between ir and the place.

Mixing Up Vas And Vienes

In English, “are you going?” and “are you coming?” overlap a lot. Spanish keeps a clearer split between ir and venir.

• ¿Vas a la fiesta? – You are going to the party (from your point of view).
• ¿Vienes a la fiesta? – You are coming to the party (to the speaker’s location).

Both can match “are you going to the party?” in English, but Spanish speakers pick one or the other based on where the speaker is at the time of speaking.

Forgetting About Irse

When someone stands up to leave a place, native speakers often reach for te vas rather than vas. Lines such as ¿Ya te vas? or Te vas muy temprano hoy sound natural in that setting. If you only use vas, people still understand you, yet you miss a shade of meaning that makes your Spanish feel closer to theirs.

Simple Practice Routine To Get Comfortable

You do not need long drills to get comfortable with the main ways to say “you’re going” in Spanish. A short routine you repeat over several days brings better results than one huge study session.

• Step 1: Pick one time frame per day. On day one, stay with the present (vas); on day two, focus on plans (vas a + infinitive); on day three, switch to past forms (fuiste / ibas).
• Step 2: Write five short sentences with that form and say them out loud. Swap the destination each time: Vas al trabajo, Vas al parque, Vas a casa de Ana, and so on.
• Step 3: Check your forms with a reliable verb table, such as the ir conjugation page on Ella Verbs, then correct any slips. :contentReference[oaicite:5]{index=5}
• Step 4: Try to spot these forms in shows, podcasts, or chats with native speakers. When you hear one, pause for a moment and think about which “you” it matches and whether it refers to present action, a past event, or a plan.

Little by little, these patterns stop feeling like rules on a page and start sounding like normal language. When someone asks ¿Adónde vas? or says Te vas muy pronto, you will know exactly what they mean and how to answer with confidence.