Skip to content
fluentbyear

SPANISH VERB

ir por

to be on, to have got as far as (a page, a question)

  • Irregular -ir verb
  • Gerund: yendo por
  • Past participle: ido por

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. yo I am on
  2. tú you are on
  3. usted, él, ella he/she is on
  4. nosotros we are on
  5. vosotros Spain you all are on
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they are on

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

  1. yo I was on
  2. tú you were on
  3. usted, él, ella he/she was on
  4. nosotros we were on
  5. vosotros Spain you all were on
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they were on

Imperfect

Pretérito imperfecto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. yo I used to be on
  2. tú you used to be on
  3. usted, él, ella he/she used to be on
  4. nosotros we used to be on
  5. vosotros Spain you all used to be on
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they used to be on

Future

Futuro · plans and promises; in speech, “voy a hablar” is just as common

  1. yo I will be on
  2. tú you will be on
  3. usted, él, ella he/she will be on
  4. nosotros we will be on
  5. vosotros Spain you all will be on
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they will be on

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

  1. yo I would be on
  2. tú you would be on
  3. usted, él, ella he/she would be on
  4. nosotros we would be on
  5. vosotros Spain you all would be on
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they would be on

Present subjunctive

Presente de subjuntivo · wishes, doubts, “que …”

  1. yo (that) I be on
  2. tú (that) you be on
  3. usted, él, ella (that) he/she be on
  4. nosotros (that) we be on
  5. vosotros Spain (that) you all be on
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (that) they be on

Past subjunctive

Imperfecto de subjuntivo · “if I were”, “si …”

  1. yo (if) I were on
  2. tú (if) you were on
  3. usted, él, ella (if) he/she were on
  4. nosotros (if) we were on
  5. vosotros Spain (if) you all were on
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (if) they were on

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders; a negative one uses the subjunctive (no hables)

  1. tú be on!
  2. usted be on! (formal)
  3. nosotros be on! (let’s)
  4. vosotros Spain be on! (all of you)
  5. ustedes be on! (all of you)

How to use ir por

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    Voy por la página cuarenta y me quedan doscientas.

    I'm on page forty and I've got two hundred left.

  2. Past

    Ayer fui por el tema doce y hoy por el quince.

    Yesterday I got as far as topic twelve, and today fifteen.

  3. Imperfect

    Cuando llamaste, iba por la tercera temporada.

    When you called, I was on the third season.

  4. Future

    A este ritmo, mañana irás por el último tema.

    At this rate, tomorrow you'll be on the last topic.

  5. Conditional

    Sin tantas pausas, iría por el final del libro.

    Without so many breaks, I'd be at the end of the book.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Avísame cuando vayas por el capítulo diez.

    Let me know when you get to chapter ten.

  7. Past subjunctive

    No creía que fueras por la mitad ya.

    I didn't believe you were halfway through already.

  8. Imperative

    Vamos por partes: primero el sofá y luego las cajas.

    One thing at a time: first the sofa, then the boxes.

Good to know

  • "¿Por dónde vas?" asks how far you've got in a book, a series or a task: voy por el capítulo cinco.
  • "Ir a por" something, in Spain, is to go and get it: voy a por pan. "Vamos por partes" is "one thing at a time".

Where you hear ir por

The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.

Spanish · Fluency Level 3

  • Voy por la página tres, y llevo dos horas leyendo. I'm on page three, and I've been reading for two hours.
  • A las once, Sarah iba por la pregunta ciento veinte. At eleven, Sarah was on question a hundred and twenty.
  • A las doce, irá por la ciento sesenta. At noon, she'll be on a hundred and sixty.
7
An Idea for a Book

Fluency Level 3 · Ya voy por la mitad.

Needs a subscription

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: irregular -ir verb.