Have you ever started saying a sentence in Spanish and then completely frozen up midway because you can’t figure out which verb you need? The freeze is real. For example, you might wonder whether you need ir (to go) or irse (to leave)… Then this post is for you! We will focus on challenging duos of verbs in Spanish and our aim is that next time, you can make the right choice without freezing up! For this post we will focus on the following pairs:
- ir vs irse to go vs to leave, to depart, to go away
- ir vs venir to go vs to come
- llevar vs traer to take vs to bring
Are you ready to take on these challenging verbs? Excellent, let’s get started!
Table of Contents
For review of grammar terms used in the post, make sure to check out the Unpacking the grammar section at the end.
What is the difference between ‘ir’ and ‘irse’ in Spanish?
Let’s start with ir (to go) and irse (to leave, to depart, to go away), two of the most popular “challenges” for Spanish learners!
The most important difference between these verbs is that ir is used to talk about movement from point A to point B, while irse focuses on the act of leaving or departing from a place.
Voy a la oficina. Me voy en cuanto acabe la junta.
I’m going to the office.I’m leaving as soon as the meeting is over.
In the first example, the focus is on the destination (the office), whereas in the second example the focus is on the act of departing and the destination is not important.
The verb ir(se) is an irregular verb in most tenses, click here to review the conjugations of ir.
Here are some additional tips to keep in mind for the verb ir (to go):
- It is often followed by a Spanish preposition of movement such as a (to, toward), hacia (to, toward) and then followed by the place. For example:
Nosotros vamos a la casa de mi abuelita los sábados.
We go to my grandma’s house every Saturday.
- It can be used to talk about an implied A → B movement in a method of transportation. For example:
Ustedes van en avión y llegan mañana, ¿verdad?
You are going (to point B) by plane and arrive tomorrow, right?
- It can be used to express the future in Spanish in the construction: ir (present tense) + a + infinitive
Ellas van a tomar sus exámenes finales mañana.
They are going to take their final exams tomorrow.
Here are some additional tips to keep in mind for the verb irse (to leave, to depart, to go away):
- It requires a Spanish reflexive pronoun for its construction, as you can see from its infinitive form “irse”:
| me (myself) | nos (ourselves) | |||
| te (yourself) | os (yourselves - Spain) | |||
| se (himself, herself, yourself formal, themselves, yourselves - LATAM) | ||||
- While ir (to go) focuses on the movement from point A to point B, irse (to leave, to depart, to go away) focuses on the act of leaving a specific place (here). Irse doesn’t require that you specify the end point/destination, but you can if you want! For example:
Me voy porque estoy muy cansado. Que tengas un buen día. I’m leaving because I am very tired. Have a good day.
Notice how the example focuses on the action of leaving, but doesn’t require an end point or destination?
Nos vamos a Cartagena por dos semanas. We’re leaving for Cartagena for two weeks.
A destination CAN be included, but this example still puts the focus on the act of leaving!
- Irse can also focus on the act of leaving at a specific time. For example:
Nos vamos a las 5 de la mañana para que no nos toque la hora pico.
We are leaving at 5 am so that we don’t catch rush hour.
- Irse is often paired with the preposition de (from) to talk about point of origin.
Se fueron de la fiesta a las 10 de la noche.
They left the party at 10 pm.
⤷TIP To say “I’m leaving.” use “Me voy.” or “Tengo que irme.” (I have to go).
Quick check-in!
Which construction would you choose?
- Esteban and I are leaving soon:
- Esteban y yo vamos pronto.
- Esteban y yo nos vamos pronto.
The answer is B!
In many instances you can use either verb, so it really depends on what the speaker wants to focus on: the act of leaving (irse) or the movement (ir).
Vamos al cine. = We are going to the movies.
Nos vamos al cine. = We are leaving for the movies.
What is the difference between ‘ir’ and ‘venir’ in Spanish?
Ir (to go) and venir (to come) can be tricky, because the choice depends on the perspective of the speaker rather than the listener. In Spanish, the main difference is the point of view of the speaker and the direction of said movement.
- Ir (to go) moves AWAY from the speaker.
Vamos al cine esta tarde.
We’re going to the movies this evening.
Notice how the speaker(s) is not present at the point of destination, meaning they are going “there.”
Check out the previous section for some additional notes on the uses of ir (to go).
- Venir (to come) moves TOWARD the speaker.
Mariela y José vinieron a mi casa para celebrar mi cumpleaños.
Mariela and José came to my house to celebrate my birthday.
Notice how the movement is from a different place TO the speaker; the speaker is at the point of destination, meaning they are coming “here.”
- Here are some additional things to keep in mind for the verb venir (to come):
- It can be used to talk about movement of speaker + audience to a NEW place as well! For example:
Voy al concierto de los Rabanes, ¿quieres venir conmigo?
I am going to the Rabanes concert, do you want to come with me? - It can be paired with the preposition de (from) to talk about point of origin or place of origin. For example:
Vengo del (de + el) centro comercial. Había muchísima gente.
I came from the mall. There were a ton of people.Sebastián Yatra viene de Colombia y es un cantante famoso.
Sebastián Yatra is from Colombia and he is a famous singer.
- It can be used to talk about movement of speaker + audience to a NEW place as well! For example:
- Here are some additional things to keep in mind for the verb venir (to come):
⤷TIP Just like you would use “I’m coming” as a delaying tactic in English, in Spanish we use “¡Ya voy!” (I’m going) for the same purpose. Notice that this means that the person speaking is “going away” from the place they are at and towards the listener.
When using these verbs to report indirect speech in Spanish, notice that ir is used if the speaker is not at the final destination, whereas, venir is used if the speaker is already at the destination.
Dice Jorge: “Voy al museo con ustedes.” Jorge says: “I’m going to the museum with you”
Reported speech:
Jorge dice que va al museo con nosotros.
Jorge says that he is going to the museum with us.
Jorge dice que viene al museo con nosotros.
Jorge says that he is coming to the museum with us.
What is the difference between ‘llevar’ and ‘traer’ in Spanish?
Llevar (to take) and traer (to bring) are a challenging pair because, in English, we don’t necessarily place a ton of importance on their difference. We often use them interchangeably, like in the following examples:
I am going to take some snacks for the road.
or
I am going to bring some snacks for the road.
You could pick “to take” or “to bring” and communicate practically the same idea. In Spanish, however, these two verbs are not interchangeable! They are both tied to the speaker and their location (like ir (to go) and venir (to come)).
- Traer (to bring) implies that the object is coming toward the speaker.
For example:
Mi mamá me trajo un poco del ajiaco que hizo ayer.
My mom brought me some of the ajiaco she made yesterday.
- Llevar (to take) implies that the object is going away from the speaker.
For example:
Mañana llevaré una merienda grande al trabajo porque no tendré tiempo para desayunar.
Tomorrow I will take a large lunch to work because I will not have time to eat breakfast.
La señora se llevó las flores porque pensó que no me gustaron.
The lady took away the flowers because she thought I didn’t like them.
Another tip about llevar (to take) and traer (to bring): they are often found with indirect object pronouns (me, te, le, nos, os, les) to refer to the person that things are being taken to or brought to. For example:
¿Podría traerme un poco de agua, por favor?
Could you bring me some water, please?
Llévale la comida que queda, porque no me la comeré.
Take him/her the leftover food, because I will not eat it.
⤷TIP A good rule of thumb is using ir (to go) / llevar (to take) and venir (to come) / traer (to bring) in similar ways with regards to movement:
→ Away from the speaker: ir (to go)/llevar (to take)
Voy a tu casa, ¡llevaré refrescos!
I am coming to your house, I will take refreshments!
← Toward the speaker: venir (to come)/traer (to bring)
Ven a mi casa, ¡trae refrescos!
Come to my house, bring refreshments!
To sum it up
There are some verb pairs that can be a little challenging — but not impossible — in Spanish. Let’s revisit the ones from this post once again:
- Ir (to go) is used to talk about movement from point A to point B, while irse (to leave, to depart, to go away) focuses on the act of leaving or departing from a place.
- Ir (to go) and venir (to come) are both verbs of movement. Ir (to go) moves AWAY from the speaker while venir (to come) moves TOWARD the speaker.
- Traer (to bring) implies that the object is coming toward the speaker, while llevar (to take) implies that the object is going away from the speaker.
Don’t get discouraged if a native speaker corrects you. The most important thing is to keep practicing. Eventually these will start coming more naturally to you.
To help you out with some additional challenging verbs, check out “What’s the difference between saber vs conocer, acordarse vs recordar and other challenging pairs?”
While you perfect your Spanish, though, why don’t you check out these activities that can help you start to master these verbs?
John is in the house.
Mary left her book on the table.
