Recursio
Spanish from zero with Recursio Lesson 43 of 100 · Module 9

Lesson 43. Plans: voy a viajar

Step 1 · New words

10 words in this lesson

Tap 🔊 and repeat out loud. These words come back in the dialogue and the exercises below.

el plan
plan
esta noche
tonight
la próxima semana
next week
el mes que viene
next month
el año que viene
next year
visitar
to visit
alquilar
to rent
invitar
to treat someone (pay for them)
celebrar
to celebrate
el viaje
trip
Step 2 · Grammar

ir a + infinitive

Ir a + infinitive

To talk about plans, use ir (lesson 9), then a and an infinitive, just like English going to:

yovoy a viajar
túvas a viajar
él, ella, ustedva a viajar
nosotrosvamos a viajar
vosotrosvais a viajar
ellos, ustedesvan a viajar

You need the a: Voy a viajar a Valencia.

Ir a + place and ir a + verb

  • Vamos al cine. — We’re going to the movies (lesson 18: a + place).
  • Vamos a cenar. — We’re going to have dinner / Let’s have dinner.

In these two patterns, a is followed by a place or an infinitive. Vamos a… with an infinitive can also be a suggestion: “let’s…”.

When

esta nochetonight
la próxima semananext week
el mes que vienenext month
el año que vienenext year

Learn el mes que viene and el año que viene as whole phrases.

Invitar

Invitar means “to invite,” and also “to treat, to pay for someone”: Hoy invito yo. — “It’s my treat today.”

Voy a viajar a Valencia. — I'm going to travel to Valencia.

¿Qué vas a hacer esta noche? — What are you going to do tonight?

Vamos a celebrar el cumpleaños de mi madre. — We're going to celebrate my mother's birthday.

Vamos al cine. — We're going to the movies.

Hoy invito yo. — It's my treat today.

Step 3 · Dialogue

Dialogue

Listen to each line and repeat it. Try to understand it before you look at the translation.

Lucía Javier, ¿qué vas a hacer esta noche? Javier, what are you going to do tonight?

Javier Voy a descansar. ¿Y tú? I'm going to rest. And you?

Lucía Voy a cenar con Nora. ¿Y la próxima semana? ¿Tienes planes? I'm going to have dinner with Nora. And next week? Do you have plans?

Javier Sí, voy a viajar a Valencia. El martes vamos a celebrar el cumpleaños de mi madre. Yes, I'm going to Valencia. On Tuesday we're celebrating my mother's birthday.

Lucía ¿Vas en tren? Are you going by train?

Javier No, voy en coche. ¿Y tú? ¿Vas a viajar en verano? No, by car. And you? Are you going to travel in the summer?

Lucía Sí. En verano voy a alquilar un piso en la playa. Yes. In the summer I'm going to rent an apartment at the beach.

Javier ¡Buen plan! Good plan!

Step 4 · Exercises

Check yourself

Listen. What did you hear?

1. How do you say “I'm going to travel to Valencia”?

2. How do you ask a friend “What are you going to do tonight?”

3. How do you say “Next year we're going to rent an apartment”?

4. You're at a bar with friends and want to pay for everyone. How do you say “It's my treat today”?

Match each word with its translation

Build the sentence: “I'm going to travel to Valencia”

Build the question: “What are you going to do tonight?”

Lesson summary

What you can do now

  • Talk about a plan: Voy a viajar a Valencia.
  • Ask about plans: ¿Qué vas a hacer esta noche?
  • Say when: la próxima semana, el año que viene
  • Offer to pay: Hoy invito yo.

Key phrases of the lesson:

Voy a viajar a Valencia.

¿Qué vas a hacer esta noche?

Vamos a celebrar el cumpleaños de mi madre.

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