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Study in the app →Spanish · CEFR Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 30
Los planes Plans
Plans and invitations vocabulary: el plan (plan), la fiesta (party), la cena (dinner), el fin de semana (weekend), mañana (tomorrow), esta noche (tonight), salir (to go out), invitar (to invite), querer (to want), venir (to come). Key grammar: the near future is formed with "ir a + infinitive": "Voy a estudiar" (I am going to study), "Vamos a cenar" (we are going to have dinner), "¿Qué vas a hacer mañana?" (what are you going to do tomorrow?). You conjugate "ir" (voy, vas, va, vamos, van) + "a" + the verb in the infinitive. The "a" is obligatory. To invite: "¿Quieres salir esta noche?" (do you want to go out tonight?), "¿Vamos a la fiesta?" (shall we go to the party?). English speakers calque "I am going to play" but forget the "a" → "Voy jugar" ✗ → "Voy a jugar" ✓. Pronunciation corner: question intonation and the ¿ ¡ marks.
Dialogue
¿Qué vas a hacer? — What are you going to do?
- Lucía ¿Qué vas a hacer mañana? What are you going to do tomorrow?
- Mike Voy jugar al fútbol y voy leer un libro. I am going to play football and read a book. (slip: "ir a" needs the "a" before the verb — "Voy a jugar... voy a leer")
- Lucía Con "ir" siempre pones "a" antes del verbo: "Voy a jugar". With "ir" you always put "a" before the verb: "Voy a jugar".
- Mike Ah, mañana voy a jugar al fútbol y voy a leer un libro. Ah, tomorrow I am going to play football and read a book.
Dialogue
Una invitación — An invitation
- Carlos El fin de semana voy a hacer una fiesta. ¿Quieres venir? At the weekend I am going to have a party. Do you want to come?
- Lucía Sí, quiero. ¿A qué hora va a empezar? Yes, I want to. What time is it going to start?
- Carlos A las nueve. Vamos a cenar y a bailar. At nine. We are going to have dinner and dance.
- Lucía ¡Perfecto! ¿Puedo invitar a una amiga? Perfect! Can I invite a friend?
- Carlos Claro. Mañana te voy a mandar la dirección. Of course. Tomorrow I am going to send you the address.
Vocabulary
| 汉字 | Pinyin | POS | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| el plan | n. | plan | |
| la fiesta | n. | party | |
| la cena | n. | dinner | |
| el fin de semana | n. | weekend | |
| mañana | adv. | tomorrow | |
| esta noche | adv. | tonight | |
| salir | v. | to go out | |
| invitar | v. | to invite | |
| querer | v. | to want (quiero) | |
| venir | v. | to come (vengo) |
Grammar
El futuro próximo: "ir a" + infinitivo The near future: "ir a" + infinitive
Para hablar de planes, el español usa "ir a + infinitivo", igual que el inglés "to be going to". Se conjuga solo "ir": voy / vas / va / vamos / van, luego "a", luego el verbo en infinitivo (sin cambiar): "Voy a estudiar", "Vas a comer", "Vamos a bailar". La "a" es OBLIGATORIA — es el error más común de los angloparlantes, que dicen "Voy jugar" ✗ en vez de "Voy a jugar" ✓. Con marcadores de tiempo: "Mañana voy a trabajar", "Esta noche vamos a salir", "El fin de semana voy a la fiesta". Para invitar se usa "querer" (quiero/quieres): "¿Quieres venir?", "¿Quieres cenar conmigo?"; o "¿Vamos a...?": "¿Vamos a cenar?".
To talk about plans, Spanish uses "ir a + infinitive", just like English "to be going to". You conjugate only "ir": voy / vas / va / vamos / van, then "a", then the verb in the infinitive (unchanged): "Voy a estudiar" (I am going to study), "Vas a comer" (you are going to eat), "Vamos a bailar" (we are going to dance). The "a" is OBLIGATORY — it is the most common English-speaker error, saying "Voy jugar" ✗ instead of "Voy a jugar" ✓. With time markers: "Mañana voy a trabajar" (tomorrow I am going to work), "Esta noche vamos a salir" (tonight we are going out), "El fin de semana voy a la fiesta" (at the weekend I am going to the party). To invite, use "querer" (quiero/quieres): "¿Quieres venir?" (do you want to come?), "¿Quieres cenar conmigo?" (do you want to have dinner with me?); or "¿Vamos a...?": "¿Vamos a cenar?" (shall we have dinner?).
- Mañana voy a estudiar español. Tomorrow I am going to study Spanish.
- Esta noche vamos a cenar juntos. Tonight we are going to have dinner together.
- ¿Quieres venir a la fiesta? Do you want to come to the party?
- El fin de semana voy a salir con amigos. At the weekend I am going to go out with friends.
pronunciation
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