Present of Anar

Level 1

Anar has the present forms vaig, vas, va, anem, aneu and van.

How It Works

Use the present of anar to describe going somewhere: vaig a casa, anem al mercat. The destination commonly follows a; contract a + el to al, but keep a l’ before an elided article.

Distinguish vaig comprar, meaning I bought, from vaig a comprar, meaning I go to buy. The past construction uses an auxiliary without a: vaig, vas, va, vam, vau, van + infinitive. Thus vaig anar means I went. Vam/vau also have the standard variants vàrem/vàreu; colloquial vem/veu are not the neutral written forms taught here.

Anar a + infinitive can describe movement to do something and certain immediately intended actions by an agent, such as vaig a dir una cosa. It is not a general substitute for the future. For a prediction use plourà; for something about to happen use està a punt de començar.

Examples (3)

  1. Vaig a la biblioteca.

    I am going to the library.

  2. Aneu al mercat cada dissabte?

    Do you go to the market every Saturday?

  3. Ahir vaig anar a Girona.

    Yesterday I went to Girona.

Common Mistakes

  • Using anem as the neutral written past auxiliary.

    Ahir anem visitar el museu.
    Ahir vam visitar el museu.

    Anem is present lexical anar; vam is the first-person plural auxiliary of the periphrastic past.

How It Connects

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Present of AnarLevel 1

Words in This Pattern