Irse Examples, Sentences and Quiz
Irse means “to go away”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. Irse means to go away, and it is the everyday verb for leaving a place, going off somewhere and getting out of the way. It is one of the most irregular verbs in Spanish — the present is voy, the preterite is fui, the imperfect is iba and the gerund is yendo — so learn its forms as a set rather than deriving them from the infinitive. This page shows irse in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make most often, and it finishes with a ten-question quiz so you can test yourself. Every sentence below comes with its English translation, and every form is the correct present-tense form unless the sentence is clearly marked as past or future. For a first taste: “Yo me voy de casa temprano.” — I go away from home early.
Irse in real example sentences
The twelve sentences below are grouped by how irse is used. Read each one out loud, then read the translation. If a sentence feels useful, copy it into your own notebook with one small change — a different time, a different person, a different place — and you have a new sentence of your own.
In the present: everyday use
These sentences use irse in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.
“Me voy de casa temprano.” — I go away from home early.
“¿Tú te vas a Madrid en tren?” — Do you go away to Madrid by train?
“Se va sin despedirse de nadie.” — He/she goes away without saying goodbye to anyone.
“Nos vamos de viaje el lunes.” — We go away on a trip on Monday.
Talking about the past
The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show irse in the past, so you can talk about what already happened.
“Ayer, yo me fui de casa temprano.” — Yesterday, I went away from home early. (preterite)
“Él se iba a Madrid en tren todos los días.” — He used to go away to Madrid by train every day. (imperfect)
Plans and things already done
These sentences look forward, or look back at something already finished. Notice how the verb form changes while the meaning of irse stays the same.
“Nosotros nos iremos sin despedirse de nadie mañana.” — We will go away without saying goodbye to anyone tomorrow. (future)
“¿Te has ido de viaje el lunes?” — Have you gone away on a trip on Monday? (present perfect)
More everyday uses
Four more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action.
“Os vais de casa temprano.” — You go away from home early.
“Se van a Madrid en tren.” — They go away to Madrid by train.
“Me voy sin despedirse de nadie.” — I go away without saying goodbye to anyone.
“Se va de viaje el lunes.” — He/she goes away on a trip on Monday.
Irse in context
Single sentences teach you the forms. Dialogues teach you when to use them. Read the short conversation below, then the paragraph that follows, and notice how irse appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.
A short dialogue
Lucía: “¿Tú te vas de casa temprano?” — Do you go away from home early?
Carlos: “Sí, yo me voy de casa temprano.” — Yes, I go away from home early.
Lucía: “Nosotros nos vamos a Madrid en tren.” — We go away to Madrid by train.
Carlos: “Y ellos se van sin despedirse de nadie.” — And they go away without saying goodbye to anyone.
Lucía: “Vosotros os vais de viaje el lunes.” — You go away on a trip on Monday.
Carlos: “Sí, y él se va a Madrid en tren.” — Yes, and he goes away to Madrid by train.
A short paragraph
Lucía se va de casa temprano, y Carlos se va a Madrid en tren. Nosotros nos vamos sin despedirse de nadie, y ellos se van de viaje el lunes. Yo me voy sin despedirse de nadie, y mi padre se va de viaje el lunes. Irse is part of everyday life, because to go away is something Spanish speakers do again and again, in every tense and every situation.
Common mistakes with irse
These are the errors learners actually make with irse. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
Wrong: “Yo voy de casa temprano.” Right: “Yo me voy de casa temprano.” Why: Irse is reflexive, so the pronoun me is required: without it the verb means something else, or nothing at all.
Wrong: “Ayer yo me voy de casa temprano.” Right: “Ayer yo me fui de casa temprano.” Why: Irse is highly irregular: the present is me voy, but the preterite is me fui. Use the preterite with ayer.
Wrong: “Treating irse and marcharse as identical in every context.” Right: “Irse means to go away, while marcharse means to leave.” Why: They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: irse fits sentences such as Me voy de casa temprano, while marcharse belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Wrong: “Yo soy ido a Madrid en tren.” Right: “Yo he ido a Madrid en tren.” Why: Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he ido, has ido, ha ido. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
Wrong: “De niño, yo fui sin despedirse de nadie todos los días.” Right: “De niño, yo iba sin despedirse de nadie todos los días.” Why: For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (iba), not the preterite. The preterite (fui) is for one finished action.
Quiz: irse in use
Ten questions on irse in real sentences. Choose the correct answer for each one, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained.
1. Complete the sentence: “Vosotros ______ de casa temprano.” (From home early.)
- (a) os vais
- (b) me voy
- (c) te vas
Answer: os vais — The vosotros/as form of irse in the present is os vais.
2. Complete the sentence: “Ellos ______ a Madrid en tren.” (To madrid by train.)
- (a) me voy
- (b) te vas
- (c) se van
Answer: se van — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form of irse in the present is se van.
3. Complete the sentence: “Yo ______ de casa temprano.” (From home early.)
- (a) se fue
- (b) me fui
- (c) te fuiste
Answer: me fui — The yo form of irse in the preterite is me fui.
4. Complete the sentence: “Él ______ a Madrid en tren.” (To madrid by train.)
- (a) se iba
- (b) me iba
- (c) te ibas
Answer: se iba — The él/ella/Ud. form of irse in the imperfect is se iba.
5. Complete the sentence: “Nosotros ______ sin despedirse de nadie.” (Without saying goodbye to anyone.)
- (a) me iré
- (b) te irás
- (c) nos iremos
Answer: nos iremos — The nosotros/as form of irse in the future is nos iremos.
6. What does irse mean in English?
- (a) to fall asleep
- (b) to go away
- (c) to leave
Answer: to go away — Irse means “to go away”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
7. Which sentence is correct?
- (a) Yo me voy de casa temprano.
- (b) Ellos va de casa temprano.
- (c) Yo me voy a Madrid en tren ayer.
Answer: Yo me voy de casa temprano. — “Yo me voy de casa temprano.” is correct. The other two sentences contain the mistakes explained in the section above.
8. How do you say “I go away from home early.” in Spanish?
- (a) Yo se van de casa temprano.
- (b) Yo me fui de casa temprano.
- (c) Yo me voy de casa temprano.
Answer: Yo me voy de casa temprano. — “Yo me voy de casa temprano.” is the correct translation. The second option uses the wrong person's form, and the third uses the preterite.
9. What is the nosotros form of irse in the present tense?
- (a) te vas
- (b) nos vamos
- (c) me voy
Answer: nos vamos — The nosotros form is nos vamos.
10. Which of these sentences is in the present tense?
- (a) Ayer, yo me fui de casa temprano.
- (b) Nosotros nos iremos de casa temprano mañana.
- (c) Yo me voy de casa temprano.
Answer: Yo me voy de casa temprano. — “Yo me voy de casa temprano.” is in the present tense. The other two are in the preterite and the future.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say 'I go away' in Spanish?
Say 'Yo me voy de casa temprano'. The complement follows directly, as in the examples above. For a routine, add a time expression: 'Yo me voy de casa temprano todos los días'.
How do you say 'I go away' in the past?
For one finished action, say 'Ayer, yo me fui a Madrid en tren'. For a repeated habit, say 'Yo me iba a Madrid en tren todos los días'. For something already done, say 'Yo me he ido a Madrid en tren'.
What is the difference between irse and marcharse?
Irse means to go away, while marcharse means to leave. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use irse when you mean to go away, as in Me voy de casa temprano.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of irse — every tense of irse in one place.
- Irse in the preterite tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Spanish verbs — the hub for every Spanish verb on VerbFlow.
- Verb quiz — test yourself on irse and other verbs.
- Conjugation practice — drill the forms of irse until they are automatic.