Lesson Transcript

Let's look at the sentence pattern.
This pattern is the structure that all of our examples will follow.
Voy a ir a [place] en [transportation].
"I'm going to go to [place] by [transportation]."
Let's look at the first part: Voy a ir.
Voy is the first-person singular form of the verb ir, which means "to go."
A means "to."
Ir is the dictionary form of the verb "to go."
When we say voy a ir, we're saying "I'm going to go."
This is a common way to talk about future actions in Spanish.
Next is a [place], which is the destination. It tells us where the speaker is going.
Then we have en [transportation], which tells us how the speaker is getting there.
En means "by," and it's followed by the mode of transportation.
When talking about going somewhere "on foot," Spanish doesn't use en like it does for other forms of transportation. Instead, it uses the phrase a pie, meaning "on foot."
Let's see how a line from the dialogue follows this pattern.
Voy a ir a la Condesa en metro.
"I'm going to go to La Condesa by subway."
In this sentence:
Voy a ir is the base of our pattern.
Voy means "I go," and it's used with a ir to express the future: "I'm going to go."
A la Condesa is the place — Condesa is a neighborhood, and a la means "to the."
En metro shows the transportation. En means "by," and metro means "subway."
So the full phrase Voy a ir a la Condesa en metro means "I'm going to go to La Condesa by subway."
Now you can use this structure to talk about where you're going and how you're getting there in Spanish!
In Mexico, people often drive cars for short trips, especially in smaller towns or suburban areas.
For longer trips between cities, buses are very common and widely used.
In large cities like Mexico City, the subway is a popular and affordable way to get around, while buses and minibuses — called micros or combis — are also used frequently for getting to neighborhoods the subway doesn't reach.
Now let's look at some speaking examples.
Voy a ir a la biblioteca en autobús.
"I'm going to go to the library by bus."
Can you see how the pattern applies here?
Let's break it down:
Here, voy a ir is the future expression — "I'm going to go."
This part stays the same in every sentence using this pattern.
It combines voy, the first-person singular form of ir, with a ir, to form "I'm going to go."
Next is a la biblioteca, which is the [place].
Biblioteca means "library," and it's preceded by a la, meaning "to the."
This tells us where the speaker is going.
Then we have en autobús, which is the [transportation].
En means "by," and autobús means "bus."
This shows how the speaker is getting to the library.
So, that's how Voy a ir a la biblioteca en autobús fits the pattern:
Voy a ir a [place] en [transportation].
Here's another example
Voy a ir a la escuela a pie.
"I'm going to go to school on foot."
Here, we used a pie, meaning "on foot."
Remember, a pie is one of the exceptions to the "en + transportation" rule.
Voy a ir a la escuela a pie.
"I'm going to go to school on foot."
Let's try one more,
Voy a ir a casa en metro.
"I'm going to go home by subway."
Voy a ir a casa en metro.
"I'm going to go home by subway."
Another one.
Voy a ir a la Ciudad de México en coche.
"I'm going to go to Mexico City by car."
Voy a ir a la Ciudad de México en coche.
"I'm going to go to Mexico City by car."
One last example.
Voy a ir al teatro en taxi.
"I'm going to go to the theater by taxi."
Voy a ir al teatro en taxi.
"I'm going to go to the theater by taxi."

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