Saying what someone is/was going to do Ir + a + infinitivo Saying what someone is/was going to do I’m going to study a lot. Voy a estudiar mucho.
Use ir + a + infinitivo to say what someone was going to do in the past. Elena and I were going to go shopping. Elena y yo íbamos a ir de compras. I wasn’t going to buy anything. No iba a comprar nada. I was going to call you yesterday. Iba a llamarte ayer.
You can add to these sentences by saying what happened instead, using the preterite (what interrupted the plans). Elena and I were going to go shopping, but she had to study. Elena y yo íbamos a ir de compras, pero tuvo que estudiar. I wasn’t going to buy anything, but they gave me a discount. No iba a comprar nada, pero me dieron un descuento. I was going to call you yesterday, but I got home too late. Iba a llamarte ayer, pero llegué a casa demasiado tarde.
You can also elaborate by giving more background information, using the imperfect. They were going to visit the market, but they were really tired. Iban a visitar el mercado, pero estaban muy cansados.