wallaEscribiré en inglés porque esto es un tema demasiado técnico para que discuta en español.
1) I know that "ir+a+infinitive" means "to go to do something". I also believe it means "to intend to do something". For instance, "voy a caminar" means "I am going to walk". Can "ir+a+infinitive" always be replaced by conjugating the infinitive verb to the future tense.
"Voy a caminar" =? "Caminaré"
2) Also, if one means "I am going to walk", the meaning is different that "I am going to walk".
In the first sentence, it is implied that the person is going to some place to walk. In the second, the person is only expressing the intention of walking. The second case is somewhat trickier since the word "going" borrows the "to" from the infinitive, so I am not sure if the verb in the second example is still in the infinitive form and if it can still be translated as "voy a caminar".
3) I know that "ir+a+sitio" means "to go to a place". For instance, "Voy a Mexico" means "I am going to Mexico". How do you say "I go to Mexico"?
"I am going to Mexico" expresses the future expectation of going to Mexico.
"I go to Mexico" expresses that one has traveled to Mexico several times in the past.
In both cases, I would write "Voy a Mexico". If I need to make a distinction, I could write "Estoy yendo a Mexico", correct? But this seems awkward.
Muchas gracias a todos.
ok.. where do is start?
1) yes, all the things you mention are correct... in fact, for example here in Argentina, we barely use the future tense.. we dont use the sentences like: ESCRIBIRE .. CAMINARE... COMERE... etc...
instead we use the ¨GOING TO¨...
VOY A ESCRIBIR... VOY A CAMINAR... VOY A COMER...
now, if you say¨ I AM GOING TO GO WALKING ¨you are saying: VOY A IR A CAMINAR
¨I AM GOING TO WALK¨ means ¨VOY A CAMINAR¨ .. see the difference? both structures are ok... it´s up to you wich one you want to use. here´s an example:
QUE VAS A HACER? VOY A CAMINAR.. OR.. VOY A IR A CAMINAR..
Now Mexico!
VOY A MEXICO: I GO TO MEXICO...
VOY A IR A MEXICO: I AM GOING TO GO TO MEXICO...
again, there is a minumum difference between these two sentences... both are saying and giving the exact same information... what i am trying to say is that no one could misunderstand you or doubt about your sentence...
ESTOY YENDO A MEXICO: i like this kind of senteces very much, dont know why... in my opinion, if you are 100 % that you are going to mexico in a certain dates that you know already, and somebody asks you to do sth in those dates, you can perfectly say:
-NO PUEDO, ( ME) ESTOY YENDO A MEXICO...
you can also use this type of structures when u are just about to do sth:
( me) estoy yendo a bañar.. (me) estoy yendo al cine...(me) estoy yendo al trabajo... in my mind, i would picture you actually beginning to do those actions...
see ya!! hope it helps!
luciana 