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For some reason, it feels natural for me to put forms of iri in front of other verbs that are in the infinitive. This is probably some influence from other languages I have. Here are some examples:

  • Mi nun iru dusxi.
  • Mi iros dormi.
  • Mi iras mangxi.

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  • I find the question interesting because using andare (the translation for iri) is done in Italian, even though it changes the meaning of the sentence, when used with the Future Tense.
    – apaderno
    Oct 15, 2016 at 12:34
  • Note that "duŝi" is a transitive verb meaning "to shower someone". So you would have to say: "Mi nun iru duŝi min."
    – Marcos Cramer
    Oct 17, 2016 at 7:38

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According to PMEG: "Post movaj verboj kiel iri kaj kuri, oni preferas I-verbon sen rolmontrilo, sed ankaŭ eblas uzi por." So, yes iri x-i is correct and means the same thing as iri por x-i.

Note that, as vangelion said, these phrases involve actual movement/going, so some English phrases such as "go to sleep" which don't necessarily involve a change in location, may be better translated in other ways (e.g. "to go to sleep" -> ekdormi, enlitiĝi, etc.).

EDIT: based on the comments I should clarify, sometimes "go to sleep" does involve movement to a different location, in which case iri (por) dormi or iri kaj dormi would work, but when movement is not involved (e.g. "You shouldn't be reading in bed. Go to sleep."), ekdormi or endormiĝi would be better.

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    If I hear Go to sleep. I would think they are speaking to somebody that at least is not in the bed, for example to a person that is in the room where the bed is, but doing something else instead of sleeping. Otherwise, if somebody is in the bed, but not sleeping, I would expect to hear Sleep.
    – apaderno
    Oct 15, 2016 at 5:20
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    @kiamlaluno I don't think that's correct. "Go to sleep" is just an idiomatic expression which is the act of transitioning from being awake to being asleep. There is no implication of movement. If you want to say you're going to leave in order to go to sleep you would say something like "I'm going to bed / I'm off to bed". It would sound really bizarre to me if someone just said "sleep" on its own as an imperative, even if everyone was already in bed. ell.stackexchange.com/questions/63350/…
    – Neil Roberts ♦
    Oct 15, 2016 at 6:59
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    There are countless times when my daughter is in bed, but is singing or talking instead of sleeping and I've had to open her door and tell her to "go to sleep" even though she's already in bed. I remember my mother saying the same thing to me when I was young. If I opened the door and found my daughter not in bed, I would naturally say "get in bed and go to sleep." So, I agree with Neil.
    – Chris McDowell
    Oct 15, 2016 at 11:39
  • @NeilRoberts The point I was trying to make was another one. English and Esperanto are different languages; if in English go to sleep doesn't imply any movement, the same could not be true for Esperanto. In Italian, the equivalent of go to sleep normally implies that I need to go to my room (if I am not already there), and then in my bed. Of course, if I know a person is not sleeping, and I don't know exactly where that person is, I just say vai a dormire, but if I see that person in the bed, then I say dormi.
    – apaderno
    Oct 15, 2016 at 12:18
  • I have been in the USA at least 1 month per year, for 10 years, visiting a friend of mine (born and raised in the USA from American parents). She has never told me go to sleep if she saw I was in the bed, but she simply said sleep if she noticed I was not sleeping.
    – apaderno
    Oct 15, 2016 at 12:22
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This makes sense to me if you are actually changing locations to to the action.

  • Mi nun iru duŝi. -> Let me now go (upstairs to) take a shower.
  • Mi iros dormi. -> I will go (home) to sleep.
  • Mi iras manĝi. -> I am going (out) to eat.

But not so well if the intent is that something is about to be done. The "ek-" affix works well for that:

  • Mi nun ekduŝu. -> Let me now take a shower.
  • Mi ekdormos. -> I will go to sleep.
  • Mi ekmanĝas. -> I am starting to eat.
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    I looked for examples of iris + ek +infinitive on Tekstaro, but all of them indicate a change of location; Could it be that the second example should be Mi nun ekduŝu, Mi ekdormos and Mi ekmanĝas?
    – svendvn
    Oct 15, 2016 at 1:47
  • @svendvn I think you are right. “Mi iros ekdormi” is probably more like “I will leave in order to go to sleep” which is a bit of a strange thing to say.
    – Neil Roberts ♦
    Oct 15, 2016 at 13:45
  • @svendvn Yes, that was my intention. Got caught up in trying to follow the model of the question. Edited now.
    – vangelion
    Oct 17, 2016 at 21:17

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