Future tense
There are two ways to express future actions in Spanish. The first is the simple future tense and the second is to use the structure Ir a + infinitive.
In this lesson, we will go through these two forms, their conjugations and uses. Also, we will show you the verbs which are irregular in the future. Then in the next one we will cover the future perfect tense.
Simple Future Tense
The conjugations of the verbs in future tense are rather simple. Above all, all three verb conjugations are the same (ar, er, ir verbs) and the number of irregular verbs is small. The endings for the conjugations in simple future tense read
(yo) -é
(tú) -ás
(él/ella, usted) -á
(nosotros/-as) -emos
(vosotros/-as) -éis
(ellos/-as, ustedes) –án
In addition, you should know that in future tense the endings are added directly to the infinitive of the verb, as opposed to the other tenses you’ve seen so far. So that the conjugation of for example “hablar” in future tense is
(yo) hablaré
(tú) hablarás
(él/ella, usted) hablará
(nosotros/-as) hablaremos
(vosotros/-as) hablaréis
(ellos/-as, ustedes) hablarán
As stated above, the “-er” and “-ir” verbs are conjugated as the same
(yo) comeré
(tú) comerás
(él/ella, usted) comerirá
(nosotros/-as) comeremos
(vosotros/-as) comeréis
(ellos/-as, ustedes) comerán
(yo) viviré
(tú) vivirás
(él/ella, usted) vivirá
(nosotros/-as) viviremos
(vosotros/-as) viviréis
(ellos/-as, ustedes) vivirán
When to use
- The future tense corresponds to the English “will” and “shall” first of all; it is used to discuss future actions, happenings.
Mañana saldremos para Argentina Tomorrow we leave for Argentine
¿qué será de mí? What will become from me?
- Another important application of the future tense is to express probability, likelihood.
¿Qué horas serán? I wonder what time it is
Serán las siete It must be seven o’clock
Be aware of the fact that Spanish future tense is not used for intentions, contrary to English. For example, s sentence like “Will you go to the cinema?” is not expressed using the future. You should use the verb “querer” and say ¿Quires ir al cine?
Ir a + Infinitive
The structure “to be going to do something” has a counterpart in Spanish. You use the verb ir (to go) plus the preposition a and the infinitive of the second verb. In this way, it is possible to express the future activities.
la fiesta va a ser en su casa the party will be at her house
Yo voy a viajar a Mexico I will travel to Mexico
Present Tense
Apart from the structures above, keep also in mind the following. The indicaitve simple present tense can be used to express near future events as well.
Esta noche vamos al cine. We are going to the cinema tonight
Vocabulary
There are a few verbs which are irregular in simple future tense. Below are the most common ones. Although they are irregular, their endings are the same. Thus, you only need to know how the stem looks like in the future tense. Otherwise you will conjugate them as explained above.
caber: to fit cabré / cabrás / cabrá / cabremos / cabréis / cabrán
decir: to say diré / dirás / dirá / diremos / diréis / dirán
haber: to have habré / habrás / habrá /habremos / habréis / habrán
hacer: to make, do haré / harás / hará / haremos / haréis / harán
poder: to be able podré / podrás / podrá / podremos / podréis / podrán
poner: to put pondré / pondrás / pondrá / pondremos / pondréis / pondrán
querer: to want querré / querrás / querrá / querremos / querréis / querrán
saber: to know sabré / sabrás / sabrá / sabremos / sabréis / sabrán
salir: to leave saldré / saldrás / saldrá / saldremos / saldréis / saldrán
tener: to have tendré / tend ás / tendrá / tendremos / tendréis / tend án
valer: to be worth valdré / valdrás / valdrá / valdremos / valdréis / valdrán
venir: to come vendré / vendrás / vendrá / vendremos / vendréis / vendrán