The future tense in Spanish stands as one of the frequently employed verb forms. Its significance lies in enabling discussions about future plans and activities. Given its pivotal role in Spanish language acquisition, this guide comprehensively addresses everything essential about the future tense.
The key aspects covered include:
By the conclusion of this article, you will have acquired an understanding of when to utilize the future tense in Spanish and how to appropriately conjugate verbs in this tense, in case you haven’t grasped it yet.
What is The Future Tense in Spanish?
As implied by its name, the Spanish future tense enables you to express that a particular action is slated to occur at a future moment. For instance:
La semana que viene iremos a Londres.
Next week, we will go to London.
Vamos ahorita, al rato estaré ocupada.
Let’s go now; I will be busy later.
La fiesta de graduación será en un par de días.
The graduation party will be in a few days.
Similar to other Spanish tenses, you can employ time markers (such as ‘al rato,’ ‘la semana que viene,’ etc.) to pinpoint the specific moment when the action is set to occur. If you’re uncertain about which future time expressions to use, here are some examples:
| Spanish | English |
| Mañana | Tomorrow |
| Al rato/Más tarde | Later |
| Pasado mañana | The day after tomorrow |
| El mes/año que viene | Next month/year |
| La semana que viene | Next week |
| El próximo sábado* | Next saturday |
| El próximo año | Next year |
| En un año/mes/semana** | In one year/month/week |
| En un par de años/meses/semanas/días | In a few years/months/weeks/days |
** Exchange “un” for another numerical value.
El próximo jueves iré al aeropuerto.
I will go to the airport next Thursday.
La nueva temporada saldrá en un par de semanas.
The new season will come out in a few weeks.
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How to employ the future tense in Spanish?
We’ve previously discussed the primary application of the future tense in Spanish. Nevertheless, this tense encompasses additional significant uses that warrant consideration. In summary, the Spanish future tense is employed to:
- Discuss actions, events, and activities slated for the future.
- Formulate predictions and hypotheses regarding future events.
- Express conjectures and hypotheses about the present.
- Convey the potential outcome of a conditional statement.
Refer to the examples below for clarification:
- Use #1: Action, Event or Activity that will occur in the Future
[Verb in future tense] + [complement]
Terminaré la carrera el año que viene.
I will finish my major next year.
La escuela cerrará dos meses.
The school will close for two months.
Mañana vendrán tus tíos de visita.
Your aunt and uncle will come to visit tomorrow.
- Use #2: Making a prediction or hypothesis about the future.
(Phrase to express supposition) + [verb in future tense] + [complement]
¡Ponte un suéter! Te vas a enfermar.
Put on a sweater! You are going to get sick.
Seguramente, cancelarán el partido.
They will probably call off the game.
Creo que Bill no tendrá tiempo mañana.
I think Bill will not have time tomorrow.
- Use #3: Expressing a conjecture or hypothesis about the present.
(Phrase to express supposition) + [verb in future tense] + [complement]
¿Sabes dónde estará Pepe?
Do you know where Pepe might be?
Clara no ha llegado, ¿seguirá enferma?
Clara hasn’t arrived. Would she still be sick?
Leslie no tardará en llegar. Tiene una cita.
Leslie will be here soon. She has an appointment.
- Use #4: Describe the potential outcome of a conditional statement.
[Condition] + [verb in the future tense]
Si llegas tarde, perderás el avión.
If you’re late, you will lose the plane.
Si encuentro los ingredientes, haré lasaña.
If I find the ingredients, I will make lasagna.
Kindly observe: When conveying predictions in the present, we are alluding to potential actions or activities that an individual may currently be engaged in.
Varieties of Future Tenses in Spanish
In Spanish, there are three types of future:
- Simple future
- Near or immediate future
- Perfect future
Both the simple and near future tenses can be applied in the contexts discussed earlier. Nevertheless, the near future is a more informal or casual variant of the simple future.
As the name implies, the near or immediate future is employed to discuss actions unfolding in the proximity of time—within seconds, minutes, hours, or a few days. The formation of the near future involves distinct elements, which will be elaborated on later.
- Simple Future
El año que entra adoptaré un perro.
Next year, I will adopt a dog.
- Near Future
Hoy voy a llevar a mi perro al veterinario.
Today, I am going to take my dog to the vet.
Kindly observe: Note that, grammatically speaking, the near future holds a somewhat more informal tone compared to the simple future. Nevertheless, in practice, Spanish speakers frequently interchange these tenses. Interestingly, the near future tends to be more commonly employed in everyday conversations.
- Perfect Future
The perfect future tense in Spanish is not as prevalent as other future tenses. Nonetheless, it’s essential to have a basic understanding of how this tense functions. The Spanish perfect future is a compound tense, requiring more than one verb for its construction.
This tense is employed to convey that an action will be concluded before a designated moment in the future. Examine the following examples:
El lunes habré terminado mi proyecto.
I will have finished my project by Monday.
Cuando llegues, ya habré preparado la cena.
When you arrive, I will have already prepared dinner.
As evident from my time references, ‘el lunes’ and ‘cuando llegues,’ it is implied that I completed my actions prior to those specific points in time.
What are the Conjugation Rules for the Future Tense in Spanish?
When conjugating a regular verb in the Spanish simple future tense, the process involves appending the future endings to the verb’s infinitive form. Conversely, irregular verbs are conjugated by applying the same future endings to an irregular stem.
Conjugating verbs in the simple future tense
Conjugating verbs in the Spanish future tense is likely the simplest, requiring the addition of specific endings to the verb. The following are the endings necessary to form the future tense in Spanish:
| Subject | Ending | English |
| Yo | -é | I will |
| Tú | -ás | You will |
| Él/Ella/Usted | -á | He/She/It will |
| Nosotros | -emos | We will |
| Vosotros | -éis | You will |
| Ustedes/Ellos | -án | You will |
Mañana iré al doctor.
I will go to the doctor tomorrow.
¡Vamos! Te divertirás muchísimo.
Let’s go! You will have a lot of fun.
En unos años, Collin será el mejor abogado.
In a few years, Collin will be the best lawyer.
There are eleven irregular verbs in the future tense of Spanish. These are stem-changing verbs, and to conjugate them, you only need to add the standard endings to the stem. It’s important to note that other verbs that incorporate these stems as suffixes will also exhibit irregular conjugations (e.g., deshacer, mantener, componer, etc.).
No sé qué haré mañana.
I don’t know what I will do tomorrow.
Celia saldrá temprano de la oficina.
Celia will leave the office early.
La oferta se mantendrá por tiempo limitado.
The offer will last for a limited time.
Kindly observe: Please be aware that when conjugating a reflexive verb in the Spanish future tense, it is essential to position the appropriate reflexive pronoun before the conjugated verb.
Me pondré este vestido en tu boda.
I will wear this dress on your wedding day.
Forming the near Future in Spanish
If you opt for utilizing the near future in Spanish, you must adhere to the formula provided below to construct this tense:
[‘Ir’ conjugated in present tense] + a + [infinitive verb] + [complement]
Lenny y Mike van a trabajar el sábado.
Lenny and Mike are going to work on Saturday.
Al rato, voy a ir a la tienda, ¿quieres algo?
I am going to go to the store, do you want something?
¿Qué vamos a comer en Navidad?
What are we going to eat for Christmas?
Kindly observe: Please be aware that if the infinitive verb you select happens to be reflexive, you may be unsure about handling the reflexive pronoun. In such instances, the pronoun can be affixed to the infinitive verb or positioned before the verb ‘ir.’
¿A qué hora te vas a bañar?
What time are you going to shower?
Creo que vas a bañarte con agua fría.
I think you are going to shower with cold water.
Conjugating the Future Perfect Tense in Spanish
As mentioned earlier, the future perfect tense is a compound construction. In straightforward terms, this implies the necessity of two verbs to shape this tense: an auxiliary verb (haber) and a Spanish past participle. Here’s how it’s done:
[‘Haber’ in future tense] + [verb in past participle]
El próximo año habré visitado 10 países.
I will have visited 10 countries by next year.
A las 8, habremos llegado a Perú.
We will have arrived in Peru by 8.
¿Ya habrán terminado de pintar su casa?
Do you think they will have finished painting their house?
Kindly observe: Please be aware that when dealing with the perfect future tense (or any compound tense), there is a singular method for conjugating reflexive verbs in Spanish. In this scenario, the reflexive pronoun must consistently precede the auxiliary verb (‘haber’).
Cuando llegues, yo ya me habré ido.
When you arrive, I will have left.
Future vs Conditional in Spanish
Given that the Spanish future tense serves to convey hypotheses and predictions, it is not uncommon for individuals to conflate it with the conditional tense. However, these tenses serve distinct purposes.
When using the Spanish future tense to articulate predictions or hypotheses, the reference is to events likely to occur in the future or actions that an individual might be engaged in at present.
In contrast, the conditional tense signifies that a prediction or hypothesis could materialize under specific conditions. While sentences in the future tense stand alone coherently, a conditional sentence involves two components: the condition to be fulfilled and the potential outcome.
- Sentence in the future tense
Con este tráfico, Sofía llegará tarde al trabajo.
With this traffic, Sofia will be late for work.
- Sentence in the conditional tense
Si el tráfico no mejora, Sofía llegará tarde.
If the traffic doesn’t improve, Sofia will be late.
Kindly observe: Please be mindful that the future and conditional tenses are further differentiated by their endings. It is important to recall that, despite their potential overlap in usage, these tenses possess distinct characteristics.
Important Aspects of the Future Tense in Spanish
As you’ve grasped, the future tense holds significant importance in Spanish communication, and we’ve delved into various aspects in this article. Here are key highlights about the future tense in Spanish:
- There are three types of future tenses: the simple future, the near (or immediate) future, and the perfect future.
- The simple future is employed to:
- Discuss actions and events scheduled for a specific future time.
- Express predictions and hypotheses about the future.
- Convey suppositions or predictions about a person’s present actions.
- Share the potential outcome of a conditional statement.
- The simple future is crafted by adding future endings to the infinitive verb.
- There are 11 stem-changing, irregular verbs in the Spanish future tense.
- The Spanish immediate future serves as a casual variant of the simple future, commonly used to discuss events occurring in the near future.
- The near future is constructed with the structure “ir” (in the present tense) + “a” + infinitive verb.
- The perfect future in Spanish expresses that an action will be finished before a certain point in the future.
- Spanish perfect future is formed with the structure “haber” (in the future tense) + past participle verb.
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