The future tense of a verb is used to tell about future events, such as (weather) predictions and promises:
Mañana lloverá a cántaros, lleva un paraguas contigo.
It will be raining cats and dogs tomorrow, take an umbrella with you.
| The future tense is formed by adding an ending to the base form of the verb: | |
|---|---|
| base form + | -Ă© |
| -ás | |
| -á | |
| -emos | |
| -Ă©is | |
| -án | |
The ending is added to the end of the base form without removing anything. Note that except for the 1st person plural, all endings have an accent mark. The endings are the same for verbs ending in -ar, -er and -ir.
Hablaré con el profesor después de la clase.
I will talk to the professor after class.
¿Comerás pizza para la cena esta noche?
Will you eat pizza for dinner tonight?
Some verbs have an irregular stem in the future tense, but the endings are the same.
| e is dropped from the stem | e or i is dropped, replaced with d | irregular stem |
|---|---|---|
| poder → podr | poner → pondr- | decir → dir- |
| querer → querr- | salir → saldr- | hacer → har- |
| saber → sabr- | tener → tendr- | |
| haber → habr- | valer → valdr- | |
| caber → cabr- | venir → vendr- |
Podrá acabar el trabajo a tiempo.
He will be able to finish the job on time.
Yo sabré si no vas a la clase.
I’ll know, if you don’t go to class.
Vendremos al concierto juntos.
We will come to the concert together.
En el futuro tendréis un perro.
In the future, you will have a dog.
¿Diréis algo en la reunión?
Will you say something at the meeting?
The future tense conjugation of the be-verbs ser and estar is regular.
¿Quién será el próximo presidente?
Who will be the next president?
Estaremos en casa toda la semana.
We will be at home all week.
The future tense is also used in the sense of “is probably/may be”.
¿Dónde estará Miguel?
Where might Miguel be?
Future clauses often have a subordinate clause beginning with si (if), which expresses a condition. These conditional clauses do not use the future tense, but instead use the present tense. The verb in the main clause is in the future tense.
Si me llamas, te ayudaré.
If you call me, I will help you.
Iremos a la playa si hace buen tiempo.
We will go to the beach if the weather is good.
In indirect questions starting with the conjunction si (if), the future tense is possible:
No sé si llegarán a tiempo para la reunión.
I don’t know if they will arrive in time for the meeting.
Me preguntaron si valdrá la pena.
I was asked if it will be worth it.
The Near Future
In spoken language, the near future expression ir a + main verb is often used. The verb ir is conjugated in present tense according to the subject. This structure is often translated with the be going to structure in English.
| Voy a comer. | I am going to eat. |
| Vas a comer. | You (informal, singular) are going to eat. |
| Va a comer. | She/He is going to eat. / You (formal, singular) are going to eat. |
| Vamos a comer. | We are going to eat. |
| Vais a comer. | You (informal, plural) are going to eat. |
| Van a comer. | They are going to eat. / You (formal, plural) are going to eat. |
Voy a estudiar mucho este fin de semana para el examen del lunes.
I am going to study hard this weekend for the exam on Monday.
Vamos a dormir tarde mañana.
We are going to sleep late tomorrow.