El futuro simple (Future Tense)
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Do you sometimes worry about the future? Or maybe you like to talk about what will happen in a few years’ time? Get your psychic hat on! In this section, you will learn the future tense of verbs to discuss upcoming plans and events, make predictions, and talk about what is ahead.
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El futuro is used to talk about what will happen or what someone will do. It is similar to the English use of "will" plus a verb.
How do you form this tense? Good news! The simple future tense is fairly easy to form in Spanish. You just need to add the future endings to the infinitive form of the verb. That is correct! You add the endings to the infinitive! So unlike with other verb tenses, you do not need to drop the -ar, -er, and -ir endings, but rather, you attach the future conjugations to the full form.
More good news! All three groups of verbs (-ar, -er, -ir) use the same verb endings, which are as follows:
Singular subject | Singular ending | Plural subject | Plural ending | |
1ra persona | Yo | – é | Nosotras/os/es | – emos |
2da persona | Tú Vos Usted | – ás – ás – á | Ustedes Vosotras/os/es | – án – éis |
3ra persona | Ella/Él/Elle | – á | Ellas/Ellos/Elles | – án |
Don’t forget accent marks, except for the nosotras/os/es form! Here are some sample verbs:
Cuidar (to care for)
Singular subject | Singular ending | Plural subject | Plural ending | |
1ra persona | Yo | cuidar é | Nosotras/os/es | cuidar emos |
2da persona | Tú Vos Usted | cuidar ás cuidar ás cuidar á | Ustedes Vosotras/os/es | cuidar án cuidar éis |
3ra persona | Ella/Él/Elle | cuidar á | Ellas/Ellos/Elles | cuidar án |
Desaparecer (to disappear)
Singular subject | Singular ending | Plural subject | Plural ending | |
1ra persona | Yo | desaparecer é | Nosotras/os/es | desaparecer án |
2da persona | Tú Vos Usted | desparecer ás desaparecer ás desaparecer á | Ustedes Vosotras/os/es | desaparecer án desaparecer éis |
3ra persona | Ella/Él/Elle | desaparecer á | Ellas/Ellos/Elles | desaparecer án |
Reducir (to reduce)
Singular subject | Singular ending | Plural subject | Plural ending | |
1ra persona | Yo | reducir é | Nosotras/os/es | reducir emos |
2da persona | Tú Vos Usted | reducir ás reducir ás reducir á | Ustedes Vosotras/os/es | reducir án reducir éis |
3ra persona | Ella/Él/Elle | reducir á | Ellas/Ellos/Elles | reducir án |
Just a bit of bad news: there are some irregular verbs in the future tense. However, it is only the stem that is irregular, the endings stay the same. Here is a list of the most common ones:
- tener → tendr-
- to have
- salir → saldr-
- to go out
- venir → vendr-
- to come
- poner → pondr-
- to put
- saber → sabr-
- to know
- poder → podr-
- to be able to
- decir → dir-
- to say
- hacer → har-
- to do/make
- querer → querr-
- to want
Here is an example of an irregular verb conjugation in the future:
Tener (to have)
Singular subject | Singular ending | Plural subject | Plural ending | |
1ra persona | Yo | tendré | Nosotras/os/es | tendremos |
2da persona | Tú Vos Usted | tendrás tendrás tendrá | Ustedes Vosotras/os/es | tendrán tendréis |
3ra persona | Ella/Él/Elle | tendrá | Ellas/Ellos/Elles | tendrán |
Note: Don't forget that the verb haber only has one form in each tense, in the future it is habrá. For example:
- Habrá una tormenta mañana. ⛈️
- There will be a storm tomorrow.
When do we use the future tense? Here are some instances:
- To talk about future actions or events:
- Mañana veré un documental sobre biodiversidad. 📽️🐝
- Tomorrow I will watch a documentary on biodiversity.
- To make predictions:
- El año próximo habrá más sequías e incendios. 🔥🌵
- Next year there will be more droughts and fires.
- To express probability in the present:
- ¿Dónde está el oso durante el invierno? Estará hibernando en su cueva. 🐻⛰️
- Where is the bear during the winter? The bear is probably hibernating in its cave.
Note: Remember the structure ir + a + infinitivo? It is also used to describe future actions and events, just like the future tense you have just learned. What is the difference, then? Ir + a + infinitivo is used very commonly, especially in spoken language, while the future tense per se is less common and sounds more formal.
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