All About the Future Perfect Tense in Spanish

Why do you need to learn the future perfect tense in Spanish if you already know the simple future?

You certainly also know the ir a + infinitivo construction to talk about the future, so the question is valid. However, if you want to speak about the future like a native speaker, you must absolutely learn the future perfect.

Why? Keep reading. 

First of all, let’s be ambitious. You don’t want to stay at the lower intermediate level forever, do you? Challenge yourself and raise the bar every day, you won’t regret it. 

Second, the future perfect in Spanish is not rocket science. The rules are pretty straightforward and extremely similar to English. There are few irregularities you will have to learn, and I’m sure you know them by now because you’ve used them in other tenses.

Last but not least, this future tense can be also used to talk about the past! You learn one, and get two! And all this for free!

Curious? Let’s start. I’ll teach you how to use future perfect Spanish, how to form it, and how to use it to talk about the past. And you’ll also get an opportunity to practice it!

The Future Perfect in Spanish—and Why it’s Perfect

Take a quick look at the sentence below in future perfect Spanish::

Para el 2030 habré aprendido muy bien el español. 
By 2030, I will have learned Spanish very well.

What does this sentence mean? It means that before 2030, you will be already at a very advanced level of Spanish, right? 

Future perfect spanish is easy to learn. You’ll grasp the main idea quickly as it is almost identical to the English use.

In Spanish, we call the future perfect el futuro perfecto or antefuturo. Both these names reveal its meaning and use. 

Antefuturo translates to “before the future” because future perfect Spanish talks about an action that will happen before a certain point in the future. 

It’s also futuro perfecto, not because a perfect utopian future exists, but because it will be “done” and “completed” before a certain future point. 

“Perfectum” in Latin meant “completed” and we use it in modern languages to name grammar tenses that talk about actions that are done, in contrast to imperfect tenses that indicate incomplete actions or states.

So, future perfect Spanish describes future actions that you’re almost completely certain will happen before a given point in the future. Of course, it’s the future and you can never be 100% sure, but you are almost entirely sure. Like saying, Para el 2030 habré aprendido muy bien el español. I mean, if you don’t lose motivation and keep the same enthusiasm and studying rhythm, you will surely get there.

How to Form the Future Perfect in Spanish

Future perfect Spanish is easy to form. There is a bit more to learn than in English, as you have to remember different endings for different grammatical subjects, but it’s pretty straightforward and has far fewer irregular forms. This is the formula:

Simple future of haber + past participle

Para el 2030 habré aprendido muy bien el español. 
By 2030, I will have learned Spanish very well.

Let’s break it into smaller bits to make it even simpler:

Future Simple Haber 

Haber in the simple future tense is the “will have” part in the English translation as in the sentence above “I will have learned.”

Future SImple – Haber Conjugation Table

Notice there’s no accent in the nosotros form, habremos. All the other forms do have it.

Past Participle 

The second form of the verb that you need for future perfect Spanish is the past participle. 

Habré aprendido.
I will have learned.

Past participles in English usually end in -ed (learned) or have irregular forms (been, taught, broken, etc). They combine with other verbs to form passive or perfect verb forms. 

In Spanish, we use them in the same way but there are two endings in the regular forms: -ado for -ar verbs and -ido for -er and -ir conjugations. All you need to do is to remove the infinitive ending -ar, -er, or -ir and change it to the past participle endings -ado and -ido:

amar – amado
to love – loved

tener – tenido
to have – had

vivir – vivido
to live – lived

Irregular participles exist but not as many as in English. Let’s have a look at some of them:

poner – puesto
to put – put

abrir – abierto
to open – opened

romper – roto
to break – broken

decir – dicho
to say – said

hacer – hecho
to do, make – done, made

To learn more about past participles in Spanish, check out: 

• How to Form and Use Past Participles in Spanish 
• 20 Most Common Irregular Past Participles in Spanish

Examples

Now that you know how to form and use future perfect Spanish, let’s look at example sentences. See how all the actions in future perfect Spanish will happen before another future event or a future specific moment.

Ya habré terminado mi comida cuando llegues a mi casa.
I will have finished my meal when you come to my home.

Antes del fin de semana, habré empezado a estudiar.
Before the weekend, I will have started studying.

Para el año 2030 ya habré viajado a África, Europa y Asia.
By 2030, I will have traveled to Africa, Europe, and Asia.

¡Este marzo ya habremos vivido aquí diez años!
This March, we will have already lived here for ten years.

Future Perfect Spanish for Likelihood and Supposition

You can also use the future perfect Spanish to talk about likelihood or supposition, discussing something that may, might, or must have happened in the past. Using the same construction, instead of the future, you are talking about the past. Don’t worry, it’s obvious from the context if you’re speculating about past events or talking about future actions.

For example:

Habrás visto el anuncio. Está en todas partes.
You must have seen the ad. It’s everywhere.

No sé qué le habrá pasado a mi computadora. 
I don’t know what could have happened to my computer.

Se le habrá acabado la batería, supongo.
Perhaps the battery has run out.

Summary and Future Perfect Spanish Exercises

Remember, future perfect Spanish is used the same way as in English in most cases. You form it by joining the future conjugated form of haber with a past participle form. You can also use it to make speculations about the past.

Now, try yourself out and fill in the following sentences with future perfect forms of the verbs in brackets:

1. Cuando llegues a casa, yo ya _________________ algo rico para ti. (preparar)
2. En 10 años, esta casa _________________ en la ruína. (caer)
3. Te prometo que antes de que termine el curso yo ya lo _________________ todo. (memorizar)
4. Después de que _________________ este libro, verás que no es tan bueno como parece.  (leer)
5. ¿Pedro, _________________ la carte antes de mañaña? (terminar)
6. La temporada de huracanes _________________ antes de que llegue el otoño. (acabar)
7. _________________ en la respuesta antes de que termine la semana. (yo,pensar)
8. ¿Qué tan lejos _________________ antes de las 5 pm? (nosotros, llegar)
9. La ventana de la casa está abierta. ¿Quién la _________________ abierta? (dejar)
10. ¿Ana, _________________ la pared antes de la lluvia? (pintar)

Click here for the translation of the questions and the answer key.

Practice Time

Well done! You just learned future perfect Spanish, another tense for your grammar collection. Now you have to practice to take your skills to the next level. Try it to talk about future actions that will happen before another future event—and to speculate about the past. You can also read Quick Lessons on Future Tense endings for the Fast Learner to expand your knowledge. 

If you want to easily master your future perfect Spanish, sign up for a free class with one of our professional native teachers from Guatemala. ¿Lo habrás hecho antes de que termine el día? (Will you have done it before the day is over?)

Ready to learn more Spanish grammar? Check these out!

• All About Adverbial Clauses in Spanish
• The Ultimate Guide to the Differences Between ‘Pero’ and ‘Sino’ in Spanish
• A Guide to Double Negatives in Spanish
• Ver Conjugation: Free Spanish Lesson, Exercises, and PDF
• Common Irregular Informal Commands in Spanish
• Dialect vs Accent: Is It a Language, Dialect, or Accent?
• How to Use the Past Participle as an Adjective in Spanish
• Punctuation Marks, Special Characters, and Other Symbols in Spanish

Answer Key

1. Habré preparado
2. Habrá caído
3. Habré memorizado
4. Habrás leído
5. Habrás terminado
6. Habrá acabado
7. Habré pensado
8. Habremos llegado
9. Habrá dejado
10. Habrás pintado

Translations

1. When you get home, I will have already prepared something delicious for you.
2. In ten years, this house will have fallen into ruin.
3. I promise you that before the end of the course, I will have memorized everything.
4. After you have read this book, you will see that it is not as good as it looks.
5. Pedro, will you have finished the letter before tomorrow?
6. Hurricane season will be over before fall arrives.
7. I will have thought about the answer before the end of this week.
8. How far will we have gotten before 5 pm?
9. The window of the house is open. Who might have left it open?
10. Ana, will you have painted the wall before the rain?

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Olga Put

Freelance Writer at Homeschool Spanish Academy

I'm a Spanish philologist, teacher, and freelance writer with a Master's degree in Humanities from Madrid. I speak Polish, Spanish, and English fluently, and want to get better in Portuguese and German. A lover of literature, and Mexican spicy cuisine, I've lived in Poland, Spain, and Mexico and I'm currently living and teaching in Madeira, Portugal.

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