The Future Simple Tense in Spanish
Are you ready to make plans with Spanish-speaking people in a natural, easy-going way?
For a quick start, you can use the ir + a + infinitive construction to talk about the future, but eventually you’ll want to build your grammar knowledge to include the future simple tense (which is just one word).
In this blog post, you’ll see why this tense is so useful, how to form it, when to use it, and the time expressions that trigger it.
¡Hoy aprenderás mucho!
Today you’ll learn a lot!
Table of Contents:
- When To Use the Future Simple Tense in Spanish
- How To Form Regular Future Simple Tense in Spanish
- How To Form Irregular Future Simple Tense Forms
- Time Words and Triggers for Future Simple Tense
- Test Your Skills with This Multiple-Choice Quiz!
- Start Your Future of Fluent Spanish Today
When To Use the Future Simple Tense in Spanish
For the Future
As the name implies, the future simple tense in Spanish talks about the future.
Instead of using two words “will + infinitive,” in Spanish, you just need one word—a verb conjugated in future simple form.
Me casaré en septiembre.
I will get married in September.
Lloverá mañana.
It will rain tomorrow.
For the Present
You also use the future simple tense to talk about the probability of what somebody might be doing in the present.
Estará durmiendo ahora.
He is probably sleeping right now.
¿Serás tú quien ganará la competencia?
Will you be the one to win the competition?
For Predictions
You use it to express predictions about the future.
Cuando crezca, viviré en una casa grande.
When I grow up, I will live in a big house.
For Serious Commands
It is also used in formal contexts for solemn commands.
No matarás.
You shall not kill.
¡Te comerás todo!
You shall eat it all!
Let me put all the future simple tense uses in one place:
Future Simple Tense In Spanish: 4 Uses
- To talk about the future
- To express probability
- To express predictions about the future
- For solemn commands
How To Form Regular Future Simple Tense in Spanish
Forming the future SImple tense in Spanish is easy! All the three types of Spanish verbs (–ar, –er, and –ir) have the same endings.
Simply take the verb in its infinitive form—the one that you will find in a dictionary—and add the proper ending:
Endings for Future Simple Tense in Spanish
| Subject | Ending |
| yo (I) | -é |
| tú (you) | -ás |
| él, ella, usted (he, she, it, formal you) | -á |
| nosotros (we) | -emos |
| ustedes (plural you) | -án |
| ellos, ellas (they) | -án |
In the old Spanish, this tense was formed by using the auxiliary verb haber (to have) added to an infinitive. So for “I will fight,” you would hear Luchar he. (Literally, “fight I must.”) The voiceless h disappeared over the centuries and here we are, with the easy future simple tense endings.
Read an interesting story about the evolution of this tense in Spanish.
Example Spanish Sentences
Cocinaremos sopa.
We will cook soup.
Pintarán toda la escuela.
They will paint the whole school.
Tendrás problemas.
You’ll have trouble.
Viajaré en primera clase.
I’ll travel first class.
Comerá contigo.
He will eat with you.
How To Form Irregular Future Simple Tense Forms
The future simple tense is also easy to learn in its irregular forms. They all fall into three categories:
- Forms that drop the –e or -i from the infinitive ending and add –d.
- Forms that drop the –e or -i from the infinitive ending and add nothing.
- Verbs that do not follow any pattern for irregularities.
For verbs that drop the final vowel and add the letter –d before adding the future tense endings, here is the conjugation for the verb poner (to put).
Future Tense Conjugation for Poner
| Spanish | English |
| yo pondré | I will put |
| tú pondrás | you will put |
| él, ella, usted pondrá | he, she, it will put (formal you will put) |
| nosotros, nosotras pondremos | we will put |
| ustedes pondrán | you will put |
| ellos, ellas pondrán | they will put |
¿Qué pondremos aquí?
What will we put here?
Other verbs that behave the same way include
- salir – to leave
- venir – to come
- tener – to have
Only -er verbs drop the final infinitive vowel in the future tense and add nothing in its place. After doing this, simply add the future tense endings.
Let’s see the verb saber (to know).
Future Tense Conjugation for Saber
| Spanish | English |
| yo sabré | I will know |
| tú sabrás | you will know |
| él, ella, usted sabrá | he, she, it will know (formal you will know) |
| nosotros, nosotras sabremos | we will know |
| ustedes sabrán | you will know |
| ellos, ellas sabrá | they will know |
Él sabrá ayudarte.
He will know how to help you.
Other verbs like saber are
- poder – to be able to
- haber – to have
- querer – to want
The two verbs that don’t follow any pattern in the future tense and simply have an irregular stem are decir (to say) and hacer (to do).
Future Tense Conjugation for Decir
| Spanish | English |
| yo diré | I will say |
| tú dirás | you will say |
| él, ella, usted dirá | he, she, it, will say (formal you will say) |
| nosotros, nosotras diremos | we will say |
| ustedes dirán | you will say |
| ellos, ellas dirán | they will say |
No te diré nada.
I won’t tell you anything.
Future Tense Conjugation for Hacer
| Spanish | English |
| yo haré | I will do |
| tú harás | you will do |
| él, ella, usted hará | he, she, it, will do (formal you will do) |
| nosotros, nosotras haremos | we will do |
| ustedes harán | you will do |
| ellos, ellas harán | they will do |
¿Qué haremos mañana?
What will we do tomorrow?
Of course, other verbs that have decir or hacer in their root—such as predecir (to predict) and rehacer (to redo)—also have irregular future simple forms.
In case you’re wondering, ser (to be) is absolutely regular in the future tense in Spanish!
Un día seré doctor.
One day, I’ll be a doctor.
Time Words and Triggers for Future Simple Tense
Let’s see some useful time words that you may use with the future simple tense.
Future Time Words Chart
| English | Spanish |
| this coming Monday/month/year | el lunes/mes/año que viene |
| next Monday/month/year | el lunes/mes/año próximo |
| on Monday/Tuesday… | el lunes/martes… |
| the day after tomorrow | pasado mañana |
| then | después |
| this month/weekend/year | este mes/fin de semana/año |
| this night/week/afternoon | esta noche/semana/tarde |
| tomorrow | mañana |
| within a few years | dentro de unos años |
Example Sentences in Spanish
El mes próximo pagaremos las deudas.
Next month, we will pay the debts.
El martes vendrán tus tíos.
On Tuesday, your aunt and uncle will come.
Pasado mañana no habrá escuela.
The day after tomorrow there will be no school.
Este fin de semana nos iremos a las montañas.
This weekend, we’ll go to the mountains.
Mañana te llamaré.
Tomorrow, I’ll call you.
Hand-picked for you: 50+ Time Expressions in Spanish for Better Conversations
Test Your Skills with This Multiple-Choice Quiz!
Do you want to see if you learned how to use the future simple tense in Spanish? Choose the correct answer for each of the following questions.
1. Mañana Pedro no ________.
2. Yo no lo ________.
3. Mis padres ________ la semana que viene.
4. La ________ en esta olla, juntos.
5. ________ esto aquí.
6. Nunca lo ________ con certeza.
7. No te ________ la verdad.
8. Mi hermana ________ para ti.
9. Te ________ mañana, te lo prometo.
10. ¿Crees que ________ el fin de semana?
Start Your Future of Fluent Spanish Today
As you can see, the future simple tense in Spanish is truly simple! Now you know how to form and use it. The only thing left is to practice it in a conversation.
You might try talking about your future plans or predictions with your Spanish-speaking neighbors. Did you know that the U.S. is the second-largest Spanish-speaking country in the world? According to CNN, there are 41 million native Spanish speakers in the U.S. who speak Spanish in their homes.
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