Indicative · Future

Future Tense

Futuro Simple

When to Use the Future Tense

The future tense in Spanish is used to describe actions that will happen in the future, make predictions, express probability or conjecture about the present, and talk about intentions or plans. It's also commonly used to express determination or promises. While Spanish speakers often use "ir a + infinitive" for immediate future plans in casual conversation, the simple future tense is essential for formal contexts and predictions.

Regular Verb Conjugations

Great news! The future tense is one of the easiest tenses to conjugate. Unlike other tenses, you don't remove the infinitive ending, you add the future endings directly to the complete infinitive form. All three verb types (-AR, -ER, -IR) share the same endings!

Future Tense Endings

PronounAll Verbs (-AR, -ER, -IR)
Yo
-ás
Él/Ella/Usted
Nosotros/Nosotras-emos
Vosotros/Vosotras-éis
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes-án

-AR Verbs: Hablar (to speak)

PronounConjugation
Yohablaré
hablarás
Él/Ella/Ustedhablará
Nosotros/Nosotrashablaremos
Vosotros/Vosotrashablaréis
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedeshablarán

-ER Verbs: Comer (to eat)

PronounConjugation
Yocomeré
comerás
Él/Ella/Ustedcomerá
Nosotros/Nosotrascomeremos
Vosotros/Vosotrascomeréis
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedescomerán

-IR Verbs: Vivir (to live)

PronounConjugation
Yoviviré
vivirás
Él/Ella/Ustedvivirá
Nosotros/Nosotrasviviremos
Vosotros/Vosotrasviviréis
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedesvivirán

Examples

  • Yo hablaré con mi jefe mañana. - I will speak with my boss tomorrow.
  • Tú comerás en ese restaurante. - You will eat at that restaurant.
  • Ella vivirá en España el próximo año. - She will live in Spain next year.
  • Nosotros hablaremos tres idiomas. - We will speak three languages.
  • Vosotros comeréis paella en Valencia. - You all will eat paella in Valencia.
  • Ellos vivirán juntos después de la boda. - They will live together after the wedding.

History of the Future Tense

Here's a fascinating linguistic secret that will help you understand and remember the future tense: it originally comes from the verb haber (to have). That's right, the future tense endings directly correspond to the present tense conjugations of haber!

The Evolution

In old Spanish, people expressed the future using "haber de + infinitive," meaning "to have to." Over time, this construction evolved:

1

He de comer

"I have to eat" (original form)

2

De comer he

(word order flipped)

3

Comer he

(preposition dropped)

4

Comeré

"I will eat" (modern form)

See the Connection?

Haber (Present)Future EndingExample
he-écomeré
has-áscomerás
ha-ácomerá
hemos-emoscomeremos
habéis-éiscomeréis
han-áncomerán

Smart Learning Tip: The future tense means "I have to eat," because if you HAVE the obligation, you WILL do it. Now you understand why! Learn the present conjugation of haber and the future tense endings together; they're the same topic in disguise. You don't have to learn them twice!

Irregular Verbs in Future Tense

Important: There are only 12 irregular verbs in the future tense! Even better, they only change the stem, the endings remain the same (-é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án). These irregular stems fall into just two categories: stems that become shorter, or stems where a vowel is replaced with "d."

1. Shortened Stems (Drop Letters)

These verbs drop letters from the infinitive to create a shorter stem:

Querer (to want/love) → querr-

Yoquerré
querrás
Él/Ella/Ustedquerrá
Nosotrosquerremos
Vosotrosquerréis
Ellos/Ustedesquerrán

Hacer (to do/make) → har-

Yoharé
harás
Él/Ella/Ustedhará
Nosotrosharemos
Vosotrosharéis
Ellos/Ustedesharán

Decir (to say/tell) → dir-

Yodiré
dirás
Él/Ella/Usteddirá
Nosotrosdiremos
Vosotrosdiréis
Ellos/Ustedesdirán

Saber (to know) → sabr-

Yosabré
sabrás
Él/Ella/Ustedsabrá
Nosotrossabremos
Vosotrossabréis
Ellos/Ustedessabrán

Haber (to have - auxiliary) → habr-

Yohabré
habrás
Él/Ella/Ustedhabrá
Nosotroshabremos
Vosotroshabréis
Ellos/Ustedeshabrán

Poder (can/to be able) → podr-

Yopodré
podrás
Él/Ella/Ustedpodrá
Nosotrospodremos
Vosotrospodréis
Ellos/Ustedespodrán

Caber (to fit) → cabr-

Yocabré
cabrás
Él/Ella/Ustedcabrá
Nosotroscabremos
Vosotroscabréis
Ellos/Ustedescabrán

2. "D" Stems (Vowel Replaced with "d")

These verbs replace the vowel in the infinitive ending with the letter "d":

Tener (to have) → tendr-

Yotendré
tendrás
Él/Ella/Ustedtendrá
Nosotrostendremos
Vosotrostendréis
Ellos/Ustedestendrán

Poner (to put) → pondr-

Yopondré
pondrás
Él/Ella/Ustedpondrá
Nosotrospondremos
Vosotrospondréis
Ellos/Ustedespondrán

Venir (to come) → vendr-

Yovendré
vendrás
Él/Ella/Ustedvendrá
Nosotrosvendremos
Vosotrosvendréis
Ellos/Ustedesvendrán

Salir (to leave/go out) → saldr-

Yosaldré
saldrás
Él/Ella/Ustedsaldrá
Nosotrossaldremos
Vosotrossaldréis
Ellos/Ustedessaldrán

Valer (to be worth) → valdr-

Yovaldré
valdrás
Él/Ella/Ustedvaldrá
Nosotrosvaldremos
Vosotrosvaldréis
Ellos/Ustedesvaldrán

Ready to Practice with a Real Tutor?

Learning alone is hard. We'll help you find a tutor who makes it easy. You've got the motivation; we've got the tutors. Let's make it happen.