Topic:
Learn when to use the future tense, and how to form it for regular verbs.
There are actually three ways to talk about future actions in Spanish.
Let's consider how to express the following sentence:
I will visit my sister on Tuesday.
Method 1) Use the Present Tense
Visito a mi hermana el martes.
Although the literal English translation I visit my sister Tuesday sounds a bit odd, the Spanish version is very typical.
It is common to extend the present tense to talk about actions that occur in the relatively near future.
Method 2) Use ir + a + infinitive
Voy a visitar a mi hermana el martes.
In English, this is I am going to visit my sister on Tuesday.
This usage is actually more common than the future tense itself in Spanish.
Just remember to follow the conjugated form of ir with the preposition a and the infinitive form of the action itself.
Method 3) Use the Future Tense
Visitaré a mi hermana el martes.
This is the simple future tense which we will be learning in this lesson.
Here, the verb form visitaré
means exactly I will visit.
Forming the Future Tense
So far, we have been forming verb conjugations by removing the ending from the infinitive verb, and then adding endings to the verb stem.
Well, the future tense is even easier...
Here, we attach the endings directly to the infinitive and there is only one set of endings for all future tense verbs.
Let's see the verb visitar which we used above.
Preterite conjugation of visitar (to visit)
An example: Mis hijos me visitarán mañana.
means My children will visit me tomorrow.
The Endings and the Stress are Consistent
The endings in the future tense never vary.
In addition, note that the stress of the conjugated word always falls on the ending. In five of the forms, this means that an accent mark is required.
In the 1st person plural form, no accent mark is needed because the "e" in -emos carries the normal next-to-last syllable stress.
Consistency means Simplicity
It doesn't matter whether the verb is -ar, -er, or -ir. They're all the same. Just take the entire infinitive and add the future tense endings.
Here is the verb abrir which means to open. So we are forming verbs that say I will open, she will open, they will open, etc.
Preterite conjugation of abrir
The most common use of the future tense is the obvious one. We use it to talk about actions that will happen in the future.
But there is another common usage in Spanish that isn't so intuitive.
Using the Future Tense for Probability and Possibility
The future tense is also used to make conjectures about what might be or probably is true. For example:
Tom estará en la biblioteca.
Tom must be at the library.
Used in this sentence, this means that Tom is probably at the library (not that he is required to be there).
How about this one, a possible answer to the question Who's at the door?:
Será mi madre.
It's probably my mother.
I think you'll find this tense a breath of fresh air compared to what came before!
Let's find out in the exercises.
Additional Study Resources
Videos:
Websites:
Books:
On to the Exercises and the Quiz
To practice the verb forms in this lesson, click Practice Exercises below.
Whenever you want, you can take the quiz for this lesson.
Practice Exercises
Take the Quiz
Previous Lesson
