Spanish Future Tenses: 3 Ways to Talk About the Future

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The Simple Future (El futuro simple)

The simple future, also known as the future tense, has two primary uses:

1. Talking about future plans or actions without indicating a specific time for them. For example, "Pronto me compraré un coche nuevo" (I will buy a new car soon.)
2. Making an assumption or prediction about the future. For example, "Una vez que tu hijo esté en la escuela, tendrás más tiempo"(Once your child is in school, you will have more time.)

Conjugations for the Future Simple Tense in Spanish - Regular Verbs

To form the future tense in Spanish, you need to add the corresponding endings to the infinitive form of the verb.

In Spanish, verbs tend to end in -ar, -er, or -ir in their infinitive forms.

Luckily for learners, the future endings are the same for all three verb endings!

Here are some examples of regular verbs conjugated in the future simple tense.

The three verbs are HABLAR (speak), COMER (eat), VIVIR (live).

Pronoun	Ending	Conjugations
Yo	-é	Hablaré
Tú	ás	Hablarás
Él/Ella	á	Hablará
Nosotros/Nosotras	-emos	Hablaremos
Vosotros/Vosotras	-éis	Hablaréis
Ellos/Ellas	án	Hablarán
Yo	-é	Comeré
Tú	ás	Comerás
Él/Ella	á	Comerá
Nosotros/Nosotras	-emos	Comeremos
Vosotros/Vosotras	-éis	Comeréis
Ellos/Ellas	án	Comerán
Yo	-é	Viviré
Tú	ás	Vivirás
Él/Ella	á	Vivirá
Nosotros/Nosotras	-emos	Viviremos
Vosotros/Vosotras	-éis	Viviréis
Ellos/Ellas	án	Vivirán

Conjugations for the Future Simple Tense in Spanish - Irregular Verbs

Just like with English grammar, some Spanish verbs are irregular and they do not follow the “normal” conjugation patterns.

These are the ones that could give you a bit of a headache, since you will be forced to remember the different forms they can adopt.

To help you out, here are the six most common irregular verbs in the future simple tense and their conjugations:

Pronoun	Ser (be)	Tener (have)	Ir (go)	Decir (say)	Poner (put)	Saber (know)
Yo	Seré	Tendré	Iré	Diré	Pondré	Sabré
Tú	Serás	Tendrás	Irás	Dirás	Pondrás	Sabrás
Él/Ella	Será	Tendrá	Irá	Dirá	Pondrá	Sabrá
Nosotros/Nosotras	Seremos	Tendremos	Iremos	Diremos	Pondremos	Sabremos
Vosotros/Vosotras	Seréis	Tendréis	Iréis	Diréis	Pondréis	Sabréis
Ellos/Ellas	Serán	Tendrán	Irán	Dirán	Pondrán	Sabrán

Going to + an infinitive verb (Ir a…)

The second structure in our Spanish future tenses guide is the Spanish equivalent to “going to” sentences, as in “I’m going to remember this rule no matter what!”.

This structure is used to express:

1. Decisions or intentions: ”Voy a salir adelante.” (I am going to get over this.)
2. Future plans: “Ella va a estudiar medicina.” (She is going to study medicine.)
3. Strong predictions: “Mira esas nubes negras.” Va a llover. (Look at these black clouds. It is going to rain tomorrow.)

How is ‘Going to’ formed in Spanish?

Now that you know when to use ‘going to’ in Spanish, you need to learn how to form it.

As we said before, the ‘going to’ form in Spanish is always "ir a" followed by an infinitive verb. Just like in English, the conjugated part is "ir" (go), so it's important to learn its conjugations.

Here's a table with the present tense conjugations of "ir". Notice how we can omit the pronoun when at the beginning of sentences.

Pronoun	Conjugation	Example
Yo	voy	Voy a estudiar (I’m going to study)
Tú	vas	¿Vas a venir? (Are you going to come?)
Él/Ella	va	Va a correr (He’s going to run)
Nosotros	vamos	Vamos a salir (We are going to go out)
Vosotros	vais	Vais a ver (You’re going to see)
Ellos	van	Van a saber pronto. (They’re going to know soon)

The Future Perfect (El Futuro Compuesto)

Are you ready to learn more Spanish future tenses?

The Future Perfect tense, also known as Futuro Compuesto or Futuro Perfecto in Spanish, has two main uses:

1. Talking about actions expected to be finished at a particular point in the future. “For example: Para las 10 de la noche, habré terminado mi tarea.” (By 10pm, I will have finished my homework.)
2. To express a guess about something that could have happened. For example: “Martín no vino a la reunión, se habrá quedado dormido.” (Martin didn’t come to the meeting, (literally) he will have overslept).

The Future Perfect tense is formed by combining the auxiliary verb "haber" in the future tense with the past participle of the main verb. It is called "compound" because it has two parts.

Once again, it is the first element, "haber" is the one that needs to be conjugated, and the past participle remains the same for all subjects.

Here is a table with the conjugation of "haber" in the Future Perfect tense:

Pronoun	Haber
Yo	Habré
Tú	Habrás
Él/Ella/Usted	Habrá
Nosotros/Nosotras	Habremos
Vosotros/Vosotras	Habréis
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes	Habrán

Once you’ve mastered these conjugations, you will be able to speculate not only about your future but also about other people’s affairs!

How to Master Spanish Future Tenses

In conclusion, the Spanish future tenses are very versatile and can be used to express different ideas in a variety of contexts. When speaking about something that will happen at some point in the future, we use either the Future Simple or “Going To” structures. On the other hand, when talking about an event expected to take place before another moment in time (or predicting what could have happened), we should opt for the Future Perfect tense.

But, how will I remember the conjugations for all Spanish future tenses? Don’t worry: the rules will become easier with practice!

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As always, remember that learning any language requires dedication and repetition - not only mastering grammar but also practising your listening skills by watching films or TV shows dubbed in Spanish as well as having conversations with native speakers whenever possible!

But, of course, the best way to master Spanish future tenses and learn how to use them in context is through genuine interaction with native Spanish speakers. At Listen & Learn, we work with native instructors who can help you reach your Spanish language goals. So if you feel like it’s time to take your Spanish to the next level, why not sign up for a Spanish online course with us? You won’t regret it!

Good luck and see you in class! ¡Hasta pronto! (See you soon!)