The future tense in Spanish – with audio!

We will study the future tense today!

¡Estudiaremos el futuro hoy!

Yes, that’s right, for this class, we will be leaping into the future. So, leave this world behind and join us as we learn how to express sentences like these:

•  I will go
  Iré

• You will learn
  Aprenderás

• They will eat
  Comerán

• When will you learn Spanish?
  ¿Cuándo aprenderás español?

You’ve probably already noticed that all these sentences in English contain the word “will” before the verb. And that’s what makes the Spanish future tense simple, it almost always follows this sentence structure: “will” + verb.

Yeah, we know you saw that one coming. “Spanish future sentences almost always follow this sentence structure.”一 So, that means there is an exception to learn. 

While exceptions to rules normally give us a bit of a headache, this one is actually pretty cool. We think you’ll have fun learning it. 

The exception comes when you want to mention a solemn command. 

What do we mean by that?

Here is an example:

• Thou shall not kill
  No matarás

But perhaps you’re wondering: when on earth will I ever say something like this? Good question. More about that later.

In this article we’ll cover:

• The future tense in Spanish
• The simple future tense
• When to use the simple future tense
  • Talking about future actions
  • Making predictions
  • Expressing intentions
  • Making promises about the future
  • Making assumptions about the future
  • Expressing solemn commands
• Conjugations in the simple future tense
  • Regular verbs 
  • Irregular verbs
• Practice time
• Final words

The future tense in Spanish

There are two ways to talk about the future in Spanish. They are:

• The near future tense
• The simple future tense

Ok, but when do we use these different types of future tense?

The near future tense is used for sentences like this:

• I’m going to study Spanish tomorrow
  Yo voy a estudiar español mañana

On the other hand, the simple future tense is used for sentences like this:

• I will study Spanish
  Yo estudiaré español

In this guide, we’re going to focus on the simple future tense. But make sure you also visit our article about the near future tense.

Related articles: 

Complete Spanish Grammar
Near future tense in Spanish

We’ve arranged this article to cover the most common uses of the simple future tense first, and then get into progressively less common (but often more interesting) uses. So, you can choose how deep you want to go. 

Whether you just want a quick introduction or the whole enchilada, you’ll find what you need here.

Let’s get into it!

The simple future tense

Basically, the simple future tense in Spanish is used to talk about actions that will happen in the future. The timeframe it refers to could be something soon or years away. 

The simple future tense is also used to talk about possibilities and a particular kind of very strong command.

We’ll cover the most common uses first, then get into the less common uses later.

When to use the simple future tense

There are several different cases where we use the simple future tense in Spanish. 

Most of them are pretty obvious, and one of them is rather surprising.

Here they are:

1. Talking about future actions
2. Making predictions
3. Expressing intentions
4. Making promises about the future
5. Making assumptions about the future
6. Expressing solemn commands

This may seem like a long list, but by breaking it down into the different uses, it actually makes it easier and faster to learn.

And again, you can choose how deep you want to go. Once you have got as much as you want, you can skip the rest and go to the conjugations section.

Most Spanish courses just lump all these uses together, which can be a bit confusing and overwhelming. Confusion and overwhelm slow down learning.

So, we’ve broken it down into clear, easy chunks, so that you won’t get confused along the way and can learn it faster.

So, here are all the uses of the near future tense… 

Talking about future actions

This is the most common and obvious usage of the near future in Spanish.

Examples: 

• I will study Spanish in two months
  Estudiaré español en dos meses

• I will move to Ecuador in six months
  Me mudaré a Ecuador en seis meses

• I will go to Juan’s wedding next week
  Iré al matrimonio de Juan la próxima semana

Making predictions

You can use the simple future tense to make predictions.

Examples: 

• Soon I will have a lot of money
  Pronto tendré mucho dinero 

• I will meet the man of my dreams
  Encontraré el hombre de mi sueños 

Expressing intentions

You can also use the simple future to express intentions and plans.

Examples: 

• I will wake up very early tomorrow
  Mañana despertaré muy temprano 

• I will save money for traveling next summer
  Ahorraré dinero para viajar el próximo verano 

• We will go on a diet next month
  Haremos dieta el otro mes

Making promises about the future

Just the same as in English, the simple future tense in Spanish is used to make promises about the future.

Examples: 

• I promise that I will not go to Juan’s house
  Te juro que no iré a la casa de Juan

• Do you promise that you will not call your ex?
  ¿Me juras que no llamarás a tu ex?

• I assure you that I will come back early
  Te aseguro que regresaré temprano

• I promise I will not get up late next week
  Te prometo que no me levantaré tarde la otra semana

Making assumptions

The simple future tense is also used to express assumptions about things that will happen in the future.

Examples:

• My parents will be hungry tonight
  Mis padres tendrán hambre en la noche 

• I suppose they will arrive early to the class
  Imagino que llegarán temprano a la clase

It can even be used to express assumptions about things that are happening in the present!

• Maria must be alone and bored at home now
  Maria estará sola y aburrida en la casa ahora

• I have to go home now. My brother must be worried.
  Tengo que regresar a casa ahora. Mi hermano estará muy preocupado.

The simple present tense can also be used to wonder about things in the present. An example will make this clearer:

• Where could my cell phone be?
  ¿Dónde estará mi celular?

It’s kinda more like “Where will I find my phone?” If you think of it like that, it makes sense that you would use the future tense to express it.

Expressing solemn commands

The future simple tense is also used to express “solemn commands”, like “Thou shalt not kill”.

Yea, OK. The Ten Commandments don’t come up that often in casual conversations. But if someone uses this form to tell you what not to do, they’re dead serious. It’s the strongest negative command you can make in Spanish. 

For example, if you’re loved one says to you

• Don’t go to the party without me!
  ¡No irás a la fiesta sin mi!

…and you do go to the party alone anyway, you’ll probably find yourself single by the time you get home.

Examples: 

• Thou shalt not kill
  No matarás

• You shall obey to the teachers in the school
  Tú obedecerás a los maestros en la escuela

• You shall sit and wait for me for ten minutes
  Tú te sentarás y me esperarás por diez minutos

Note: The simple present tense (present indicative) is sometimes used to talk about future events as well. This can happen when the future event is certain.

Examples:

• Tomorrow we will go to the doctor’s appointment together
  Mañana vamos a la cita médica juntos

• They will travel to Spain next week
  Ellos viajan a España la próxima semana

OK. Now you have all the uses of the simple future tense.

Let’s move on to the conjugations…

Conjugations in the Simple future tense

As you’ve seen in the examples, in English, we use the auxiliary verb “will” for talking about the future. But in Spanish, there’s no equivalent of this auxiliary verb, so we have to use verb conjugations instead.

Note: If the idea of “conjugation” is new to you, check out this article for a simple introduction: Spanish Conjugation Charts

So, we’re going to get into how to conjugate verbs in the simple future tense… And yes, the simple future has regular and irregular verbs.

Regular verbs in the simple future tense

To conjugate regular verbs in the simple future tense, you keep the infinitive of the verb and add the future simple ending.

There is one set of conjugations for verbs that end in -ar and a second set of conjugations for verbs that end in -er and -ir.

Here’s the conjugation chart for regular verbs in the simple future tense:

Subject pronouns	Ar	Er/Ir	Er/Ir
	Viajar	Comer	Vivir
Yo	Viajaré	Comeré	Viviré
Tú	Viajarás	Comerás	Vivirás
Él-Ella-Usted	Viajará	Comerá	Vivirá
Ustedes-Ellos/Ellas	Viajarán	Comerán	Vivirán
Nosotros/Nosotras	Viajaremos	Comeremos	Viviremos

Examples:

• You will wait for me tomorrow for the medical appointment
  Me esperarás mañana para la cita médica

• I will be happy on my next vacation, I will go to Greece
  Seré feliz en mis próximas vacaciones, iré a Grecia

• In tomorrow’s show, I will not play the guitar, I will play the violin
  En el show de mañana, no tocaré la guitarra, tocaré el violín

• Where could my boyfriend be?, I’m worried, he doesn’t answer his cell phone
  ¿Dónde estará mi novio? Estoy preocupada, no contesta el celular

So, the simple future conjugation is really simple… but it takes practice to master it.

Take a pen and a piece of paper and write down the simple future conjugations of these regular verbs. Remember, keep the infinitive of the verb then add the future simple endings for each personal pronoun. Ready? 

• Caminar
• Bailar
• Ir
• Ser
• Estar

Take your time! Done? 

Perfect. Now let’s move forward to the irregular verbs.

Irregular verbs simple future tense

Here, the stem of the verbs changes as it does in other Spanish tenses. 

And yeah, there are a bunch of irregular verbs, but the good news is that a lot of them have a pattern.

Here are the stem-changing verbs that follow a similar pattern:

Irregular verb	Stem change
Tener	Tendr-
Venir	Vendr-
Poner	Pondr-
Salir	Saldr-
Poder	Podr-
Venir	Vendr-

These patterns are going to make your life easier. Believe me!

Here are some simple future tense conjugation examples with the irregular verbs:

Irregular Verbs	Tener	Venir
Stem Change	Tendr-	Vendr-
Yo	Tendré	Vendré
Tú	Tendrás	Vendrás
Él-Ella-Usted	Tendrá	Vendrá
Ustedes-Ellos/Ellas	Tendrán	Vendrán
Nosotros/Nosotras	Tendremos	Vendremos

And these ones are just plain old irregular. They’re each unique:

Irregular verb	Stem change
Saber	Sabr-
Hacer	Har-
Decir	Dir-
Querer	Querr-

And here are the simple future conjugation charts for those completely irregular verbs:

Irregular Verbs	Saber	Hacer	Decir	Querer
Yo	Tendré	Haré	Diré	Querré
Tú	Tendrás	Harás	Dirás	Querrás
Él-Ella-Usted	Tendrá	Hará	Dirá	Querrá
Ustedes-Ellos/Ellas	Tendrán	Harán	Dirán	Querrán
Nosotros/Nosotras	Tendremos	Haremos	Diremos	Querremos

So let’s check out some examples: 

• I will do my Spanish homework at night
  Haré la tarea de español en la noche

• I am sorry, I won’t be able to go to the party tonight
  Lo siento, no podré ir a la fiesta esta noche

• Next year I will put all my savings in the bank
  El otro año pondré todos mis ahorros en el banco

• We will have a lot of friends in college, I’m sure!
  Tendremos muchos amigos en la universidad, ¡estoy segura!

• If we finish the meeting on time, Juan will leave early to go home
  Si terminamos la reunión a tiempo, Juan saldrá para la casa temprano

• You shall tell me the truth now!
  ¡Me dirás la verdad ahora!

Reflexive Verbs

When it comes to reflexive verbs, everything is the same. You just use the simple future tense conjugation.

Examples:

• Will you call me next week?
  ¿Me llamarás la otra semana?

• Tomorrow I will wake up earlier
  Mañana me despertaré más temprano

Practice time

Now it is your turn to practice the simple future tense.

Here’s an example of how the exercises work: 

Question:

• Tomorrow I will wake up earlier
  Mañana me _________ (despertarse) más temprano

• Answer:
  Mañana me despertaré más temprano

Give it a try 

1. What time will you come tomorrow?
   ¿A qué hora _________ (venir) mañana?

2. My friends will go to your house tomorrow to help you with your Spanish homework
   Mis amigos _________ (ir) a tu casa mañana para ayudarte con la tarea de español

3. Don’t worry Maria, my boyfriend will make lunch later
   No te preocupes María, mi novio _______ (hacer) la comida más tarde

4. In the afternoon, I will put the flowers in the garden
   En la tarde, _________ (poner) las flores en el jardín

5. I feel sick. I will not eat a lot at night
   Me siento enferma. _______ (comer) mucho en la noche

6. I will marry a handsome guy, that way I will be happy
   Me __________ (casarse) con un chico guapo, así _______ (ser) feliz

7. Who could she be?
   ¿Quién _________ (ser) ella?

8. I will buy a house. I will do it next year
   _________ (comprar) una casa. Lo _______ (hacer) el otro año

9. I wonder, how much could the red car cost?
   Me pregunto, ¿cuánto _________ (costar) el carro rojo?

10. It’s my mother ‘s birthday, she will want to have dinner at an expensive restaurant, I am pretty sure!
    Es el cumpleaños de mi madre, ella __________ (querer) cenar en un restaurante costoso, estoy muy segura! 

Note: The answers are at the end of the article.

Final words

So there you have it. Everything you could possibly want to know about the Spanish simple future. 

What is next? Practice, practice, and…you guessed it, more practice.

If you practice the simple future tense with a native Spanish speaker you will master it pretty quickly.

Check out our series of Complete Spanish Grammar articles – everything you’ll ever need to know about Spanish grammar.

Or, learn more about LingoToGo here.

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Answers

Here are the answers to the exercises in this Spanish simple future article

1. What time will you come tomorrow?
¿A qué hora vendrás mañana?

2. My friends will go to your house tomorrow to help you with your Spanish homework
Mis amigos irán a tu casa mañana para ayudarte con la tarea de español

3. Don’t worry Maria, my boyfriend will make lunch later
No te preocupes María, mi novio hará el almuerzo más trade

4. In the afternoon, I will put the flowers in the garden
En la tarde, pondré las flores en el jardín

5. I feel sick. I will not eat a lot at night
Me siento enferma. No comeré mucho en la noche

6. I will marry a handsome guy, that way I will be happy
Me casaré con un chico guapo, así seré feliz

7. Who could she be?
¿Quién será ella?

8. I will buy a house. I will do it next year
Compraré una casa. Lo haré el otro año

9. I wonder, how much could the red car cost?
Me pregunto, ¿cuánto costará el carro rojo?

10. It’s my mother’s birthday, she will want to have dinner at an expensive restaurant, I am pretty sure!
Es el cumpleaños de mi madre, ella querrá cenar en un restaurante costoso, estoy muy segura!

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