⇒ There are two ways to form the future tense in Spanish: the informal future (ir + a + infinitive) and the simple future (el futuro simple).
⇒ The simple future has both regular forms and irregular forms. These notes focus on the irregular forms.
⇒ The simple future has relatively few irregular verbs, and they fall into three distinct categories:
⇒ Only -er and -ir verbs fall into this category.
⇒ To form the future with verbs in this category, simply remove the e or i from the infinitive ending, add a d, then add the simple future endings.
Conjugation Example: Tener
| Subject | Verb Conjugations |
|---|---|
| yo | tendré |
| tú | tendrás |
| él, ella, usted | tendrá |
| nosotros | tendremos |
| vosotros | tendréis |
| ellos, ellas, ustedes | tendrán |
| Infinitive | Simple Future Stem |
|---|---|
| poner | pondr- |
| valer | valdr- |
| salir | saldr- |
| venir | vendr- |
| Tendrá un profesor bueno en esa clase.You will have a good professor in that class. |
| Pondré el pastel en la mesa.I will put the cake on the table. |
⇒ Only -er verbs fall into this category.
⇒ To form the future with verbs in this category, simply remove the e or i from the infinitive ending, then add the simple future endings.
Conjugation Example: Poder
| Subject | Verb Conjugations |
|---|---|
| yo | podré |
| tú | podrás |
| él, ella, usted | podrá |
| nosotros | podremos |
| vosotros | podréis |
| ellos, ellas, ustedes | podrán |
| Infinitive | Simple Future Stem |
|---|---|
| caber | cabr- |
| haber | habr- |
| saber | sabr- |
| querer | querr- |
| Podrás hablar español muy pronto.You will be able to speak Spanish very soon. |
| Habrá mucha gente en la fiesta.There will be many people at the party. |
⇒ The verbs decir (to say) and hacer (to make/to do) have irregular stems that must be memorized.
⇒ Verbs that have either of these two verbs as their root, such as predecir (to predict) and rehacer (to redo), follow the same conjugation patters as decir and hacer in the simple future
Conjugation Examples: Decir and Hacer
| Subject | Decir | Hacer |
|---|---|---|
| yo | diré | haré |
| tú | dirás | harás |
| él, ella, usted | dirá | hará |
| nosotros | diremos | haremos |
| vosotros | diréis | haréis |
| ellos, ellas, ustedes | dirán | harán |
| Diréis el cuento de tu viaje a Argentina.You will tell your story of your trip to Argentina. |
| Ellos harán el pastel para mi mamá.They will make the cake for Mom. |