⇒ The subjunctive is one of the three moods in Spanish, the other two being the indicative (actions, events, facts) and the imperative (commands). You can find more on the differences between the subjunctive and the indicative here!
⇒ The future subjunctive (el futuro del subjuntivo) is rarely used in modern Spanish.
⇒ Instead, the present subjunctive is used in virtually all cases in which the future subjunctive would have been used historically.
⇒ Nonetheless, the future subjunctive does still appear in modern times, primarily in legal documents and literary contexts, as well as a few classic refranes (proverbs), so it’s good to be able to recognize it.
⇒ The stem for the future subjunctive is the same as that of the imperfect subjunctive, or the third person plural of the preterite (without the -ron at the end).
| Preterite Form | Future Subjunctive Stem |
|---|---|
| hablaron | habla- |
| tuvieron | tuvie- |
| vieron | vie- |
| Infinitive | Third Person Preterite | Future Subjunctive Stem |
|---|---|---|
| caber | cupieron | cupie- |
| dar | dieron | die- |
| decir | dijeron | dije- |
| dormir | durmieron | durmie- |
| estar | estuvieron | estuvie- |
| haber | hubieron | hubie- |
| hacer | hicieron | hicie- |
| ir | fueron | fue- |
| leer | leyeron | leye- |
| tener | tuvieron | tuvie- |
| pedir | pidieron | pidie- |
| poder | pudieron | pudie- |
| poner | pusieron | pusie- |
| preferir | prefirieron | prefirie- |
| querer | quisieron | quisie- |
| saber | supieron | supie- |
| sentir | sintieron | sintie- |
| ser | fueron | fue- |
| traducir | tradujeron | traduje- |
| traer | trajeron | traje- |
| Irregular Future SubjunctiveAny verb that is irregular in the third person plural of the preterite will maintain that irregularity in the future subjunctive. (Ex. tener) |
⇒ All conjugations for -ar, -er, and -ir verbs have the same future subjunctive endings:
| Subject | Ending |
|---|---|
| yo | -re |
| tú | -res |
| él, ella, usted | -remos |
| nosotros | -reis |
| vosotros | -re |
| ellos, ellas, ustedes | -ren |
| The nosotros form of the future subjunctive often has a tilde.Examples: hubiéremos, supiéremos |
| Adonde fueres, haz lo que vieres.When in Rome, do as the Romans do. |
| El que insultare a la reina será castigado.He who insults the queen will be punished. |
| Sea lo que fuere el origen de los productos, serán gravados.Whatever the origin of the products may be, they will be subject to taxation. |
| "Digan lo que dijeren, el escritor nace, no se hace." - Augusto MonterrosoNo matter what they say, writers are born, not made. - Augusto Monterroso |