Conjugation of the Future Tense of Spanish

The future tense of Spanish is probably the easiest conjugation pattern of all to learn. Not only is its use much as in English, but its formation is irregular for far fewer verbs than with the other tenses and is the same for all three infinitive endings (-ar, -er and -ir). As you would expect, the future tense is typically used for verbs whose action will take place sometime in the future. Generally, it is the equivalent of the will verb form in English in sentences such as I will go or she will eat. Endings for Future Verbs With regular verbs, the future tense is formed by adding endings to the infinitive as shown in boldface in the list below. Although the verb hablar (to speak) is used as an example, the future is formed in the same way for all regular verbs: yo hablarà ©, I will speaktà º hablarà ¡s, you (informal second-person singular) will speakusted/à ©l/ella hablarà ¡, you (formal second-person singular)/he/she will speaknosotros/nosotras hablaremos, we will speakvosotros/vosotras hablarà ©is, you (informal second-person plural) will speakustedes/ellos/ellas hablarà ¡n, you (formal second-person plural)/they will speak If youre familiar with the conjugation of the verb haber, you may notice that these endings are the same as the present tense of haber (an auxiliary verb meaning to have), minus the initial h. Presumably, at some time in the distant past, a conjugated form of haber was placed after the infinitive to form the future tense. Verbs Irregular in the Future Since the ending is placed after the infinitive and includes the syllable that is stressed in the verb, you dont have to worry about the stem changes that are common in the conjugation of many irregular verbs. And since the future tense is a later development in the language, there overall are fewer irregular verbs in the future tense to be concerned with. Even some of the most highly irregular verbs (such as ser, estar and ir) are regular in the future tense. In general, most of the verbs that are irregular in the future tense modify and/or shorten the infinitive, but they all have the correct ending otherwise. Here are the most common examples: caber (to fit): cabrà ©, cabrà ¡s, cabrà ¡, cabremos, cabrà ©is, cabrà ¡ndecir (to say): dirà ©, dirà ¡s, dirà ¡, diremos, dirà ©is, dirà ¡nhaber (to have): habrà ©, habrà ¡s, habrà ¡, habremos,habrà ©is, habrà ¡nhacer (to make or do): harà ©, harà ¡s, harà ¡, haremos, harà ©is, harà ¡npoder (to be able): podrà ©, podrà ¡s, podrà ¡, podremos, podrà ©is, podrà ¡n  poner (to put): pondrà ©, pondrà ¡s, pondrà ¡, pondremos, podrà ©is, podrà ¡nquerer (to want): querrà ©, querrà ¡s, podrà ¡, podremos, podrà ©is, podrà ¡nsaber (to know): sabrà ©, sabrà ¡s, sabrà ¡, sabremos, sabrà ©is, sabrà ¡nsalir (to leave): saldrà ©, saldrà ¡s, saldrà ¡, saldremos, saldrà ©is, saldrà ¡ntener (to have): tendrà ©, tendrà ¡s, tendrà ¡, tendremos, tendrà ©is, tendrà ¡nvaler (to have value): valdrà ©, valdrà ¡s, valdrà ¡, valdremos, valdrà ©is, valdrà ¡nvenir (to come): vendrà ©, vendrà ¡s, vendrà ¡, vendremos, vendrà ©is, vendrà ¡n Sample Sentences Showing Use of Future Tense Siete de cada diez personas comprarà ¡n un regalo de San Valentà ­n. (Seven out of 10 people will buy a St. Valentines gift.) Creo que estaremos en una desventaja competitiva. (I think we will be at a competitive disadvantage.) Tendrà © muchas otras cosas para hacer. (I will have many other things to do.) Te dirà ¡ muchas mentiras, pero tà º no serà ¡s consciente de ellas hasta que pase un tiempo.  (She will tell you many lies, but you wont be aware of them until some time passes.) Unos aà ±os mà ¡s tarde, querrà © ir a verlas a otras ciudades.  (A few years later, I will want to go see other cities.) Habrà ¡ cinco meses mà ¡s para personalizar los coches. (There will be five months for personalizing the cars.) Haremos los arreglos necesarios. (We will make the necessary arrangements.)  ¡No podrà ¡n las voces de la oscuridad! (The voices of darkness will not overcome!) El municipio serà ¡ el beneficiario y en consecuencia darà ¡ las à ³rdenes de pago. (The municipality will be the beneficiary and as a result will give the payment orders. Donde vayan los iremos a buscar. (Where they go we will go looking for them.)  ¿Cà ³mo sabrà © cuando podrà © usar nuevamente mi cuenta? (How will I know when I will be able to use my account again?) Creo que si nos damos prisa llegaremos a tiempo. (I believe if we hurry we will arrive on time.) A fin de aà ±o deberà © 20,000 pesos para cancelar mi deuda. (At the end of end of the year I will owe 20,000 pesos in order to cancel my debt.) Este fin de semana tengo una boda, y llevarà © un vestido verde. (This weekend I have a wedding, and I will wear a green dress.) Me llamarà ¡s por mi nombre, reconocerà ¡s mis atributos y mà ©ritos. (You will call me by my name, and you will recognize my attributes and strengths.)