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Future tense

Formation

The forms of the future tense in Spanish hold few surprises. The endings are all regular, and there are only a few verbs that have irregular stems in the future. The endings (, -ás, , -emos, -éis, -án) are added to the infinitive form of -ar, -er, or -ir verbs or, in the case of the few irregular verbs, to the future stem.

Examples:

-ar verbs

-er verbs

-ir verbs

While most future tense occurrences are regular, there are a few irregular future and conditional stems, and they should be committed to memory. Notice how regular most of them are in their irregularity. They are:

Verb –> Irregular stem –> Forms

decir –> dir- –> diré, dirás, dirá, etc.
haber
–> habr- –> habré, habrás, habrá, etc.
hacer
–> har- –> haré, harás, hará, etc.
poder
–> podr- –> podré, podrás, podrá, etc.
poner
–> pondr- –> pondré, pondrás, pondrá, etc.
querer
–> querr- –> querré, querrás, querrá, etc.
saber
–> sabr- –> sabré, sabrás, sabrá, etc.
salir
–> saldr- –> saldré, saldrás, saldrá, etc.
tener
–> tendr- –> tendré, tendrás, tendrá, etc.
venir
–> vendr- –> vendré, vendrás, vendrá, etc.

Use

Primary use of the future tense
Substitutes for the future tense
The future of conjecture or probability

Primary use of future tense

In the most basic sense, the future tense in Spanish is used exactly as it is in English. For example:

Substitutes for the future tense

It is also important to note that Spanish speakers tend to use the future tense much less than do English speakers. Following are the primary ways in which the simple future is avoided in Spanish:

The future of conjecture or probability

The future and future perfect tenses are frequently used to express conjecture or probability in the present or present perfect.

See also

Conditional tense
Verbs