Future tenses in Spanish

• There are two forms of the future tense in Spanish - the immediate future and the simple future.
• Use the immediate future tense to talk about what is going to happen.
• Use the simple future tense to talk about what will happen.
• Use the verb ir (to go) followed by a and an infinitive to form the immediate future.
• Object pronouns like lo usually go before the present tense of ir in the immediate future.

Watch the video to learn how to use the future tense in Spanish.

There are two main tenses for talking about the future:

1. The immediate future is used to say what you are going to do or what is going to happen.

For example:

Voy a hacer mis deberes. - I’m going to do my homework.

Va a tener hijos dentro de diez años. - He’s going to have children within the next ten years.

2. The simple future tense is used to say what will happen.

For example:

Iré al cine con mis amigos. - I will go to the cinema with my friends.

Visitará todos los sitios turísticos. - He will visit all of the tourist sites.

Some useful time phrases for talking about future plans include:

The immediate future tense is the most common way of talking about future plans. It is formed with the present tense of ir (to go), followed by a then the infinitive.

For example:

Voy a jugar con mis primos. - I’m going to play with my cousins.

Vamos a salir a las ocho. - We are going to go out at eight.

¿Vais a ir a Francia? - Are you going to go to France?

Look at the table to revise how to conjugate the verb ir:

Object pronouns in Spanish go before the verb.

For example:

Lo hago. - I do it.

There are two ways of using object pronouns with the immediate future tense.

1. Object pronouns can go before the present tense of ir.

For example:

Lo voy a hacer. - I am going to do it.

2. Object pronouns can also be added to the infinitive.

For example:

Voy a hacerlo. - I am going to do it.

Have a look at these examples and note how the object pronoun can either come before the present tense of ir or it can be attached to the infinitive:

Les voy a escribirorVoy a escribirles. - I am going to write to them.

Daniel me va a invitar a la fiestaorDaniel va a invitar me a la fiesta. - Daniel is going to invite me to the party.

Have a look at the guide on object pronouns to understand more on how to use them with verbs.

All reflexive verbs have the reflexive pronounse at the end of the infinitive.

For example:

despertarse - to wake up

When forming the immediate future of a reflexive verb, use the correct part of ir and attach the correct reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) onto the end of the infinitive of the verb.

For example:

Voy a levantarme temprano. - I am going to get up early.

Mi hermano va a ducharse primero. - My brother is going to shower first.

Vamos a casarnos en el futuro. - We are going to get married in the future.

Have a look at this guide on reflexive pronouns to find out more about how to use them.

The simple future tense is used to say what will happen and is less common than the immediate future.

To form the simple future tense, add the correct ending to the infinitive of the verb. The endings are the same for ar, er and ir verbs:

For example:

Mañana comeré más fruta. - Tomorrow, I will eat more fruit.

¿Irás al concierto? - Will you go to the concert?

The simple future of some common Spanish verbs is formed by adding the future endings onto an irregular stem. High frequency verbs that follow this pattern include:

hay (there is/are) becomes habrá (there will be)

For example:

Tendré muchos regalos. - I will have lots of presents.

¿Podrás ir a la Universidad? - Will you be able to go to university?

Habrá un nueve presidente la semana próxima. - There will be a new president next week.

Practise what you've learned about the future tense in Spanish with this quiz.

The simple future tense is used to say what will happen and is less common than the immediate future.

To form the simple future tense, add the correct ending to the infinitive of the verb. The endings are the same for -ar, -er and -ir verbs.

The table shows the we, you (plural) and they forms of regular verbs:

For example:

Veremos la nueva película. - We will see the new film.

The simple future of some common Spanish verbs is formed by adding the future endings onto an irregular stem. High frequency verbs that follow this pattern include:

For example:

Saldré a las tres. - I will go out at three.

Querremos muchos regalos. - We will want lots of presents.

¿Vendrás a la fiesta? - Will you come to the party?

Practise what you've learned about the future tense in Spanish with this quiz.

Now you've learned about the future tense in Spanish, why not explore the imperfect tense in Spanish?