Tiempo futuro

Objetivos

  • Recognize and understand the simple future tense

The simple future tense is formed by attaching the future tense endings right onto the verb’s infinitive. This is unlike the other conjugations that we’ve learned so far, which remove the infinitive ending first. Note that almost all of the future tense endings are end-stressed and carry accent marks—this stress pattern is also unlike any other verb tense. There are a good number of verbs that modify their stem instead of using the full infinitive, but all verbs in the future tense use the same set of endings.

The regular future tense: -é, -ás, -á,-emos, -éis,-án

Play Audioreciclar Play Audioproteger Play Audiocubrir
Play Audioreciclaré Play Audioprotegeré Play Audiocubriré
Play Audioreciclarás Play Audioprotegerás Play Audiocubrirás
Play Audioreciclará Play Audioprotegerá Play Audiocubrirá
Play Audioreciclaremos Play Audioprotegeremos Play Audiocubriremos
Play Audioreciclaréis Play Audioprotegeréis Play Audiocubriréis
Play Audioreciclarán Play Audioprotegerán Play Audiocubrirán

 

The irregular future: vowel → d

Play Audioponer Play Audiotener Play Audiosalir
Play Audiopondré Play Audiotendré Play Audiosaldré
Play Audiopondrás Play Audiotendrás Play Audiosaldrás
Play Audiopondrá Play Audiotendrá Play Audiosaldrá
Play Audiopondremos Play Audiotendremos Play Audiosaldremos
Play Audiopondréis Play Audiotendréis Play Audiosaldréis
Play Audiopondrán Play Audiotendrán Play Audiosaldrán

 

The irregular future: “e” disappears

Play Audiohaber Play Audiocaber Play Audioquerer
Play Audiohabré Play Audiocabré Play Audioquerré
Play Audiohabrás Play Audiocabrás Play Audioquerrás
Play Audiohabrá Play Audiocabrá Play Audioquerrá
Play Audiohabremos Play Audiocabremos Play Audioquerremos
Play Audiohabréis Play Audiocabréis Play Audioquerréis
Play Audiohabrán Play Audiocabrán Play Audioquerrán

 

The irregular future: “c” disappears

Play Audiodecir Play Audiohacer
Play Audiodiré Play Audioharé
Play Audiodirás Play Audioharás
Play Audiodirá Play Audiohará
Play Audiodiremos Play Audioharemos
Play Audiodiréis Play Audioharéis
Play Audiodirán Play Audioharán

 

The future periphrastic vs. the simple future

The simple future tense is translated to English with the auxiliary or helping verb “will”, whereas in Spanish it’s just a one-word conjugation. And you should also remember that we learned another way of talking about future events, “ir” + “a” + infinitive (the “future periphrastic”), to express what is going to happen. In most circumstances the simple future and the future periphrastic are interchangeable, but the future periphrastic suggests a closer connection between the present and the events in the future, whereas the simple future tense just places the action in the future.

Future periphrastic Simple future
  • Play AudioVamos a colaborar con la reducción de la contaminación si reciclamos. (We are going to collaborate on reducing pollution, if we recycle.)
  • Play AudioEl planeta va a calentarse rápidamente. (The planet is going to warm up quickly.)
  • Play AudioNada va a resolver el problema de nuestro planeta si seguimos insistiendo en guerras. (Nothing is going to resolve the problem of our planet, if we continue insisting on wars.)
  • Play AudioLas futuras generaciones no van a tener mucha agua limpia. (Future generations are not going to have much clean water.)
  • Play AudioColaboraremos con la reducción de la contaminación si reciclamos. (We will collaborate on reducing pollution, if we recycle.)
  • Play AudioEl planeta se calentará rápidamente. (The planet will warm up quickly.)
  • Play AudioNada resolverá el problema de nuestro planeta si seguimos insistiendo en guerras. (Nothing will resolve the problem of our planet, if we continue insisting on wars.)
  • Play AudioLas futuras generaciones no tendrán mucha agua limpia. (Future generations will not have much clean water.)

 

The future of probability

There is a very common, colloquial use of the simple future tense to express that something is probable, or to speculate about what is likely to be true—not in the future, but in the present. In English we often use words such as “could” or “might” to convey the same sense of conjecture or speculation.

  • Play AudioSuena el timbre de la puerta a medianoche. “¿Quién será a estas horas?” (The doorbell rings at midnight. “Who could it be at this hour?”)
  • Play Audio“¿Sabes la cantidad de basura que produces cada año?” “Bueno, el norteamericano promedio produce 1.600 libras de basura al año; mi familia producirá algo menos porque tenemos bolsas y botellas reusables, no de plástico.” (“Do you know how much garbage you produce each year?” “Well, the average North American produces 1,600 pounds of garbage each year; my family probably produces something less because we have reusable bags and bottles, not plastic.”)