El presente y el futuro perifrástico: un repaso

 

Early on, you learned to use the present tense to talk about habitual actions and things that are generally true.

Play Audio Los domingos comemos en casa de mi abuela.

grandmother and grand-daughter

Foto: Michael Amick CC BY-SA 2.0

Play Audio Usted necesita adelgazar.
Play Audio Mi hermana no come carne; es vegetariana.

Play Audio Nos gusta mucho cocinar.

a woman preparing a plate of food

Foto: Colores Mari CC BY 2.0

The present tense may also be used to talk about actions that happen in the near future.

Play Audio Esta noche salimos a cenar.

a table set at a restaurant

Foto: Javier Lastras CC BY 2.0

Play Audio El sábado que viene voy al mercado.

a stall in Coyoacan market

Foto: henrivzq CC BY 2.0

Notice that an expression of time is used in these sentences to make it clear that the action is happening in the future.

You have also learned to use the ir + a + infinitivo construction to discuss future plans.

As in the above examples, a time expression is sometimes used to indicate at what time in the future this action will take place.

As ir is a very high frequency verb, you probably do not have to review its conjugation—but remember that you must include the a between the conjugated form of ir and the infinitive.