The Future Tense in Spanish

This section introduces the future tense in Spanish and includes tips for students studying foundation and higher tiers. The future tense in Spanish is used to talk about actions that will happen or are going to happen. In English, we often use "will" or "going to" to express future actions. Spanish future tense is conjugated by adding specific endings to the infinitive form of the verb. This is not the same as using the verb ir (to go) + infinitive, which can also express future actions but in a different context.

Regular Future Tense Conjugation

The future tense is formed by adding the following endings directly to the infinitive verb (no need to remove the -ar, -er, or -ir ending).

Future Endings for All Regular Verbs (Terminaciones para todos los verbos regulares)

• Yo: -é
• Tú: -ás
• Él/ella: -á
• Nosotros: -emos
• Vosotros: -éis
• Ellos/ellas: -án

These endings are the same for -ar, -er, and -ir verbs.

Examples with Regular Verbs

Let’s use the verbs hablar (to speak), comer (to eat), and vivir (to live) as examples in the future tense.

Hablar (to speak)

• Yo hablaré (I will speak)
• Tú hablarás (You will speak)
• Él/ella hablará (He/she will speak)
• Nosotros hablaremos (We will speak)
• Vosotros hablaréis (You [plural] will speak) – (Spain only)
• Ellos/ellas hablarán (They will speak)

Comer (to eat)

• Yo comeré (I will eat)
• Tú comerás (You will eat)
• Él/ella comerá (He/she will eat)
• Nosotros comeremos (We will eat)
• Vosotros comeréis (You [plural] will eat) – (Spain only)
• Ellos/ellas comerán (They will eat)

Vivir (to live)

• Yo viviré (I will live)
• Tú vivirás (You will live)
• Él/ella vivirá (He/she will live)
• Nosotros viviremos (We will live)
• Vosotros viviréis (You [plural] will live) – (Spain only)
• Ellos/ellas vivirán (They will live)

Irregular Future Verbs

Some common verbs are irregular in the future tense. This means their stems change, but the same endings are used as with regular verbs.

Common Irregular Verbs in the Future Tense (Verbos irregulares comunes en el futuro)

• Decir (to say) – dir-
  • Yo diré (I will say)
  • Tú dirás (You will say)
  • Él/ella dirá (He/she will say)
• Haber (to have) – habr-
  • Yo habré (I will have)
  • Tú habrás (You will have)
  • Él/ella habrá (He/she will have)
• Hacer (to do/make) – har-
  • Yo haré (I will do)
  • Tú harás (You will do)
  • Él/ella hará (He/she will do)
• Poder (to be able to) – podr-
  • Yo podré (I will be able to)
  • Tú podrás (You will be able to)
  • Él/ella podrá (He/she will be able to)
• Salir (to go out) – saldr-
  • Yo saldré (I will go out)
  • Tú saldrás (You will go out)
  • Él/ella saldrá (He/she will go out)
• Tener (to have) – tendr-
  • Yo tendré (I will have)
  • Tú tendrás (You will have)
  • Él/ella tendrá (He/she will have)
• Venir (to come) – vendr-
  • Yo vendré (I will come)
  • Tú vendrás (You will come)
  • Él/ella vendrá (He/she will come)

Conditional Tense

The conditional tense in Spanish is used to express actions that would happen under certain conditions or to make polite requests. It’s similar to the English construction "would + verb."

To form the conditional tense, we use the infinitive of the verb (just like the future tense) and add the following endings:

Conditional Endings for All Regular Verbs (Terminaciones para todos los verbos regulares)

• Yo: -ía
• Tú: -ías
• Él/ella: -ía
• Nosotros: -íamos
• Vosotros: -íais
• Ellos/ellas: -ían

These endings are the same for -ar, -er, and -ir verbs.

Examples with Regular Verbs in the Conditional

Hablar (to speak)

• Yo hablaría (I would speak)
• Tú hablarías (You would speak)
• Él/ella hablaría (He/she would speak)
• Nosotros hablaríamos (We would speak)
• Vosotros hablaríais (You [plural] would speak) – (Spain only)
• Ellos/ellas hablarían (They would speak)

Comer (to eat)

• Yo comería (I would eat)
• Tú comerías (You would eat)
• Él/ella comería (He/she would eat)
• Nosotros comeríamos (We would eat)
• Vosotros comeríais (You [plural] would eat) – (Spain only)
• Ellos/ellas comerían (They would eat)

Vivir (to live)

• Yo viviría (I would live)
• Tú vivirías (You would live)
• Él/ella viviría (He/she would live)
• Nosotros viviríamos (We would live)
• Vosotros viviríais (You [plural] would live) – (Spain only)
• Ellos/ellas vivirían (They would live)

Conditional of Irregular Verbs

Just like the future tense, some verbs are irregular in the conditional tense. These irregulars have the same stem changes as in the future tense, and the regular endings are used.

Examples of irregular verbs in the conditional:

• Decir (to say) – dir-
  • Yo diría (I would say)
• Haber (to have) – habr-
  • Yo habría (I would have)
• Hacer (to do/make) – har-
  • Yo haría (I would do)
• Poder (to be able to) – podr-
  • Yo podría (I could)
• Tener (to have) – tendr-
  • Yo tendría (I would have)

Difference Between Future and Conditional

• Future Tense (Futuro): Expresses actions that will definitely happen or are planned. For example:
  • Yo iré al cine mañana. (I will go to the cinema tomorrow.)
• Conditional Tense (Condicional): Expresses actions that would happen under certain conditions or for polite requests. For example:
  • Yo iría al cine si tuviera dinero. (I would go to the cinema if I had money.)

Summary

• The future tense is formed by adding specific endings to the infinitive verb. Regular and irregular verbs have different conjugation patterns, but the endings remain the same.
• The conditional tense is used to express hypothetical actions, making polite requests, or stating things that would happen under certain conditions. The endings are the same for all regular verbs, and irregular verbs have the same stem changes as in the future tense.
• The future tense is used for events that will happen, while the conditional tense is used for events that would happen under certain circumstances.

Examples (Foundation Level):

• Yo comeré (I will eat)
• Tú hablarías (You would speak)
• Nosotros viviremos (We will live)

Examples (Higher Tier):

• Ellos dirían la verdad si pudieran. (They would tell the truth if they could.)
• Nosotros viajaríamos a España el año que viene. (We would travel to Spain next year.)