REG: Review Lesson - El Futuro

El Futuro

Spanish has two main ways of expressing action that has not yet happened, but will happen in the future: el futuro cercano and a regular future tense (in other words, a conjugated tense).

El Futuro Cercano

ir plus a plus infinitive

You can use the construction ir + a + infinitive to refer to the future. Just conjugate ir in the present tense and add a and then an infinitive:

El Futuro Cercano Construction
Singular Plural After the form of ir, add this:
voy
vas
va		 vamos
vais
van		 + a + infinitive

Examples

We use the same basic formation in English:

  • Voy a trabajar mañana.
    • I'm going to work tomorrow.
  • Nosotros vamos a llamarte luego.
    • We are going to call you later.
  • Él va a enojarse.
    • He is going to get angry.

Regular Future Tense

The future tense is unlike other conjugations in that instead of removing the -ar, -er, or -ir ending, we're going to use the entire infinitive as our stem. Another difference is that for the first time it doesn't matter what kind of verb you have. Every verb, -ar, -er, or -ir, has the following endings, no exceptions:

Note:  Because the yo and él/ella/Usted forms are identical, it's a good idea to include a subject pronoun if the subject isn't clear.

-ar/-er/-ir Future Endings
Singular Plural
-é
-ás
-á		 -emos
-éis
-án

Here are some example verbs, conjugated in the future tense:

El Futuro Examples
Hablar Comer Vivir
hablaré
hablarás
hablará		 hablaremos
hablaréis
hablarán		 comeré
comerás
comerá		 comeremos
comeréis
comerán		 viviré
vivirás
vivirá		 viviremos
viviréis
vivirán

Translation Examples

Review the examples below that show how el futuro is translated:

  • Trabajaré este sábado.
    • I will work this Saturday.
  • Resolveremos el problema mañana.
    • We will resolve the problem tomorrow.
  • Ellos conducirán a Chicago la próxima semana.
    • They will drive to Chicago next week.

Video Presentation

View the following presentation on Future Tense Verbs. Take notes as you view the material as you will be responsible for the content. Be sure your speakers are turned up!

Practice Activity

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