The Future Tense by Sandra Rosenstiel
You're probably familiar with the old song, Qué será, será. That's an example of another future tense in Spanish. While English expresses the future using “will” + infinitive, in Spanish you add special endings to the infinitive. It's so simple that you don't even have to learn different endings for the different categories of verbs. All infinitives use exactly the same endings. So, have a quick look at the future:
Subject Pronoun |
Dejar |
Comer |
Vivir |
yo |
dejaré (I'll stop) |
comeré (I'll eat) |
viviré (I'll live) |
tú |
dejarás (you'll stop) |
comerás (you'll eat) |
vivirás (you'll live) |
él, ella, usted |
dejará (he, she, you will stop) |
comerá (he, she, you will eat) |
vivirá (he, she, you will live) |
nosotros |
dejaremos
(we'll stop) |
comeremos
(we'll eat) |
viviremos
(we'll live) |
vosotros |
dejaréis (you'll stop) |
comeréis
(you'll eat) |
viviréis (you'll live) |
ellos, ellas, ustedes |
dejarán (they, you will stop) |
comerán (they, you will eat) |
vivirán (they, you will live) |
And that's it! What could be simpler than one set of endings for all verbs in the future? You're probably wondering why all the tenses don't share endings. Well, in Chapter 12 we'll see one more that does. For now, though, let's look a bit more carefully at the future.
English uses the auxiliary verb “will” plus an infinitive to express the future. The subject pronoun and “will” are often contracted into “I'll,” “you'll,” “we'll,” etc. In Spanish the future is formed by a single word: the infinitive with a future ending. Whether or not you choose to use the subject pronoun as well, there is nothing to contract in Spanish.
The endings for the future tense are all regular, as we've seen. However, there are a few verbs that change slightly before you add the future ending:
hacer: har- |
decir: dir- |
haré, harás, hará, haremos, haréis, harán |
diré, dirás, dirá, diremos, diréis, dirán |
poder: podr- |
saber: sabr- |
querer: querr- |
podré, podrás, |
sabrá, sabremos |
querréis, querrán |
poner: pondr- |
venir: vendr- |
tener: tendr- |
salir: saldr- |
pondré, pondrás |
vendrá, vendremos |
tendréis |
saldrán |
Three Ways to Talk about the Future
As you have seen, there are many ways to talk about the future. You can use the simple present and a word referring to the future for a very subtle future tense; you can use the formula ir + a + infinitive to refer to a more immediate future; and you can use the future tense for expressing very definite ideas about what will happen. Review the following examples to remind yourself of the differences. Notice how similar Spanish and English are in the three ways you can refer to the future.
Mañana comemos con Marisa.
(Tomorrow we eat with Marisa.)
Voy a vestirme bien para la fiesta.
(I'm going to dress up for the party.)
Tú llamarás al doctor, ¿verdad?
(You will call the doctor, won't you?)
The future tense can predict or project; it can even be rather commanding. For example, imagine a mother telling her little boy: Te lavarás las manos antes de comer. She's not really predicting or talking about what will happen; she's telling her son exactly what to do.
Cause and Effect
Another use of the future tense in Spanish is to express the outcome in a cause and effect statement like this: Si como menos y hago más ejercicio, perderé peso. (If I eat less and exercise more, I will lose weight.) The formula is simple: si + present tense + future. You can also turn the formula around and begin with the result. Let's look at a few more examples:
Si me levanto tarde, perderé el tren.
(If I get up late, I'll miss the train.)
Si te alimentas bien, estarás sano.
(If you eat well, you'll be healthy.)
Jugaremos mejor si practicamos más.
(We'll play better if we practice more.)
Notice that reflexive verbs still have their pronoun in the future tense. Be sure to place them before the verb in this form.
Conjecture
The future tense is also used in a very interesting way in Spanish to express conjecture. Imagine that someone knocks at your door and you wonder aloud who it could be. In Spanish you would say: ¿Quién será? You wonder about what the doctor might tell you at your appointment: ¿Qué dirá el doctor? You can also use the future this way to draw conclusions based on certain evidence. Imagine that you see a really muscular guy and you figure that he probably lifts weights. In Spanish you would say: Ese chico levan-tará pesas. You feel hot and cold so your wife tells you that you probably have a fever: Tendrás fiebre.
Practice: What Will the Future Bring?
Complete each sentence using the future tense of the verb in parentheses. Then check your responses and understanding of each statement in Appendix D.
Si tú nos invitas, nosotros __________ (ir) a tu casa la semana que viene.
Juan hace mucho ejercicio; __________ (estar) en muy buena forma.
Mañana yo __________ (empezar) a correr cada día con Ramón.
Tú tienes mucha fiebre; ¿ __________ (llamar) al doctor?
¿Qué __________ (hacer) Maro y Estéban si dejan de jugar al fútbol?
