An Overview of the Simple Future
The simple future is used to describe an action that will occur in the future, e.g.: (yo) trabajaré mañana ("I will work tomorrow"). It can be used for actions that will happen near or far in the future.
How to Form the Simple Future
The simple future is formed by attaching an ending to the infinitive, as illustrated in the following table:
subject |
simple future |
Translation |
yo |
hablaré
|
"I will speak" |
tú |
hablarás
|
"you will speak" |
él, ella, usted |
hablará
|
"he, she, you will speak" |
nosotros |
hablaremos
|
"we will speak" |
vosotros |
hablaréis |
"you will speak" |
ellos, ellas, ustedes |
hablarán
|
"they, you will speak" |
Note that these are the endings used for all verb types (-ar, -er and -ir, e.g.: ellos comerán, ella compartirá).
A number of common verbs form their future with an irregular stem:
- salir, e.g.: (yo) saldré
- querer, e.g.: (yo) querré
- decir, e.g.: (yo) diré
- hacer, e.g.: (yo) haré
- valer, e.g.: (yo) valdré
- tener, e.g.: (yo) tendré
- caber, e.g.: (yo) cabré
- saber, e.g.: (yo) sabré
- poner, e.g.: (yo) pondré
- venir, e.g.: (yo) vendré
- poder, e.g.: (yo) saldré
- haber, e.g.: (yo) habré
Simple Future to Express Probability
The simple future can also be used to express events or states that are likely to be true, e.g.: La profesora no está. ¿Dónde estará? Estará en el tráfico. ("The professor is not here. Where could she be? She's likely in traffic.")
Simple Future or Future Using Ir?
These can both be used to describe future events. Some grammarians have suggested that the future using ir is preferred for events that are more certain or likely to occur in the near future. However, both kinds of future can be used with such events. The main difference is that the simple future is more formal and more frequent when writing.