Spanish grammar · Elementary (A2)
The future: ir a and the future tense
Two ways to talk about the future in Spanish: ir a + infinitive for plans, and the future tense (hablaré, haré) for predictions and promises.
Ir a + infinitive
The most common way to talk about plans is in the present + + infinitive, just like “going to” in English: (I'm going to have dinner with Ana).
For fixed arrangements with a day or time, the simple present is also very common: .
- ¿Qué vas a hacer el fin de semana?What are you going to do at the weekend?
- Vamos a alquilar un piso en el centro.We're going to rent a flat in the centre.
- Mañana trabajo hasta las ocho.Tomorrow I'm working until eight.
The future tense: regular forms
To form the future tense, keep the whole infinitive and add the endings -é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án. They are the same for -ar, -er and -ir verbs, and all except have a written accent.
| Person | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| / / | |||
| / | |||
| / | |||
| / / |
Irregular stems
A few common verbs have a shorter or changed stem, but they take the same endings. The conditional (, ) uses the same stems.
| Infinitive | Stem | / / | |
|---|---|---|---|
| har- | |||
| dir- | |||
| tendr- | |||
| pondr- | |||
| saldr- | |||
| vendr- | |||
| podr- | |||
| sabr- | |||
| querr- | |||
| habr- | (there will be) |
Which one to use?
Use for plans and intentions, and for things that are clearly about to happen: (Look, it's going to rain).
Use the future tense for predictions, such as weather forecasts, for promises, and in more formal language: , (I'll call you tonight).
- El lunes lloverá en el norte.On Monday it will rain in the north.
- Te lo enviaré mañana.I'll send it to you tomorrow.
- Este verano vamos a ir a Galicia.This summer we're going to go to Galicia.