Quick Lessons on Spanish Future Tense Endings for the Fast Learner

¿Será que quieres hablar sobre el futuro en español? Are you stuck in the present with your Spanish? If you’re ready to branch out and bulk up your verb tenses to include all Spanish future tenses, you are in the right place. Sharpen your skills while learning how to spot and use future tense endings in Spanish.

Four powerful verb tenses allow you to express your thoughts, feelings, ponderings, and plans in Spanish… and this super-fast guide will teach you all you need to know.

The four tenses you will find below are:

1. Simple future — e.g., Yo iré al circo contigo.
2. Periphrastic future — e.g., Vamos a sentarnos a comer.
3. Future of probability — e.g., ¿Será que ella viene?
4. Perfect future — e.g., Tú habrás comido todos los nachos antes de que yo termine mi pan.

This guide provides clear details on what each tense means, instructions on how to form it, examples for you to imitate, and practice exercises for you to fill out! Find the Answer Key at the bottom of this blog post.

Will you start talking about the future in Spanish today?

Let’s get started!

Simple Future Spanish Tense

We have a detailed post about the future simple tense in Spanish, where we flesh out this specific topic a lot more. Make sure to check it out since futuro simple is the tense you’ll probably use the most out of these.

Futuro simple is quite simple. There are some basic conjugations that will take you a long way if you learn them. There are two main forms of futuro simple: indicative and subjunctive. We’re focusing only on indicative since subjunctive simple future is very rarely used in modern language. Let’s take a look at these conjugations and what each category means:

Spanish Future Tense Endings: Futuro Simple

Quite simple, right? You just have to add the relevant suffix to the infinitive verb and voila! Let’s practice a bit more with some words and phrases. If you feel extra adventurous, feel free to fill in the blanks where possible!

Futuro Simple Practice

1. Mañana llevaré paraguas al trabajo. — Tomorrow I’ll take an umbrella to work.
2. Tú traerás el guacamole y yo los nachos. — You’ll bring guacamole and I’ll bring nachos.
3. Ella tendrá mucho trabajo que hacer. — She’ll have a lot of work to do.
4. Nosotros comeremos pasta el martes. — We’ll eat pasta on Tuesday.
5. Ustedes correrán la maratón primero. — You guys will run the marathon first.
6. Ellos subirán el volcán fácilmente. — They’ll climb that volcano easily.

Fill in the blanks!

1. Yo __________(preparar) una sopa de verduras. — I’ll prepare some veggie soup.
2. ¿Tú le __________(llevar) flores a tu cita? — Will you bring some flowers for your date?
3. Él __________(animar) la fiesta con sus chistes. — He’ll cheer up the party with his jokes.
4. Nosotros __________(aplaudir) cuando pases por la meta. — We’ll clap when you pass the finish line.
5. Ustedes __________(apoyar) a los necesitados. — You’ll support people in need.
6. Ellas se __________(maquillar) para la gala. — They’ll put makeup on for the gala.

How did you do? If you followed the easy rule of adding the correct suffix to the infinitive verb that means you got them right. Some verbs, however, are irregular and will change when used in futuro simple. Don’t forget to check our post on simple future to learn more about that.

Futuro Perifrástico

Our next kind of future tense has kind of a quirky name. It’s pronounced “pay-ree-frahs-tee-koh.” That’s kind of hard to say, isn’t it? Try saying it 10 times really fast! It means “periphrastic,” which is basically a complicated way of saying “long-winded.” This mode of future tense is generally used to talk about immediate future or close, unspecified future. This tense can be easily explained as follows:

How To Build Futuro Perifrástico

This tense is essentially built by the words “I’m going to” plus the infinitive form of the verb.

ir + a +    verbo infinitivo

Example: ir a caminar

So in order to conjugate futuro perifrástico, you must know the conjugation of ir in present tense.

Ir conjugation

So now that you know how to conjugate ir, all you need to do is insert the right conjugation and the infinitive verb into the formula above to conjugate futuro perifrásico! Let’s get some practice done.

Futuro Perifrástico Practice

1. Voy a ir al banco. — I’m going to go to the bank.
2. ¿Tú vas a hacer el reporte? — Are you going to do the report?
3. Ella va a comentar acerca de lo sucedido. — She’s going to comment on what happened.
4. Nosotros vamos a nadar en la piscina. — We’re going to swim in the pool.
5. ¿Ustedes van a conseguir las sillas? — Are you going to get the chairs?
6. Ellos van a cargar el camión. — They’re going to load the truck.

Fill in the blanks!

1. Yo  __________(saltar) en el trampolín. — I’m going to jump on the trampoline.
2. Tú __________(tomar) una siesta. — You’re going to take a nap.
3. Ella __________(bailar) el sábado en la noche. — She’s going to dance Saturday night.
4. Nosotros __________(platicar) de filosofía. — We’re going to talk about philosophy.
5. Ustedes __________(leer) las obras de Copérnico. — You’re going to read Copernicus’ work. 
6. Ellos __________(practicar) para el juego de mañana. — They’re going to practice for tomorrow’s game.

Did you notice a pattern in the translations? “ir  + a” literally translates to “go to,” so figuring these out boils down to conjugating ir right! Check our blog post on this tense to get more info on the subject. Also look at our post on how to speak in future tense by using present tense.

Future Tense to Express Probability

Whether you’re trying to convince someone to help you or wondering if someone likes you back, you’ll need how to express probability in the future tense in order to ask those questions. To do so, you have to use futuro simple with the corresponding conjugation. Let’s take a quick look at some probability vocabulary in future tense:

El Futuro Perfecto, the Perfect Future

It’s nice to think about the existence of a perfect future, isn’t it? But since we’re actually talking about the verb tense here, and not my daydreams, we’ll leave thoughts of going to an all-you-can-eat buffet for another day. Futuro perfecto is the most complex of the bunch, consisting of the conjugation of the helping verb haber with the participle of the verb.

The future perfect allows us to look back to the past from a point in the future. An example of this would be “By this time next week, I will have taken my car out of the shop.”

Let’s break it down:

Conjugation of the verb haber

In the perfect future tense, haber conjugates to the equivalent of “will have,” as in the example “I will have eaten.”

What is the participle of a verb?

Participles are verb forms that often (but not always) function independently as a noun or adjective.

Let’s look at an example sentence using the verb “to order” in order to illustrate this clearly:

By this time next week, I will have ordered everything on the menu.

I = subject

will have = helping verb

ordered = participle

Para este momento en la semana que viene, yo habré pedido todo el menú.

yo = subject

habré = helping verb

pedido = participle

You can take the participle pedido and use it as a noun in another sentence, for example: Este es mi pedido (This is my order).

How to form the Spanish participle

In order to create the participle of a verb, you must replace the infinitive ending (-ar, -er, -ir) with its accompanying suffix. What’s the accompanying suffix, you ask? Here’s a handy chart to help you out.

Spanish Future Tense Endings: Futuro Perfecto

Let’s Build Some Perfect Futures!

Now that you know the basics of conjugating haber and forming participles, all you need to do is to combine them in your sentence! It looks something like this:

(    haber       +    participle    )

This tense is always used to express an action that will happen before another future event. Let’s look at some examples of futuro perfecto:

Futuro Perfecto Practice

1. Yo habré llegado a la fiesta después de que tú termines tus deberes. — I will have arrived at the party by the time you finish your homework.
2. Tú habrás salido de clases cuando yo llegue a casa. — You will have left class by the time I get home
3. Élla habrá pedido su comida antes que cierre el restaurante. — She will have asked for her food before the restaurant closes.
4. Nosotros habremos hecho la tarea antes del viernes. — We will have done the homework before Friday.
5. Ustedes habrán comenzado la carrera antes de que llegue a verlos. — You will have started the race before I get there to see you.
6. Ellos habrán preparado las preguntas antes de que comience el panel. — They will have prepared questions before the panel begins.

Fill in the Blanks!

1. Yo _____(haber) _____(pensar) en la respuesta antes del martes. — I will have thought of the answer before Tuesday.
2. Tú _____(haber) _____(memorizar) el poema para el show del jueves. — You will have written the poem by Thursday’s show.
3. Él _____(haber) _____(jugar) fútbol antes de ir al supermercado. — He will have played soccer by the time he goes to the supermarket.
4. Nosotros _____(haber) _____(ordenar) comida antes de que vengas. — We will have ordered food before you get here.
5. Ustedes _____(haber) _____(mover) el escritorio antes de que ella comience a limpiar. — You will have moved the desk before she starts cleaning up.
6. Ellas _____(haber) _____(pintar) el mural antes de que llueva. — They will have painted the mural before it rains.

There Are Always Exceptions

It’s very important that you remember that all language rules have exceptions. In Spanish, the future tense for abrir isn’t abrido but rather abierto. Don’t be afraid to make these kinds of mistakes! Every single one of us makes those mistakes when learning a language. So don’t be afraid to say things wrong, confidence will help you learn faster.

There’s a Bright Future in Learning Spanish!

How did you do when filling in the blanks? Some kinds of future tense are harder than others, so don’t get discouraged if you struggled a bit. Overcoming hardships is the crux of effective learning experiences! If you want to discuss the future tense with a native Spanish speaker, take a free class with us and start working towards your future today!

Answer Key For Exercises:

Futuro Simple

1. prepararé
2. llevarás
3. animará
4. aplaudiermos
5. apoyarán
6. maquillarán

Futuro Perifrástico

1. voy a saltar
2. vas a dormir
3. va a bailar
4. vamos a platicar
5. van a leer
6. can a practicar

Futuro Perfecto

1. habré pensado
2. habrás memorizado
3. habrá jugado
4. habremos ordenado
5. habrán movido
6. habrán pintado

Keep up the hard work! Check out more Spanish grammar lessons:

• Ver Conjugation: Free Spanish Lesson, Exercises, and PDF
• Common Irregular Informal Commands in Spanish
• Dialect vs Accent: Is It a Language, Dialect, or Accent?
• How to Use the Past Participle as an Adjective in Spanish
• Punctuation Marks, Special Characters, and Other Symbols in Spanish
• What is the Conditional Tense in Spanish?
• Master All the Forms of Ser in Spanish: Your Ultimate Grammar Guide
• 20 Most Common Subjunctive Triggers in Spanish
• 23 Common Spanish Prepositions You Can Use Today
• 25 Common Subjunctive Phrases in Spanish Conversation

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Rafael Parra

Freelance Writer at Homeschool Spanish Academy

A native Spanish speaker from Guatemala, I'm a psychology student, creative developer, and aspiring polymath who's always learning new things and improving as a person. I'm a nerd when it comes to language, education, and videogames. My goal is to practice all these disciplines in unison and make something great with my time.

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