Reference · module 12
What comes next
Everything this module explains, on one page.
Voy a hacerlo
Talk about plans with ir a.
- The everyday future is ir a plus the plain verb: Voy a comer. Vamos a salir. This is what people actually say.
- The a is never left out, even before another a: Voy a ayudar. Two a sounds in a row is normal here.
- Only ir changes; the second verb stays an infinitive. Vas a estudiar, va a llover, van a llegar tarde.
The mistake you are about to make
Voy comer.
Voy a comer.
"Going to" has a to, and a is its Spanish partner. It never drops, even before another a.
Hablaré, comeré
Build the simple future.
- The simple future adds endings to the whole infinitive: hablaré, hablarás, hablará, hablaremos, hablaréis, hablarán.
- One set serves -ar, -er and -ir alike: comeré, viviré, seré. Nothing is removed from the infinitive first.
- Every form but nosotros carries an accent. That accent is the whole difference between hablo and hablaré in speech.
The mistake you are about to make
hablaremós
hablaremos
Five of the six forms carry an accent, so the sixth gets one too. Nosotros has none: hablaremos.
Tendré, haré, diré
Use the twelve verbs with a changed stem.
- About twelve verbs change their stem, and the endings never change. poder gives podré, saber gives sabré, querer gives querré.
- A second group turns the vowel into a d: tener gives tendré, poner gives pondré, venir gives vendré, salir gives saldré.
- Two are simply short: hacer gives haré and decir gives diré. Everything else in the language is regular here.
The mistake you are about to make
teneré
tendré
The future is built on the whole infinitive, so teneré looks fair. Tener changes its stem: tendré, like pondré.
Guessing out loud
Use the future to guess about now.
- The future also guesses about the present: ¿Qué hora será? asks what time it probably is, not what time it will be.
- Estará en casa means he is probably at home. It is the ordinary way to say I suppose in Spanish.
- a lo mejor and seguro que both take the plain indicative: A lo mejor viene. Seguro que llega tarde.
The mistake you are about to make
¿Qué hora va a ser?
¿Qué hora será?
The question is about now, so going-to looks off anyway. A guess about the present uses the simple future: ¿Qué hora será?