The Futuro Simple in Spanish: one of the easiest tenses to learn (10 real examples)

The futuro simple is how Spanish says "will" – hablaré, comerás, vivirán. Spanish speakers also use it to guess and wonder about the present: ¿Quién será? means "I wonder who that is?", and it's the use that tends to surprise learners. The good news is that the endings are the same for every verb, so once you know them and a dozen irregular stems, you can put almost any verb into the future.

At Speakeasy BCN Spanish school in Barcelona, we teach the futuro simple as part of our B1.1 curriculum – in week 2 of our intensive course, week 4 of our semi-intensive course and week 8 of our evening course.

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When do you use the futuro simple in Spanish?

The futuro simple is used to express:

• an upcoming (future) action, or an intention

• a prediction about the future

• a probability or possibility

How do you form the futuro simple in Spanish?

The futuro simple in Spanish is one of the easiest tenses to conjugate. The specific endings are added to the end of the infinitive of the verb.

Irregular conjugations in futuro simple

As with other tenses – like the irregular pretérito indefinido – the futuro simple has some irregular conjugations. The endings stay the same, however, the stem of the verbs change.

Here is a list of the 12 irregular verbs with their changed stems and endings. One you'll use constantly is the verb haber, whose future form habrá means "there will be".

8 examples of the futuro simple in use

When talking about a future action, the best way to translate from Spanish to English would be to add will or shall before the infinitive verb. In some cases where it is used to talk about possibility or probability, it makes sense to use might, may or must. Here are some examples of the future simple tense:

Jugaremos al fútbol en la Barceloneta mañana por la mañana. (upcoming future action)
We will play football tomorrow morning.

Ella hablará con sus padres esta tarde. (upcoming future action or intention)
She will talk to her parents this afternoon.

¿Quién será él? (wonder or probability)
I wonder who he is. (Who could he be?)

¡Encontraré un piso bonito en Gràcia! (prediction)
I will find a beautiful house!

Tendréis hambre después de ese viaje tan largo. (probability)
You must be hungry after such a long trip.

Saldremos a cenar por el Born el viernes. (upcoming future action)
We will go out for dinner in El Born on Friday.

Habrá mucha gente en La Boqueria el sábado. (prediction)
There will be lots of people at La Boqueria on Saturday.

Pau no contesta – tendrá el móvil apagado. (probability)
Pau isn't answering – his phone must be switched off.

2 examples of Spanish speakers using the present (instead of the futuro simple)

"It is very common for Spanish speakers to use the present tense to talk about actions in the very near future." Although it is correct, it is a more colloquial form of expressing upcoming actions.

For example:

Te veo en un rato.
I will see you soon.

Mi padre viene a Barcelona a visitarme en marzo.
My father will come to visit me in March.

Ready to put this into practice?

Knowing the endings is the easy part. Using the futuro simple without stopping to think – making plans, predicting, wondering out loud – comes from practising it in real conversation.

We teach it at B1.1 level, and you can study it at the pace that suits you:

• Intensive 20h Course – 20 hours a week, for the fastest progress. You can also compare all our intensive options.

• Semi-intensive 10h Course – 10 hours a week, for steady progress alongside work or study.

• Evening 4h Course – 4 hours a week after work, one of our part-time Spanish courses.

Whichever you choose, you'll be joining our Spanish school in the heart of Barcelona and student body who've left us over 1,000 five-star reviews.