Grammar patterns · GCSE Spanish

Future tense

Simple future endings on the infinitive, plus voy a, and the irregular stems ser-, har- and tendr-.

UNDERSTAND→RETRIEVE→REMEMBER
THE MEMORY HOOK
Keep the whole infinitive. Bolt on é, ás, á, emos, éis, án: hablaré, comeré, viviré.

The important bits

What you need to know

  1. 1

    Simple future: infinitive + -é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án. Hablaré, comeré, viviré.

  2. 2

    The infinitive stays intact, including -er and -ir: comeré, not comré. Accents sit on é, ás, á, éis, án. Not on emos.

  3. 3

    Irregular stems: decir → dir-, hacer → har-, poder → podr-, poner → pondr-, salir → saldr-, tener → tendr-, venir → vendr-, haber → habr-, querer → querr-, saber → sabr-.

  4. 4

    Ser → seré. Ir → iré. These look regular because the infinitive is already short.

  5. 5

    Immediate future: ir + a + infinitive. Voy a estudiar, vamos a salir. This also counts as a future time frame.

  6. 6

    Trigger phrases: mañana, el año que viene, el sábado que viene, dentro de una semana, más tarde, pronto.

  7. 7

    Use a future verb even if the rest of the sentence is simple: El año que viene iré a España.

  8. 8

    Voy a plus infinitive is safer under pressure; simple future shows range. Have both.

Quotations worth analysing

Short evidence. Real method.

“El año que viene estudiaré medicina y viviré en Madrid.”
Simple future on two infinitives

Estudiar and vivir keep their infinitives. -é marks yo. El año que viene is the future time phrase examiners can tick.

Go deeper

How do I form the simple future in Spanish?

Do not chop the infinitive. Hablar, comer and vivir stay whole, then you add the same six endings to all three families: -é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án. That gives hablaré, hablarás, hablará, hablaremos, hablaréis, hablarán. Comeré and viviré follow the same bolt-on. The accents matter: hablara without an accent can be misread as a different tense. Nosotros is the exception with no extra accent: hablaremos. Once this is automatic, you can future-tense any regular verb you know, which is why it is such efficient exam grammar.

Go deeper

Which future stems are irregular?

A short list of verbs change the infinitive before the ending. Tener becomes tendré, tendrás, tendrá. Hacer becomes haré. Decir becomes diré. Salir becomes saldré. Venir becomes vendré. Poner becomes pondré. Poder becomes podré. Querer becomes querré. Saber becomes sabré. Haber becomes habrá in there will be. You still add the usual future endings; only the stem is new. Learn tendré, haré, diré and saldré first because they appear in work, plans and photo-card follow-up questions about next year.

Go deeper

Does voy a count as the future?

Yes. Time frames are about meaning, not about showing off a particular tense. Voy a visitar a mis abuelos el sábado que viene is a future time frame. Mañana voy a hacer los deberes is too. Use ir in the present, then a, then an infinitive: voy a, vas a, va a, vamos a, vais a, van a. It is the fastest way to lock a future sentence when your mind goes blank. For higher range, mix both: Ahora estudio español. El año que viene iré a Valencia. Examiners credit the time frame if the message is clear, even if one accent slips.

WORKED EXAMPLE

See the idea in action

Ahora vivo en Manchester. El año que viene iré a España y visitaré a mi familia. También voy a estudiar más español. Present habit, simple future iré and visitaré, plus voy a estudiar. Three time frames in three sentences, all built from verbs you already know.

Exam technique

Turn knowledge into marks

Put the time phrase first: El sábado que viene jugaré al rugby. The examiner sees the future before they even reach the verb.

Common mistakes

Do not give these marks away

  1. 01

    Chopping the infinitive as if it were present: yo hablé for I will speak. Future of hablar is hablaré.

  2. 02

    Forgetting accents: hablara, comera. Yo is hablaré; él is hablará.

  3. 03

    Writing voy estudiar without a. It must be voy a estudiar.

QUICK RETRIEVAL

What is the yo simple future of hablar?

Ahablaré

Bhablo

Chablé

Show the answer

hablaré. Keep the infinitive hablar and add -é. Hablo is present. Hablé is preterite.

Quick questions

If this is the bit you searched

Is iré or voy a ir better?

Both work. Iré is neat simple future. Voy a ir is acceptable but repetitive; voy a visitar is cleaner if you already used ir.

How do I say there will be?

Habrá. Había is there was. Hay is there is. Habrá una fiesta mañana.