The Spanish Future is mainly translated with the English Future Simple (will). Its mainly use is to talk about actions or events that will happen in the future. There aren’t a lot of irregular forms in this tense. In this article, we are going to explore more uses of the Spanish Future tense and how it helps people communicate their thoughts.
Uses of the Spanish Future
The Spanish language has many tenses, each with a specific purpose to express different things. The Spanish Future allows speakers not only to talk about future actions or events, but to suppose or give warnings. Let’s start reviewing more uses of the Spanish Future tense.
To express future actions
The most common use for the Spanish Future is when you are are talking about things that will take place at some time in the future.
Trabajaré toda la semana y el sábado visitaré a mis amigas.
I will work the whole week and I’ll visit my friends on Saturday.
Venderemos nuestros productos en otros países.
We will sell our products in other countries.
You can also describe a future situation where certain objects or conditions will exist with the Spanish Future.
En el futuro no habrá más vehículos a gasolina.
In the future there will be no more gasoline vehicles.
Dentro de quince años habrá soluciones para muchas enfermedades.
In 15 years there will be cures to many diseases.
To make suppositions about the present
It can also be used when wondering about the present.
No ha llamado todavía, ¿estará enfadado?
He hasn’t called yet, maybe he’s angry?
Parece que tienes alergia: ¿serán las gambas?
It seems you are having an allergy, could it be the shrimp?
To express courtesy
When asking a question, it is worth noting that you can use the Spanish Future tense to express politeness. This is one popular uses of the Spanish Future tense.
¿Querrán beber algo más?
Do you want anything else to drink?
¿Me ayudarás con los deberes de matemáticas esta tarde?
Will you help me with the math homework this afternoon?
To express surprise
You can also use the Spanish Future to express surprise, usually with negative connotations.
¡Será posible! Tengo otra reunión mañana.
It can’t be possible! I have another meeting tomorrow.
¿Trabajas 65 horas a la semana? ¡No será verdad!
You work 65 hours a week? You must be kidding!
To emphasize an order
Use the Imperative to give commands. However, you can use the Spanish Future to emphasize an order in Spanish. This is probably one the most interesting uses of the Spanish Future.
No volverás a jugar a este juego nunca si te comportas así.
You will never ever play this game again if you behave like this.
Estudiarás derecho porque yo lo digo, como hizo tu padre.
You will study law because I say so, like your father did.
To give warnings
You can use the Spanish Future to give warnings. This can appear in conditional sentences or not.
¡Cuidado con las escaleras! ¡Te caerás!
Be careful with the stairs! You’ll fall!
Te perderás por el camino si no arreglas el GPS.
You will get lost on the way if you do not fix the GPS.
To talk about historical facts
To talk about past actions, you would normally use the Spanish Preterite. However, if you are writing or talking with the historical present, you can use the Spanish Future to introduce future actions in the past. This is because of the verbal agreement.
En los años 60, García Márquez se muda a México, donde allí escribirá su novela más famosa, Cien años de soledad.
In the 1960s, García Márquez moves to Mexico, where he will write his most famous novel, One Hundred Years of Solitude.
Tras las elecciones de 1994, Mandela se convertirá en el primer presidente negro de Sudáfrica.
After the 1994 elections, Mandela will become the first black president of South Africa.
Exercises
Let’s do some exercises to practice the uses of the Spanish Future.