If you’ve looked at my ‘Intro to verbs‘ and ‘Introduction to tenses‘ you’ll understand about manipulating/forming/conjugating verbs, so here’s how it works for the future tense.
Remember that we use the future tense to say what we are going to do in the future or what we will do in the future.
For example. I am going to eat and I will eat.
There are two different types of future:
- The Immediate Future (AKA the Near Future): Used to say what you are going to do, usually soon.
- The Simple Future: Used to say what you will do, and has the idea of further along in the future.
In this blog we will deal with the Near/Immediate Future, but you’ll find all you need on the Simple Future in a separate blog.
Let’s get started!
The Near/Immediate Future is probably the easiest tense (time frame) to form and although it contains an ‘irregular rebel’, once you learn how to say ‘I am going’ and ‘you are going’ etc, it’s just a case of adding on the infinitive (‘to eat’/’to speak’ etc). Therefore saying, ‘I am going to eat‘ or ‘you are going to speak‘ etc.
Here’s how to form the first part of the structure:
| Ir | To go |
| (yo) voy | I am going |
| (tú) vas | You are going |
| (él/ella/usted) va | He/she/it is going & you (formal) are going |
| (nosotros/as) vamos | We are going |
| (vosotros/as) vais | All of you are going |
| (ellos/ellas/ustedes) van | They are going & you all (formal) are going |
After this, just add the letter ‘a‘ and then your infinitive:
For example:
(Yo) voy a hablar francés. (I am going to speak French.)
(Tú) vas a comer tostadas. (You are going to eat toast.)
(él) va a vivir en Londres. (He is going to live in London.)
Now, I know what you are thinking… Why have ‘a‘ if the infinitive does the job of saying ‘to’ speak and ‘to’ eat etc.
You have to add it regardless, so to help yourself remember that you need three parts, think of it as a traffic light…
You need green, amber and red to make the system work and without all three it’s just not right.
That’s it! Así de sencillo (It’s that simple)!
This is why I’m a massive fan of the Near/Immediate Future (I am going to_______)… because you only have to learn the 6 conjugations/formations of the verb ‘IR’ and add ‘a’ + infinitive. It couldn’t be easier once you know voy/vas/va/vamos/vais/van.
Why not have a go at this interactive practice activity for the Near/Immediate Future tense,. Also, if you head to Simple Spanish Tips you’ll find much more help and practice too!
Did you find this blog useful?
If so, please take the time to share it with friends, family and on your social media. I’d really appreciate it.
Would you like know what more Simple Spanish Tips has to offer you?
Why not visit the website, where you’ll find simple Spanish grammar explanations, interactive grammar exercises, and vocabulary lists with practice activities.