Let’s assume you are aware that there are two ways to talk about the future… The Near/Immediate Future used to say what we are going to do in the future and the Simple future, which is used to say what we will do in the future.
For example. I am going to speak VS I will speak.
In this blog we will deal with the Simple Future, but you’ll find all you need on the Near/Immediate Future in a separate blog.
So… The Simple future, here we go!
Remember this is used to talk about what you will do.
This is one of my favourite tenses because, again, it is pretty easy once you learn the new endings.
So for this tense, you don’t need to take anything off. You just take the infinitive and add a new ending to form the Simple Future. The bonus is that you only have to learn one set of endings because they are the same for ‘-AR’, ‘-ER’ and ‘-IR’ verbs/
Take a look at a common ‘-AR’ verb:
| Hablar | To speak |
| (yo) hablaré | I will speak |
| (tú) hablarás | You will speak |
| (él/ella/usted) hablará | He/she/it will speak & you (formal) will speak |
| (nosotros/as) hablaremos | We will speak |
| (vosotros/as) hablaréis | All of you will speak |
| (ellos/ellas/ustedes) hablarán | They will speak & you all (formal) will speak |
Now, take a look at a common ‘-ER’ verb:
| Comer | To eat |
| (yo) comeré | I will eat |
| (tú) comerás | You will eat |
| (él/ella/usted) comerá | He/she/it will eat & you (formal) will speak |
| (nosotros/as) comeremos | We will eat |
| (vosotros/as) comeréis | All of you will eat |
| (ellos/ellas/ustedes) comerán | They will eat & you (formal) will speak |
Now, take a look at a common ‘-IR’ verb:
| Vivir | To live |
| (yo) viviré | I will live |
| (tú) vivirás | You will live |
| (él/ella/usted) vivirá | He/she/it will live & you (formal) will speak |
| (nosotros/as) viviremos | We will live |
| (vosotros/as) viviréis | All of you will live |
| (ellos/ellas/ustedes) vivrán | They will live & you all (formal) will speak |
For example:
- (Yo) hablaré lentamente. (I will speak slowly.)
- María comerá luego. (Maria will eat later.)
- Nosotros viviremos con mis padres (We will live with my parents.)
In terms of the future tenses, you can use the Simple Future and the Near/Immediate Future fairly interchangeably. Just keep in mind, on some occasions it might sound more fitting to choose one over the other.
Therefore, if it sounds better to say ‘I am going to….’ in English, rather than ‘I will…’ then the same applies for Spanish.
At the end of the day…
There’s no doubt that the Simple Future is another favourite of mine because you only have to learn one set of endings… they work for EVERY SINGLE VERB in the Spanish dictionary. However… there is a handful of irregular rebels that don’t use the infinitive. You can find out about those HERE.
However, If you are ready to test yourself on the Simple Future with regular verbs, have a go at the following activity:
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.