UNIT TWENTY
The future tense
In colloquial Spanish the future is usually expressed by ir a + infinitive, equivalent to the
English ‘I am going to ...’:
Voy a visitar a mis tíos.
I am going to visit my aunt and uncle.Vamos a hacerlo.
We are going to do it.There is, however, a future tense that is used in more formal contexts.
The formation of the future tense is very straightforward, as there is only one set of
endings for all three verb categories – -ar, -er and -ir.
The endings for the future tense are added to the infinitive and are as follows:
-é
-ás
-á
-emos
-éis
-án
So here is the full form of the future tense of regular verbs:
compraré beberé viviré
comprarás beberás vivirás
comprará beberá vivirá
compraremos beberemos viviremos
compraréis beberéis viviréis
comprarán beberán vivirán
e.g. Escribiré la carta mañana.
I will write the letter tomorrow.
No beberemos nada.
We will not drink anything.
¿A qué hora llegarás?
What time will you arrive?