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2. The future tense (el futuro) uses the same endings for all –ar, –er, and –ir verbs. For regular verbs, the endings are added to the infinitive.
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3. Note that all of the future tense endings carry a written accent mark, except the nosotros/as form.
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4. For irregular verbs, the same future endings are added to the irregular stem.
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5. Most verbs derived from irregular verbs follow the same pattern.
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6. In Spanish, as in English, the future tense is one of many ways to express actions or conditions that will happen in the future.
PRESENT INDICATIVE
PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE
conveys a sense of certainty that the action will occur
refers to an action that has yet to occur; used after verbs of will and influence.
Llegan a la costa mañana.
Prefiero que lleguen a la costa mañana.
They arrive at the coast tomorrow.
I prefer that they arrive at the coast tomorrow.
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7. Van a llegar a la costa mañana. Llegarán a la costa mañana.
ir a + [infinitive]
FUTURE TENSE
expresses the near future; is commonly used in everyday speech
expresses an action that will occur; often implies more certainty than ir a + [infinitive]
Van a llegar a la costa mañana.
Llegarán a la costa mañana.
They are going to arrive at the coast tomorrow.
They will arrive at the coast tomorrow.
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8. The future tense is used less frequently in Spanish than in English.
Te llamo mañana.
I’ll call you tomorrow.
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9. The English word will can refer either to future time or to someone’s willingness to do something. To express willingness, Spanish uses the verb querer + [infinitive], not the future tense.
¿Quieres contribuir a la protección del medio ambiente?
Quiero ayudar, pero no sé por dónde empezar.
Will you contribute to the protection of the environment?
I’ll help, but I don’t know where to begin.
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10. In Spanish, the future tense may be used to express conjecture or probability, even about present events. English expresses this sense in various ways, such as wonder, bet, must be, may, might, and probably.
¿Qué hora será?
Ya serán las dos de la mañana.
I wonder what time it is.
It must be two a.m. by now.
¿Lloverá mañana?
Probablemente tendremos un poco de sol y un poco de viento.
Do you think it will rain tomorrow?
It’ll probably be a bit sunny and windy.
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11. When the present subjunctive follows a conjunction of time like cuando, después (de) que, en cuanto, hasta que, and tan pronto como, the future tense is often used in the main clause of the sentence.
Nos quedaremos lejos de la costa hasta que pase el huracán.
We’ll stay far from the coast until the hurricane passes.
En cuanto termine de llover, regresaremos a casa.
As soon as it stops raining, we’ll go back home.
Tan pronto como salga el sol, iré a la playa a tomar fotos.
As soon as the sun comes up, I’ll go to the beach to take photos.
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