Form and uses of the future imperfect. A fascinating verb tense Spanish is a rich language distinguished by its diverse verb tenses. Each one has its own uses that allow actions to be expressed in different contexts and moments in time. In this article we will delve for the first time
Spanish is a rich language that is distinguished by its various tenses.
Each one has its own uses that allow actions to be expressed in different contexts and moments in time.
In this article we will enter for the first time into the world of imperfect future, a fascinating tense.
we will see the shape of the imperfect future, both in its regular and irregular conjugation and we will also see in depth its uses.
In addition, you will practice each use of the future imperfect with exercises that we will give you.
In Hispania, Spanish school We are experts in explaining the different tenses.
We dedicate entire classes to each time and contrasting them in oral and practical situations.
If you want to deepen your learning of this language, come to our spanish courses and you will see how in a short time your level improves a lot.
And now, get ready because you are going to learn a new verb tense.
Let's welcome the imperfect future! 🙌🏻
We start with the shape of this time.
First of all, it is important to mention that this time has two names: future imperfect and future simple.
Surely if you have studied Spanish grammar you have seen both names and this may have caused confusion. Now you know that they refer to the same time 😉.
The morphology of the future imperfect indicative It's very simple. We start with the regular.
The form of the future imperfect differs from the rest of the tenses. What is the reason for this difference?
It is because its conjugation starts directly frominfinitive. That is, we will use the infinitive plus the future endings.
Furthermore, these endingsthey are always the samefor all conjugations.
What is wonderful? You don't have to memorize three different conjugations, butonly one.
To give you an idea, the formula for the simple future in Spanish is like this:
| Person | Verb | Termination |
|---|---|---|
|
I |
infinitive |
–AND |
|
You |
infinitive |
–ACE |
|
He/She/You |
infinitive |
–TO |
|
We |
infinitive |
–EMOS |
|
You |
infinitive |
–EIS |
|
They/Them/You |
infinitive |
–AN |
The right column are thesimple future endings. As we have indicated before, they are repeated for all conjugations.
Now let's see the shape of thefuture imperfect indicativewith examples ofverbs in-ar, -er, -ir.
| Person | Verb | Termination |
|---|---|---|
|
I |
talk |
–AND |
|
You |
be |
–ACE |
|
He/She/You |
drive |
–TO |
|
We |
begin |
–EMOS |
|
You |
read |
–EIS |
|
They/Them/You |
write |
–AN |
For example, theverbbein futureimperfectIt's like this:
I will be
you will be
He/she/you will be
we will be
You will be
They/they/you will be
Now let's see theimperfect future with examplesfrom the previous sentences:
See how easy the regular way is?
What would the future of a verb reflective? Well, exactly the same, but adding the personal pronouns front.
For example, the verb stay it would be like this:
I me I will stay
you you you will stay
He/she/you if will remain
we / us we we will stay
you os you will stay
They/them/you if will remain
Now let's go with the irregular shape, which is also very easy to learn.
We have good news for you.
The future simple only has 12 irregular verbs 🥳.
We are going to tell you our secret to easily memorize irregular future verbs. We the we match according to the first consonant with which they begin:
Put – Come – Do – Know
Power – Worth – Having – Exit
There we already have 8, 4 are missing.
These remaining 4 are have, want, say and fit.
We also have a little trick to memorize these four verbs. We use this funny phrase to associate the verbs:
You (have) I want (want) say (say) that you don't fit (fit). 😁
If you use these tricks, you will surely have no problems remembering the 12 verbs.
And how are these 12 irregular verbs conjugated in the future tense?
The endings are the same as in the regular form. What changes is the infinitive.
This is the way of each one.
Put – Pondr
Power – I could
Come – will come
Valer – Valdr
Do – Har
Credit – There will be
Know – Sabr
Exit – will go out
Have – will have
Want – Will
Say – Dir
Fit – Goat
Now you just have to add endings and that's it. As in the following examples:
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Now you know how to form the simple future in Spanish. Very good! It's a big step.
Now let's see what words we usually use this time.
These words are called temporary markers, although we also like to call them keywords.
If you have read our articles on other verb tenses in Spanish, you will know that each tense has its own own keywords.
In this case the key words refer to the future. Did you see our article on periphrasis Go to + infinitive?
It is another way of talking about the future and they share most of the keywords.
The key words of the simple future are the following:
Tomorrow I'll see Carlos.
The day after tomorrow you will attend to class again.
this afternoon we will go around.
tonight I will stay with my friends.
This weekend they will an excursion through the mountains.
next week I'll be out.
next month I will start studying.
Both «the next/the next» as «what's coming» mean the same and are used the same.
In march we will see each other more.
In june We will celebrate your birthday.
In 2030 I will have a new house.
Within two years My apartment will now be habitable.
In four weeks I will travel to Uruguay.
¿in a thousand years Will the planet still be habitable?
Broadly speaking, these would be the key words that share the future simple and the verbal periphrasis Go to + infinitive.
Now, to the future simple we can add other keywords that talk about a non-concrete future:
Coming soon I'll go see you, I hope it's soon.
someday I'll get my driving license, it's a matter of time and practice.
you know how conjugate the imperfect future in spanish and the keywords that usually accompany him.
Now let's delve into the uses of the future imperfect.
How should this time be used? How is it different from periphrasis?go to + infinitive?
Don't worry because you will see that soon these questions will be resolved.
The main use of the future is talk about future actions. It's obvious, right? 😄
Now, there are different ways of talking about the future, mainly we can distinguish between plans and predictions.
Do you want to see how they are different? Let's go there!
with him imperfect future indicative We can talk about future plans. That is, of things we think we are going to do.
They could be future plans close or far.
Examples:
In Spanish we have different types of future in perfect and imperfect tenses:
On the one hand, we have the periphrasis Go to + infinitive and the future imperfect, which now we will see their differences.
On the other hand, we also have the future compound indicative, also known as future perfect. We will see this time in detail in another article 😉.
And what about the subjunctive mood? There is no future of the subjunctive?
The truth is that yes, there is future imperfect subjunctive, but this time was left in disuse.
In fact, it is no longer even studied in grammar books or taught. So we will choose this route. One less tense you have to learn!
Now that you know the different tenses in the future, let's talk about the difference between Go to + infinitive and the future simple.
With the periphrasis Go to + infinitive we also talk about future plans. So how are they different?
With Go to + infinitive we show a very high security in that plan. We are sure that it will happen. Additionally, it is often used with insurance plans. near future.
On the other hand, with the future simple the level of security for that plan to be made it's not that high and can be used for both close and distant plans.
So that you understand it, we are going to use the example of before visiting the friend in Cantabria.
We can say it both ways and both are correct, but each one has different nuances:
In the first, by using Go to + infinitive we are showing that this plan is well programmed and sure that it will be done. I probably already have the days reserved and the plane ticket purchased.
In the second, when using the simple future the probability that you will make the trip is very high, although it is not 100% certain. Maybe I still don't know what days I will go, or I haven't bought the flight yet.
Let's put it into practice this use of future plans with the future imperfect.
What will you do next summer?
In the following exercise you have 5 sentences that answer this question. You must drag the verb in the future to its corresponding space.
Luck!
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With the future imperfect we can also talk about predictions.
What are predictions? They are statements made about future events that are expected to occur.
Predictions are usually based on observing past patterns, current data, or analyzing certain trends.
In various fields, such as meteorology, economics, science, sports or even in everyday life, people make predictions to anticipate possible outcomes.
However, predictions do not guarantee the future with absolute certainty, since we can never be 100% sure of what will happen in the future.
some prediction examples They would be the following:
What do you think of these predictions? Will they happen or not?
These examples are from a long term future. However, we can also make predictions of a near future. This is very common in meteorology:
Now we are going to practice weather predictions with the following activity.
You have to write the infinitive in parentheses in the correct future form.
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Now you know the main use of the future, which is to talk about future actions, both in plans and predictions.
But there is a second use that is used a lot.
This use does not refer to the future, but to the probability in present.
Many times they ask us something in the present and we don't know the answer. In that case we use the future tense to respond.
It is a probability, that is, we are not sure of it but is what we think.
Let's see it with different examples between two people speaking:
A) Do you know where Marisa is? B) I don't know, will be about to arrive.
A) Why does Ramón seem so sad? B) No idea, will have problems with his girlfriend.
A) Why does he always order caffeine-free coffee? B) I don't know, I guess the caffeine will put nervous
A) I can't find my cell phone, too bad! B) Don't worry. Surely will be in your house.
As you see, the verbs of the person A are in present, and those of the person B in future.
But this future does not speak of a future time, but of probability or assumption in present tense.
It is very useful to know this use when someone asks us something and we don't know the answer.
Instead of just answering “I don't know,” you can now use probability and make the dialogue more dynamic.
It is also effective for making assumptions without anyone asking us, as in the last example, about the location of the mobile phone.
A curiosity about this use of probability is that sometimes the question can be asked directly in future.
When this happens, it is because we know that the person we ask don't know the answer, but we ask because we simply want to talk or share our doubt with someone.
We Spaniards are like that, we love to talk and ask questions even when we know that our interlocutor doesn't know what to answer 😆.
Examples:
A) What time will be right now? B) No idea, it will be 2:00 p.m. or so.
A) From where will take out Do you have so much money to buy that big car? B) Namely…
In the following exercise you have to use the appropriate infinitive and conjugate it in the future tense to answer each question with probability.
Let's see how you get on!
If you have made it this far, we congratulate you. Ya you know everything you need about the imperfect future, from its form to its uses.
Now you just have to put it into practice in your daily life.
Do you know a place where you would use it a lot? In Hispania, Spanish school. Here you would speak Spanish every day with your teachers and classmates.
There is no better way to learn a language than by attending a quality school and practicing it in all communication skills, as we do in our courses.
Finally, we encourage you to comment if you liked the article or if you have any questions about this topic.
You can also tell us about some plans to practice in the future.
What will you do on your next vacation? Will you come to Valencia?
Comment and we'll talk.
Have a good day!
Article written by Carlos Martinez for Hispania, Spanish school.
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