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Published on: Grammar

Irregular Future Tense in Spanish: The Ultimate Guide

If you didn’t already know, irregular futures in Spanish are among the simplest irregularities in the language, and learning them is surprisingly quick. Luckily, it’s not something to be too concerned about.

The future tense in Spanish is mainly used to talk about events that haven’t happened yet, similar to how “will” is used in English. However, Spanish differs from English in that there isn’t a separate word like “will”; instead, the verbs themselves undergo a complete transformation. Spanish verbs fall into two categories: regular and irregular, and these distinctions lead to differences in their future tense conjugation.

For regular verbs, future tense endings are added directly to the infinitive form, just like with any typical verb. Irregular verbs, on the other hand, deviate from this pattern, with their stems altering slightly before the future endings are attached.

To dive deeper into how to conjugate irregular verbs in the future tense in Spanish, keep reading!

Irregular Verbs in Spanish

As with many Romance languages derived from Latin, Spanish has many aspects of Latin grammar and vocabulary

Irregular Spanish verbs originate from the modification of Latin verbs into their actual forms within the modern Spanish language. And in case you didn’t know, the majority of Spanish verbs are classified as irregular.  

The irregular verbs in the future tense are no exception since they also do not follow the same conjugation model as the regular verbs in the future tense. On the contrary, irregular future tense verbs in Spanish use modified root forms combined with future endings. 

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List Of Irregular Spanish Verbs in Future Tense 

Spanish has three main types of irregular verbs:

  1. Verbs that remove the ‘e’ or ‘i’

These verbs delete the -e/-i in the infinitive ending and add the letter “d” instead before the future endings are added.  And the endings would be: -dré, -drás, -drá, -dremos, -dréis, -drán.

Spanish Infinitive verb Yo Tu Él/Ella/Usted Nosotros Vosotros Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes
Tener (to have) Tendré Tendrás Tendrá Tendremos Tendréis Tendrán
Poner (to put) Pondré Pondrás Pondrá Pondremos Pondréis Pondrán
Salir (to leave, go out) Saldré Saldrás Saldrá Saldremos Saldréis Saldrán
Valer (to be worth) Valdré Valdrás Valdrá Valdremos Valdréis Valdrán
Venir (to come) Vendré Vendrás Vendrá Vendremos Vendréis Vendrán
  • Tendré un teléfono nuevo la semana que viene.

I will have a new phone next week.

  • Pondremos la nueva decoración de la oficina hoy.

We’ll put up the new office decor today.

  • Mi hermano y yo saldremos al cine.

My brother and I will go out to the movies.

  • Este anillo de oro valdrá mucho más dentro de unos años.

This gold ring will be worth a lot more in a few years.

  • Mis amigos vendrán a mi casa esta noche.

My friends are coming to my house tonight.

  2. Verbs that remove the ‘e’ or ‘i’ from the infinitive.

Arguably, they are the most irregular of all because these verbs remove the letter -e from the infinitive form before adding the simple future endings, but they are more understandable if learned by heart.

Spanish Infinitive verb Yo Tu Él/Ella/Usted Nosotros Vosotros Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes
Caber (to fit) Cabré Cabrás Cabrá Cabremos Cabréis Cabrán
Haber (to have) Habré Habrás Habrá Habremos Habréis Habrán
Poder (to leave, go out) Podré Podrás Podrá Podremos Podréis Podrán
Querer (to want) Querré Querrás Querrá Querremos Querréis Querrán
Saber (to know) Sabré Sabrás Sabrá Sabremos Sabréis Sabrán
  • Creo que estos zapatos no cabrán en el closet.

I don’t think these shoes will fit in the closet.

  • Si sigo a este ritmo, habré terminado el trabajo antes de las 12.

If I keep going at this pace, I’ll be done with the job before 12.

  • ¿Si podrás venir a mi casa?

Will you be able to come to my house?

  • Si voy a tu casa, querré que me prestes el playstation.

If I come to your house, I’ll want to borrow the playstation.

  • Algún día sabremos la verdad de esa historia. 

Someday we’ll know the truth of that story. 

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  3. Verbs that do not follow the first two rules.

Both of these verbs (and others related to them, such as predecir, deshacer, contradecir, etc.) eliminate the infinitive -ce or -ec and add the future ending. 

Spanish Infinitive verb Yo Tu Él/Ella/Usted Nosotros Vosotros Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes
Decir (to say) Diré Dirás Dirán Diremos Diréis Dirán
Hacer (to do) Haré Harás Harán Haremos Haréis Harán

 

  • Te diré con quien estoy hablando.

I’ll tell you who I’m talking to.

  • ¿Me dirás con quien hablas?

Will you tell me who you’re talking to?

  • Haré la tarea más tarde.

I’ll do my homework later.

  • Más tarde haremos pizza en mi casa.

Later we’ll make pizza at my house.

And if you were asking what are the 12 irregular verbs in the future tense, those are! It’s a pretty short and easy-to-learn list so as we said at the beginning, it’s not a big thing to worry about. Just study a little bit and you will master them fast for sure. 

It is important to note that these verbs can be the basis of other verbs, such as rehacer, intervenir, mantener, reponer, reponer, predecir, etc., and follow the same structure. 

So when you see these types of compound words that end with a verb from this list of 12 irregular future verbs in Spanish, you already know that they conjugate the same way. 

Improve Your Spanish Today

Learning Spanish is easier than it seems. At first, it may seem a little tricky but with time you will see that it is much easier than you thought. Besides being one of the most spoken languages in the world, it will open doors to magnificent opportunities, great friends, travel, and unique experiences that only Spanish can give you.

Now that you have learned these verbs in the irregular future tense it is time to start practicing them and add them to your daily vocabulary, you can even practice building some everyday sentences with these verbs. 

Remember to check out our different Spanish blogs that will help you in your daily interactions thanks to widely used content that will help you get along better during the day with your Spanish-speaking friends! 

And if you want to start formalizing your language-learning journey, remember that the best way is to do it with professional native teachers who will help you make your learning process much easier, faster, and more effective. 

Start today by trying a free 1:1 class or free 7 days of group classes and discover why the SpanishVIP methodology is so successful for hundreds of students!

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