English uses helper structures — there is no single “future conjugation.”
Form
Use
Example
will + verb
neutral future, decisions
She will call you.
going to + verb
planned or predictable future
I’m going to eat later.
present continuous
scheduled near future
We are meeting at 3.
simple present
scheduled events
The train leaves at 5.
English future examples
Sentence
Form
I will finish tomorrow.
will
She is going to call you.
going to
He will be there.
will
We are going to move.
going to
The meeting starts at 9.
simple present
They will know soon.
will
I am going to study tonight.
going to
She will decide later.
will
We will see what happens.
will
He is going to buy a car.
going to
How Spanish expresses the future
Spanish has two main ways:
Method
Structure
Common use
Simple future
conjugated verb (new endings)
formal, predictions, spontaneous
ir + a + infinitive
voy/vas/va + a + infinitive
everyday speech, plans, near future
In everyday spoken Spanish, ir + a + infinitive is far more common than the simple future. The simple future sounds more formal or is used for predictions.
Method 1: ir + a + infinitive (going-to construction)
Conjugate ir (to go), add a, then the infinitive. The main verb doesn’t change.
Subject
ir
+ a
+ infinitive
English
yo
voy
a
hablar
I’m going to speak
tú
vas
a
comer
you’re going to eat
él/ella
va
a
vivir
he/she is going to live
nosotros
vamos
a
estudiar
we’re going to study
vosotros
vais
a
trabajar
you all are going to work
ellos
van
a
salir
they’re going to leave
ir + a examples in sentences
Spanish
English
Yo voy a llamarte mañana.
I’m going to call you tomorrow.
Ella va a estudiar esta noche.
She’s going to study tonight.
Ellos van a llegar tarde.
They’re going to arrive late.
¿Vas a comer algo?
Are you going to eat something?
Nosotros vamos a salir a las 8.
We’re going to leave at 8.
Él va a comprar un coche nuevo.
He’s going to buy a new car.
Yo voy a aprender español.
I’m going to learn Spanish.
¿Van a venir mañana?
Are they going to come tomorrow?
Ella va a terminar el proyecto.
She’s going to finish the project.
Vamos a comer juntos.
We’re going to eat together.
Method 2: Simple future (conjugated)
Add endings directly to the full infinitive (all 3 verb classes share the same endings).
Subject
Ending
yo
-é
tú
-ás
él/ella/usted
-á
nosotros
-emos
vosotros
-éis
ellos/ustedes
-án
Simple future: hablar (to speak)
Subject
Form
English
yo
hablaré
I will speak
tú
hablarás
you will speak
él/ella
hablará
he/she will speak
nosotros
hablaremos
we will speak
vosotros
hablaréis
you all will speak
ellos
hablarán
they will speak
Simple future in sentences
Spanish
English
Te llamaré mañana.
I will call you tomorrow.
Ella vivirá en Madrid.
She will live in Madrid.
Ellos llegarán tarde.
They will arrive late.
Nosotros hablaremos con el jefe.
We will speak with the boss.
¿Tú vendrás a la fiesta?
Will you come to the party?
Él sabrá la verdad.
He will know the truth.
Yo haré todo lo posible.
I will do everything possible.
¿Habrá tiempo?
Will there be time?
Tú podrás hacerlo.
You will be able to do it.
Ella querrá saber.
She will want to know.
Irregular simple future stems
These verbs use an irregular stem but still add the same endings.
Infinitive
Irregular stem
yo form
tener
tendr-
tendré
venir
vendr-
vendré
poner
pondr-
pondré
salir
saldr-
saldré
poder
podr-
podré
querer
querr-
querré
saber
sabr-
sabré
haber
habr-
habrá
hacer
har-
haré
decir
dir-
diré
Irregular future in sentences
Spanish
English
No tendré tiempo.
I won’t have time.
Ella vendrá mañana.
She will come tomorrow.
¿Dónde pondrás esto?
Where will you put this?
Él podrá ayudarte.
He will be able to help you.
¿Sabrás la respuesta?
Will you know the answer?
Haré lo que pueda.
I will do what I can.
¿Querrán venir?
Will they want to come?
Saldremos a las 9.
We will leave at 9.
Ella dirá la verdad.
She will tell the truth.
Habrá muchas personas.
There will be many people.
Comparing the two future forms
ir + a
Simple future
Nuance
Voy a comer.
Comeré.
both = “I will eat”; ir+a feels more immediate
Va a llover.
Lloverá.
prediction — both work; ir+a is more conversational
Vamos a hablar.
Hablaremos.
plan — both work; simple future is more formal
Common mistakes
❌ Using present tense for all future → ✅ use ir + a + inf. for most spoken situations
❌ Conjugating the second verb in ir + a: voy a como → ✅ voy a comer — keep the infinitive
❌ Adding future endings to the stem (not the infinitive): habl-é → ✅ hablaré — add to the full infinitive
❌ Forgetting irregular stems: poneré → ✅ pondré
Summary
Two future forms: ir + a + infinitive (conversational) and simple future (conjugated)
ir + a + infinitive: conjugate ir, add a, then the unchanged infinitive
Simple future: add endings directly to the full infinitive — same endings for all 3 verb classes
10 common verbs have irregular future stems (tendr-, vendr-, har-, dir-, etc.)