The Irregular Future: tendré, podré, haré, diré, vendré
Spanish: El Futuro Irregular: tendré, podré, haré, diré, vendré
Level: B1 Intermediate
Category: verbs
Explanation
The simple future in Spanish is very regular: for almost all verbs we add the same endings (-é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án) directly to the infinitive. However, there is a small group of very common verbs that have an irregular stem. The good news is that the endings are exactly the same as in the regular future; only the stem you attach them to changes. There are three groups of irregularities. In the first group, the vowel of the infinitive drops: poder becomes podr-, querer becomes querr-, saber becomes sabr-, haber becomes habr-, and caber becomes cabr-. In the second group, the vowel is replaced by a -d-: tener becomes tendr-, poner becomes pondr-, salir becomes saldr-, venir becomes vendr-, and valer becomes valdr-. In the third group, the stem is shortened in a special way: hacer becomes har- and decir becomes dir-. Once you know the irregular stem, conjugating is easy because the endings never change and they all carry a written accent except the nosotros form (-emos). For example, from tener (stem tendr-): tendré, tendrás, tendrá, tendremos, tendréis, tendrán. Derived verbs inherit the same irregularity. So obtener, mantener, and detener conjugate like tener (obtendré, mantendré); proponer and componer like poner (propondré); and deshacer like hacer (desharé). Learning these few verbs lets you correctly form the future of dozens of related verbs.
Examples
- Mañana tendré tiempo para visitar el museo. - Tomorrow I will have time to visit the museum.
- ¿Podrás pagar con tarjeta en el café? - Will you be able to pay by card at the café?
- El camarero dijo que haremos la reserva para las ocho. - The waiter said we will make the reservation for eight.
- Le diré al recepcionista que la habitación tiene un problema. - I will tell the receptionist that the room has a problem.
- El tren vendrá a las diez en punto. - The train will come at ten o'clock sharp.