Page 1 of 5 Spanish 3 - Unit 2, Lesson 5 Patterns Study

Page 1 of 5
Spanish 3 - Unit 2, Lesson 5
Patterns
Study Sheet
Figure It Out!
Saldremos para San Marcos mañana.
Vamos a salir para San Marcos mañana.
Salimos para San Marcos mañana.
Jorge llegará a las 8:00 esta noche.
Jorge va a llegar a las 8:00 esta noche.
Jorge llega a las 8:00 esta noche.
Look at the two groups of sentences that appear above. Do the three sentences in each
group mean the same thing or do they have different meanings? Compare the underlined
words. What do they have in common with each other?
Introduction
There is a future tense in Spanish, but it is NOT the only way to talk or write about the
future. In fact, it's not even the most COMMON way! Here are the three most common ways
to talk about the future in Spanish:
Ir a + infinitive. This construction is very similar to the English structure "going to" +
verb. For example, in English we can say "I'm going to travel to Sweden next year" instead
of "I will travel to Sweden next year." It even sounds more natural. The ir a + verb
structure works the same way in Spanish. You can use either the present or imperfect forms
of the verb ir (such as voy or iba) followed by a and the infinitive (remember, that’s the
form that ends in -ar, -er, or -ir), to talk about something that is going to happen (or that
was going to happen at some past time). For example:
Vamos a visitar el Museo del Prado.
Van a restaurar las ruinas de Tikal.
Te iba a decir la verdad, pero no pude.
We are going to visit the Prado museum.
They are going to restore the ruins at Tikal.
I was going to tell you the truth, but couldn't.
Present Tense for future events. Just as in English, you can use the present tense to talk
about something that hasn't happened yet, especially if it is very certain or is about to
happen.
El tren llega en cinco minutos.
Mañana visitamos Cancún.
Lo atiendo en un momento, señor.
The train arrives in five minutes.
Tomorrow we visit Cancún.
I'll take care of you in a minute, sir.
The Future Tense. Of course, the future tense can also be used to talk about future
events. However, it is usually used for making formal statements about the future (such as
promises, threats, or legal contracts), or statements about the future that are less certain.
Pagaré la suma de 100 dólares.
Algún día seré famoso.
Tendremos el día de campo si no llueve.
Te aseguro que tendrás éxito.
I will pay the sum of 100 dollars.
I will be famous someday.
We'll have the picnic if it doesn't rain.
I assure you that you will be successful.
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Page 2 of 5
Spanish 3 - Unit 2, Lesson 5
Patterns
Study Sheet
Formation of the Future Tense - Regular
For most verbs, the future tense is very simple to form. You just add a certain ending to the
infinitive of the verb. There is no difference between the –ar, -er, and –ir verbs. The endings
are shown in the table below with the verb hablar.
REGULAR FORMATION OF THE FUTURE TENSE
STEM + ENDING
FUTURE VERB FORM
(yo) hablar + é
hablaré
(tú) hablar + ás
hablarás
(él, ella, usted) hablar + á
hablará
(nosotros) hablar + emos
hablaremos
(vosotros) hablar + éis
hablaréis
(ellos, ellas, ustedes)
hablarán
hablar + án
Formation of the Future Tense - Irregular
Spanish has 12 verbs that don't follow the regular rules for forming the future tense. The six
standard endings are the same for these verbs, but the roots change slightly. They are
shown in the following table, which gives only the yo (–é) form in order to keep things
simple. Of course, you can put any of the six endings on future tense verbs, depending on
the subject (yo, tú, él, etc.).
INFINITIVE VERB
caber
decir
haber
hacer
poder
poner
querer
saber
salir
tener
valer
venir
IRREGULAR FUTURE TENSE VERBS
STEM
FORMATION
cabrdirhabrharpodrpondrquerrsabrsaldrtendrvaldrvendr-
cabr– + –é
dir– + –é
habr– + –é
har– + –é
podr– + –é
pondr– + –é
querr– + –é
sabr– + –é
saldr– + –é
tendr– + –é
valdr– + –é
vendr– + –é
FUTURE TENSE
(FIRST PERSON
SINGULAR)
cabré
diré
habré
haré
podré
pondré
querré
sabré
saldré
tendré
valdré
vendré
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No portion of these materials may be reproduced or redistributed in any form without the express permission of
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Page 3 of 5
Spanish 3 - Unit 2, Lesson 5
Patterns
Study Sheet
Other Uses of the Future Tense
The Spanish future tense has two other important uses: to express speculation or
"wondering" about something, and to give emphatic commands.
Speculative use of the Future Tense. The following examples show how the future tense
can be used in Spanish to refer to things that are uncertain:
¿Dónde habrá un poco de harina?
Ese hombre tendrá unos cincuenta años.
Habrán comido demasiado.
I wonder where some flour is.
That man is probably about fifty years old.
They've probably eaten too much.
Emphatic commands. In addition to the regular command forms of Spanish verbs, the
future tense can be used to give commands with greater emphasis or sharpness:
¡Te quedarás aquí hasta que yo regrese!
No matarás.
Stay here until I come back!
Thou shalt not kill.
Summary
You don't have to use the future tense to talk about things that are going to happen. And
when you do use the future tense, sometimes it doesn't even refer to the future!
There are other ways to talk or write about the future (using the ir a + infinitive
construction or the simple present tense). In addition, the future tense has some other
special uses in Spanish, including expressing suppositions and speculation, and giving
emphatic, formal commands.
© 2006 Power-Glide. All rights reserved. This material is intended for the exclusive use of registered users only.
No portion of these materials may be reproduced or redistributed in any form without the express permission of
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Spanish 3 - Unit 2, Lesson 5
Patterns
Study Sheet
Page 4 of 5
Practice Questions
A. Paragraph Completion: Future
Complete the following letter twice. The first time, fill in the blanks with future tense verbs.
The second time, fill them in with the “ir a + verb” form of the future.
Querida mamá,
¿Cómo estás? Esta es una pequeña nota que te escribo para que sepas lo que _______
(pasar) cuando yo te llegue a recoger al aeropuerto. Primero, (yo) _______ (llegar) a las
7:00 de la tarde. Es lo más temprano que puedo llegar. Te ________ (recoger) del
aeropuerto y luego tú y yo _______ (ir) a comer a un restaurante. Luego nos ________
(venir) para la casa, donde tu cama ya ______ (estar) hecha para que puedas descansar.
Estoy ansiosa por verte. Cariños,
Tu nena
B. Sentence Completion: Future
Complete the following sentences with the correct form of the future tense.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
¿En qué año _______ (tener) tú 42 años?
Yo le _____ (dar) la propina al camarero.
Nosotros _____ (tomar) el bus a Lima mañana por la mañana.
Mi vecino me _____ (ayudar) con mi tarea escolar esta noche.
¿_____ (seguir) Ud. esta dieta especial?
C. Verb Changes: Future
Look at each verb form and change it to the corresponding future tense. Keep the same
person and number. For example, if it’s a yo verb, make it a yo verb in the future tense. If
it’s an ellos verb, make it an ellos verb in the future tense, and so on.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
vivió
corren
salieron
amamos
consigues
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
D. Sentence Conversion: Future
Convert the following sentences into the correct future tense from the ir a + infinitive.
1. Si Pepe no duerme bien, va a enfermarse.
_________________________________________________________________________
2. Mañana vamos a nadar.
_________________________________________________________________________
3. Nosotros vamos a trabajar mucho.
_________________________________________________________________________
© 2006 Power-Glide. All rights reserved. This material is intended for the exclusive use of registered users only.
No portion of these materials may be reproduced or redistributed in any form without the express permission of
Power-Glide.
Spanish 3 - Unit 2, Lesson 5
Patterns
Study Sheet
Page 5 of 5
4. No voy a poder llegar.
_________________________________________________________________________
5. Los turistas van a subir la pirámide.
_________________________________________________________________________
E. Sentence Translation: Future
Translate the following sentences into Spanish.
1. Tomorrow we will eat late.
_________________________________________________________________________
2. Who will come with you?
_________________________________________________________________________
3. What song will we sing?
_________________________________________________________________________
F. Writing Exercise: Future
Write three original sentences in the future tense using vocabulary you have learned.
1. _______________________________________________________________________
2. _______________________________________________________________________
3. _______________________________________________________________________
© 2006 Power-Glide. All rights reserved. This material is intended for the exclusive use of registered users only.
No portion of these materials may be reproduced or redistributed in any form without the express permission of
Power-Glide.