Hay algunos verbos que cambian su raíz en el futuro simple.

(There are some verbs that change their stem in the simple future.)

How irregular futures are different (in one glance)

  • For all future forms (regular and irregular) you use the same endings: -é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án.
  • What changes in irregular verbs is the stem (the part before the ending), not the ending.
  • So: irregular stem + normal future ending.
Person Ending Example with irregular stem tendr- (tener)
yo-étendré
tú-ástendrás
él / ella / usted-átendrá
nosotros/-as-emostendremos
vosotros/-as-éistendréis
ellos / ellas / ustedes-ántendrán

Key idea: once you know the irregular stem, you can form all persons automatically.

The 3 groups of irregular stems

Spanish groups the irregular futures in three clear patterns. Learn them by pattern, not verb by verb.

  1. Verbs that add -d- and lose a vowel
    • salir → saldr-: saldré, saldrás, …
    • venir → vendr-: vendré, vendrás, …
    • poner → pondr-: pondré, pondrás, …
    • tener → tendr-: tendré, tendrás, …

    Tip: all these have an -n- or -l- before the ending in the infinitive, and in the future a -dr- appears: salir → saldr-; tener → tendr-.

  2. Verbs that only lose a vowel
    • poder → podr-: podré, podrás, …
    • saber → sabr-: sabré, sabrás, …
    • haber → habr-: habrá (almost always this form)

    The vowel of the infinitive ending disappears: poder → podr-.

  3. Completely irregular stems
    • hacer → har-: haré, harás, …
    • decir → dir-: diré, dirás, …
    • querer → querr-: querré, querrás, …

    These are “learn by heart” verbs. They do not follow a clear letter pattern.

Visual map: infinitive → irregular stem

Group Infinitive Irregular stem Example (yo)
Lose vowel + add d salirsaldr-saldré
venirvendr-vendré
ponerpondr-pondré
tenertendr-tendré
Lose vowel poderpodr-podré
sabersabr-sabré
haberhabr-habrá (there will be)
Completely irregular hacerhar-haré
decirdir-diré
quererquerr-querré

Typical mistakes to watch out for

  • Adding endings to the infinitive instead of the stem
    • saliré → saldré
    • ponerás → pondrás
  • Forgetting the -d- in group 1 verbs
    • poneré → pondré
    • teneré → tendré
  • Inventing stems that do not exist
    • deciré → diré (not *deciré)
    • hacré → haré (not *hacreé)
    • quereré → querré (double r)
  • Misplacing the accent
    • yo: always -é → diré, saldré, haré
    • tú: -ás → tendrás
    • nosotros: -emos (no accent) → vendremos

Meaning & use: same as regular future

The meaning of the future is exactly the same as for regular verbs. Only the stem is irregular.

  • Future plans / decisions
    • Saldré temprano del trabajo. – I will leave work early.
    • Vendremos a tu concierto. – We will come to your concert.
  • Predictions / assumptions
    • Habrá mucha gente en el festival. – There will be many people at the festival.
    • Podrás aparcar cerca. – You will be able to park nearby.

Mini routine: 3 steps to form any irregular future

  1. Identify the verb
    • Is it in the irregular list? salir, venir, poner, tener, poder, saber, haber, hacer, decir, querer
    • If not, use the normal infinitive as stem (llegaré, comerás, vivirán…).
  2. Pick or recall the irregular stem
    • salir → saldr-
    • hacer → har-
    • querer → querr-
    • etc.
  3. Add the correct ending
    • I / yo → -é → saldré
    • you / tú → -ás → pondrás
    • we / nosotros → -emos → vendremos

Self-check: can you do this without help?

Cover the stems in the table above and test yourself quickly:

  1. Write the infinitives in one column: salir, venir, poner, tener, poder, saber, haber, hacer, decir, querer.
  2. Next to each one, write the yo form in future (Spanish only).
  3. Compare with the list:
  • saldré, vendré, pondré, tendré
  • podré, sabré, habrá (only this form is common)
  • haré, diré, querré

If you have all forms correct twice in a row, you are ready to use these verbs confidently in conversation.

  1. The endings for irregular verbs are the same as for regular verbs.
  2. We can divide irregular verbs in the futuro simple into three groups.
Regla (Rule)Verbo (Verb)Cambio (Change)Ejemplo (Example) 
Verbos que pierden una vocal y reciben un -d- (Verbs that lose a vowel and take a -d-)salirsaldr-Tú saldrás temprano. (You will go out early.) 
venirvendr-Nosotros vendremos pronto. (We will come soon.) 
ponerpondr-Yo pondré música. (I will put on music.) 
tenertendr-Él tendrá entradas. (He will have tickets.) 
Verbos que pierden una vocal (Verbs that lose a vowel)poderpodr-Ellos podrán tocar guitarra. (They will be able to play guitar.) 
sabersabr-Ella sabrá la dirección. (She will know the address.) 
haberhabr-Habrá un concierto hoy. (There will be a concert today.) 
Verbos completamente irregulares (Completely irregular verbs)hacerhar-Yo haré la reserva. (I will make the booking.) 
decirdir-Te diré cual puesto en el concierto deseo. (I will tell you which seat at the concert I want.) 
quererquerr-Nosotros querremos asistir. (We will want to attend.) 

 

Exercise 1: Multiple choice

Instruction: Choose the correct answer

1. Mañana ______ del trabajo antes para llegar a tiempo al concierto de rock.

Tomorrow ______ work early to get to the rock concert on time.)

2. Esta noche ______ tu canción favorita antes de ir a la sala de conciertos.

Tonight ______ your favorite song before we go to the concert hall.)

3. Mañana ______ un concierto de jazz en el auditorio del centro cultural.

Tomorrow ______ a jazz concert in the cultural center auditorium.)

4. Después del musical te ______ dónde podremos tomar algo con los otros músicos.

After the musical I ______ you where we can grab a drink with the other musicians.)

Exercise 2: Multiple Choice

Instruction: Choose the correct simple future sentence for each situation according to the rules and uses of the simple future tense.

1.
Incorrect. The ending '-é' applies only to first person singular and must be added at the end of the infinitive without extra letters.
'Comprarás' is second person singular, but in this context we need the first person, which is 'compraré'.
2.
Incorrect. The ending is '-emos' added to the infinitive without duplicating letters; 'veremosmos' does not exist.
Incorrect. The correct form is 'veremos' without an accent on the '-emos' ending.

Exercise 3: Rewrite the phrases

Instruction: Rewrite the sentences using the SIMPLE FUTURE with the given irregular stems (saldr-, vendr-, pondr-, tendr-, podr-, sabr-, habr-, har-, dir-, querr-).

Show/Hide translation Show/Hide hints
  1. Mañana no salgo temprano del trabajo.
    ⇒ _______________________________________________ Example
    Mañana no saldré temprano del trabajo.
    (Mañana no saldré temprano del trabajo.)
  2. Esta noche venimos a tu casa.
    ⇒ _______________________________________________ Example
    Esta noche vendremos a tu casa.
    (Esta noche vendremos a tu casa.)
  3. Ahora no pongo la música muy alta.
    ⇒ _______________________________________________ Example
    Mañana no pondré la música tan alta.
    (Mañana no pondré la música tan alta.)
  4. Hoy no tengo tiempo para hacer deporte.
    ⇒ _______________________________________________ Example
    Hoy no tendré tiempo para hacer deporte.
    (Hoy no tendré tiempo para hacer deporte.)

Exercise 4: Grammar in action

Instruction: As a couple, decide which concert you will go to and what you will do that evening.

Show/Hide translation
Situation
Tú y un compañero organizáis qué conciertos veréis el próximo mes.
(You and a classmate are planning which concerts to see next month.)
Discuss
  • ¿A qué tipo de concierto iréis y por qué? (What kind of concert will you go to, and why?)
  • ¿Quién vendrá con vosotros y cómo iremos al concierto? (Who will come with you, and how will you get to the venue?)
Useful words and phrases
  • Iremos a un concierto de rock en la sala de conciertos. (We'll go to a rock concert at the concert hall.)
  • Allí tocarán guitarra y piano; habrá buen ambiente. (They'll play guitar and piano there; the atmosphere will be great.)
  • Pondré las entradas en mi móvil y saldré temprano del trabajo. (I'll put the tickets on my phone and leave work early.)
Use in conversation
  • usar futuro simple con verbos irregulares (use the simple future with irregular verbs)
  • expresar planes y decisiones sobre conciertos (express plans and decisions about concerts)

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