edumaterial's parts within the level. The European framework does not subdivide them.
- 1Try
- 2Learn
- 3Practise
- 4Check
The rule, in three lines
Spanish has three ways of talking about the future and they are not interchangeable in tone: the plain present for what is scheduled (mañana trabajo), ir a + infinitive for plans and for what you can already see coming (voy a llamarle), and the simple future for predictions and promises (llamaré mañana). In speech the first two do most of the work.
The usual slip. Using the simple future for everything because it looks like the English “will”, which makes ordinary sentences sound like announcements.
Why it catches you out. You already feel the difference between “will” and “going to”, and that half transfers straight across to “llamaré” and “voy a llamar”. What does not transfer is the third one: a plain present as a future — “el tren sale a las seis” — which in English needs “leaves” and a timetable to sound right.