Future choices and conditional wishes
CEFR A2
What you will learn
- Choose present, ir a + infinitive or simple future from the kind of future meaning and the evidence in context.
- Build regular and high-frequency irregular future forms for all six persons without dropping the infinitive ending.
- Build conditional forms and use the A2-supported pattern me gustaría + infinitive for a gentle wish, while reserving open unreal conditions for later study.
The idea
A future time reference does not automatically require the simple future. Spanish can use the present for a fixed timetable, ir a + infinitive for an intention or decision already in motion, and the simple future for a projection, promise or plan viewed from now. Regional, genre and speaker preferences affect the balance, so this is a choice of viewpoint rather than a mechanical translation of English will. The conditional shares its stem with the future but changes the endings. At this stage, its safest productive role is the conventional wish pattern me gustaría + infinitive. The full form table is useful as a reference, but open hypothetical systems such as si pudiera, iría belong to later progression in the PCIC grammar inventory.
The simple future keeps the complete infinitive and adds one shared set of endings: -é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis and -án. The conditional uses the same infinitive or irregular stem with -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais and -ían, so the person remains visible in the ending.
Form alone does not decide the message. Use a present form for a fixed timetable, ir a + infinitive for an established intention, the simple future for a projection or promise, and me gustaría + infinitive for a gentle wish that is not yet a plan.
Complete regular simple future
| person | hablar | comer | vivir | ending |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo | hablaré | comeré | viviré | -é |
| tú | hablarás | comerás | vivirás | -ás |
| él / ella / usted | hablará | comerá | vivirá | -á |
| nosotros / nosotras | hablaremos | comeremos | viviremos | -emos |
| vosotros / vosotras | hablaréis | comeréis | viviréis | -éis |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | hablarán | comerán | vivirán | -án |
Add the ending to the whole infinitive. All three conjugation families use the same six future endings.
Complete regular simple conditional
| person | hablar | comer | vivir | ending |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo | hablaría | comería | viviría | -ía |
| tú | hablarías | comerías | vivirías | -ías |
| él / ella / usted | hablaría | comería | viviría | -ía |
| nosotros / nosotras | hablaríamos | comeríamos | viviríamos | -íamos |
| vosotros / vosotras | hablaríais | comeríais | viviríais | -íais |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | hablarían | comerían | vivirían | -ían |
The conditional uses the same infinitive or irregular stem as the future. Its six endings all contain í.
How it sounds
- El museo abre a las diez; vamos a entrar a las once; a Julia le gustaría conocer la exposición otro día.The fixed timetable can use the present: el museo abre a las diez. The purchased tickets support an established intention: vamos a entrar a las once. The friend has no plan yet, so a wish is safer than a future commitment. Use me gustaría followed by a different infinitive to express that wish.
Your turn
Two or three, to check that the bit above landed.
The speaker presents a plan from now and the task requires the simple future. Complete: El año que viene nosotros ___ un curso de portugués. (hacer)
haremos — Hacer uses the future stem har-. Nosotros takes -emos, so har- plus -emos gives haremos. The time marker and the required viewpoint eliminate present and ir a.
The trip is already decided and the booking is the next planned step. Complete with ir a + infinitive: Esta tarde yo ___ el hotel. (reservar)
voy a reservar — The context states an established plan, so ir a + infinitive is requested. First-person singular present of ir is voy, followed by a and the unchanged infinitive reservar.
There is no plan yet. Express a gentle wish with the conditional of gustar plus the supplied infinitive: Algún día ___ el sur de Chile. (visitar)
me gustaría visitar — The prompt asks for a wish rather than a plan. The A2-supported pattern is me gustaría plus the infinitive, producing me gustaría visitar; no unreal si clause is required.
What your own language pushes you to say
Wrong Mañana llamaré a Ana porque every future event needs the simple future.
Right Mañana voy a llamar a Ana: ya he tomado la decisión.
The corrected form presents an established intention. A promise or projection could use llamaré, while a fixed arrangement could use the present. The context, not mañana alone, makes the choice.
Once it makes sense
Practise this: Three ways of saying “will”The present tense: three endings and you can talkEssential irregular present forms for A1Real si-clauses: conditions the speaker still treats as possibleCompound tenses as timelines and speaker stance