The Catalan simple future uses one set of endings for every conjugation: -é, -às, -à, -em, -eu, -an. For most verbs, these endings attach to a base that is transparently related to the infinitive: parlaré “I will speak,” temeràs “you will fear,” perdrem “we will lose,” dormiran “they will sleep.”
The endings are simple; the main challenge is spelling the base correctly. Verbs in -re drop the final unstressed e, while other regular infinitives keep their full written form. A separate set of frequent verbs has an irregular future stem.
One set of endings for all conjugations
The ending identifies person and number, so subject pronouns are normally omitted unless contrast or clarity requires them.
| Person | Ending | parlar | témer | perdre | dormir |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| jo | -é | parlaré | temeré | perdré | dormiré |
| tu | -às | parlaràs | temeràs | perdràs | dormiràs |
| ell/ella/vostè | -à | parlarà | temerà | perdrà | dormirà |
| nosaltres | -em | parlarem | temerem | perdrem | dormirem |
| vosaltres | -eu | parlareu | temereu | perdreu | dormireu |
| ells/elles/vostès | -an | parlaran | temeran | perdran | dormiran |
Demà parlaré amb la propietària del pis.
Tomorrow I'll speak with the owner of the apartment.
Ja veuràs que tot sortirà bé.
You'll see that everything will turn out fine.
Dissabte dormirem fins tard.
On Saturday we'll sleep in.
No perdreu les dades si feu una còpia de seguretat.
You won't lose the data if you make a backup.
Choosing the regular future base
For verbs in -ar, -er, and -ir, the future base is usually the written infinitive:
- parlar → parlaré
- témer → temeré
- córrer → correré
- dormir → dormiré
The infinitive’s accent can disappear because the future ending takes the stress. Thus témer becomes temeré and córrer becomes correrà. The lexical vowel has not been replaced; the accent mark is recalculated for the new word.
Verbs ending in -re drop the final unstressed e before the ending:
- perdre → perdré
- batre → batrà
- rebre → rebrem
- escriure → escriureu is not formed by simple -re deletion because -ure verbs preserve the u; its future is transparent from the infinitive minus final e.
That last point reveals the practical rule: remove only the final e of a regular -re infinitive, not the entire letter sequence -re. Escriure + -é gives escriuré; viure + -às gives viuràs.
Quan tingui tots els detalls, t'escriuré.
When I have all the details, I'll write to you.
Si no sortim ara, perdrem l'últim tren.
If we don't leave now, we'll miss the last train.
Creus que rebran el paquet abans de divendres?
Do you think they'll receive the package before Friday?
Some frequent verbs alter the base more substantially: fer → faré, tenir → tindré, poder → podré. The endings remain exactly the same. Learn those bases on Irregular Future Stems, not as new sets of personal endings.
Stress and accent marks
Every simple-future form is stressed on the future ending. The singular endings visibly mark that stress:
| Ending | Accent | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -é | acute: closed stressed e | arribaré |
| -às | grave: stressed a | arribaràs |
| -à | grave: stressed a | arribarà |
| -em | no written accent | arribarem |
| -eu | no written accent | arribareu |
| -an | no written accent | arribaran |
The plural forms are still stressed on the last syllable even without a written accent: par-la-REM, par-la-REU, par-la-RAN. Catalan accent marks follow spelling rules, not a rule that every stressed future ending must be marked.
A quina hora arribareu a Girona?
What time will you arrive in Girona?
Les obres començaran al setembre i duraran sis mesos.
The building work will start in September and last six months.
Negation, questions, and weak pronouns
Negation does not change the future form: place no before the verb. In questions, word order can remain the same as in a statement; intonation or the question word does the work.
No arribarem a temps si continuem discutint.
We won't arrive on time if we keep arguing.
Vindràs a sopar diumenge?
Will you come to dinner on Sunday?
Weak pronouns go before a finite future verb: t'escriuré, ho comprarem, no se n'adonaran. This differs from an infinitive, where pronouns attach at the end: vull comprar-ho.
T'ho explicarem quan arribis.
We'll explain it to you when you arrive.
Do not insert a pronoun inside the future form or attach it after the future in contemporary general Catalan. Historical prose can contain older split or enclitic patterns; those are (archaic/literary) and are not a model for modern usage.
The form does not decide the meaning by itself
The simple future can express prediction, promise, instruction, or present-time conjecture. Those uses share the same morphology; context supplies the interpretation. Seran a casa can mean “They will be at home” or, in context, “They are probably at home.” Formation alone cannot decide which one is meant.
Catalan also uses the present tense for scheduled or strongly planned future events: Demà treballo des de casa. The choice between treballaré and treballo is about viewpoint, not about whether the action occurs in the future. The details belong on Uses of the Future.
One important form restriction occurs in future time clauses. Standard Catalan normally uses the present subjunctive after quan for an unrealized future event, not a simple future:
Quan acabis, m'avisaràs.
When you finish, you'll let me know.
The main clause m'avisaràs is future indicative; the completion inside quan is not yet asserted and therefore takes acabis. This is a mood choice based on assertion status, not a mechanical translation of English “when.”
Do not confuse future and periphrastic past
The sequence vaig + infinitive without a is the Catalan periphrastic past: vaig comprar “I bought.” It does not mean “I am going to buy.” Future reference can be compraré, the future-oriented present compro in a clear context, or anar a + infinitive when that periphrasis is pragmatically appropriate: Ara vaig a comprar pa can literally mean “Now I'm going to buy bread,” with movement and purpose.
Demà compraré les entrades per internet.
Tomorrow I'll buy the tickets online.
Mini-dialogue
—Què fareu dissabte?
—What will you do on Saturday?
—Al matí visitarem el museu i després dinarem al centre.
—In the morning we'll visit the museum and then have lunch downtown.
—Us quedareu a dormir?
—Will you stay overnight?
—No, tornarem amb l'últim tren.
—No, we'll come back on the last train.
Regional and register notes
The six future endings and their stress pattern belong to the common standard throughout the Catalan-speaking territory. Pronunciation varies regularly with each variety’s vowel system, but the spellings in the table do not. A few individual verbs have regional stems—for example, Northern iré beside general aniré—but those lexical exceptions do not change this ending set. The simple future itself is neither formal nor informal: its meaning and discourse setting determine its register.
Common Mistakes
1. Omitting or reversing the singular accent marks.
❌ Dema parlarem, però jo t'escriure abans.
Incorrect — demà needs an accent, and first-person future requires -é.
✅ Demà parlarem, però jo t'escriuré abans.
We'll talk tomorrow, but I'll write to you first.
2. Keeping the final e of a regular -re verb.
❌ Si no correm, perderem l'autobús.
Incorrect — perdre forms the future base perdr-.
✅ Si no correm, perdrem l'autobús.
If we don't run, we'll miss the bus.
3. Keeping the infinitive accent after the stress shifts.
❌ No témeràs tant el canvi quan coneguis l'equip.
Incorrect spelling — the future stress is on -às, so témer loses its infinitive accent.
✅ No temeràs tant el canvi quan coneguis l'equip.
You won't fear the change as much once you meet the team.
4. Reading the periphrastic past as an English-style future.
❌ Demà vaig comprar les entrades.
Incorrect for a future intention — vaig comprar means I bought.
✅ Demà compraré les entrades.
Tomorrow I'll buy the tickets.
5. Using future indicative inside an unrealized quan-clause.
❌ Quan arribaràs, truca'm.
Incorrect in the intended future-time clause — use the present subjunctive.
✅ Quan arribis, truca'm.
When you arrive, call me.
Key Takeaways
- Use the same endings for every conjugation: -é, -às, -à, -em, -eu, -an.
- Keep regular -ar, -er, and -ir infinitive bases; drop the final e of regular -re verbs.
- Stress every form on the ending, but write accent marks only where Catalan spelling requires them.
- Put weak pronouns before the finite future: t'ho diré.
- Learn stem-changing futures separately; they keep these same endings.
Now practice Catalan
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Start learning Catalan →Related Topics
- Irregular Future StemsA2 — Master the high-frequency future bases far-, haur-, podr-, sabr-, tindr-, vindr-, voldr-, and their related families.
- Uses of the FutureA2 — How Catalan uses the simple future for predictions, promises, plans, and formal instructions—and when the present is more natural.
- The Conjectural FutureB1 — How the future can express a present-time guess in informal Catalan, and why deure plus infinitive is the safer standard choice.
- The Future PerfectB1 — How haurà plus a past participle marks completion before a future reference point and, informally, conjecture about a completed event.
- Present Forms with Future MeaningA2 — Use the Catalan present for scheduled events, settled plans, and imminent actions whose future time is clear from context.
- Future Time Clauses and the SubjunctiveB1 — Present pending future events after quan, fins que, tan bon punt, and abans que with the appropriate Catalan mood and tense.