The futuro progresivo — estaré trabajando, estarás durmiendo, estará lloviendo — combines the simple future of estar with a gerundio to describe an action that will be in progress at a specified future moment. The grammar mirrors English I will be working, and the form-by-form parallel is close enough that English speakers will reach for this construction often. The trap is that Spanish reaches for it much less than English does, and using it where Spanish would prefer the simple future or ir a + infinitivo makes your speech sound foreign — overprogressive, in the same way some English speakers find Spanish estoy comiendo used where English would say I eat.
This page covers the form, the situations where Spanish actually uses it, the situations where English uses a progressive future but Spanish does not, and the small set of stylistic instincts that mark a fluent peninsular speaker.
The form: simple future of estar + gerundio
The construction is fully transparent. You take the simple future of estar and add the gerundio (the -ando / -iendo form) of the main verb.
| Subject | estar (future) |
| = future progressive |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | estaré | trabajando | estaré trabajando |
| tú | estarás | trabajando | estarás trabajando |
| él / ella / usted | estará | trabajando | estará trabajando |
| nosotros / nosotras | estaremos | trabajando | estaremos trabajando |
| vosotros / vosotras | estaréis | trabajando | estaréis trabajando |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | estarán | trabajando | estarán trabajando |
The accents on estaré, estarás, estará, estaréis, estarán are obligatory — nosotros (estaremos) is the only unaccented form. The gerundio itself never carries an accent: trabajando, comiendo, viviendo. (For the gerundio formation rules, including spelling-change verbs like leyendo and yendo, see the page on the gerundio.)
Object pronouns can attach to either end of the construction: te estaré esperando or estaré esperándote are both correct. The latter requires a written accent on the gerundio (esperándo- + -te) to preserve the stress pattern.
Mañana a esta hora estaré volando hacia Tokio, no te creas.
This time tomorrow I'll be flying to Tokyo, can you believe it.
A las ocho ya estaré cenando, llámame antes si quieres pillarme.
At eight I'll already be having dinner, call me before then if you want to catch me.
When peninsular Spanish actually uses this tense
The future progressive earns its keep in two specific situations, both of which involve framing an action as a backdrop in progress at a future moment.
Use 1: an action ongoing at a specified future time
When you anchor a future moment — a las ocho, mañana a esta hora, cuando aterricemos — and you want to emphasize that an action will be in the middle of happening at that anchor, the future progressive is the natural form.
Cuando aterricemos en Madrid, en Australia ya estarán durmiendo.
By the time we land in Madrid, the people in Australia will already be sleeping.
El domingo a las cinco estaremos viendo el partido en casa de Luis, vente cuando quieras.
On Sunday at five we'll be watching the match at Luis's place, come over whenever you want.
The construction is grammatically optional — El domingo a las cinco vemos el partido is also fine — but the progressive emphasizes the action-in-progress reading. Without it, the simple present (vemos) or the simple future (veremos) feels more like a scheduled event than a backdrop.
Use 2: extended ongoing action over a future stretch
The future progressive is also used for an action that will fill a stretch of future time, not just a single moment.
Estaré trabajando hasta las ocho, así que mejor cenamos a las nueve.
I'll be working until eight, so it's better if we have dinner at nine.
Durante el verano estaremos cuidando del piso de mi hermana mientras está fuera.
During the summer we'll be looking after my sister's flat while she's away.
Here the progressive reading is essential — Durante el verano cuidaremos del piso is a perfectly grammatical sentence but loses the sense of an ongoing, drawn-out duty. The progressive frames the action as a backdrop covering the whole stretch.
Where Spanish does not use the future progressive (but English does)
This is where English speakers go wrong. English happily uses will be Xing in three contexts where Spanish prefers a different construction.
Trap 1: polite or softened announcements
English uses will be Xing to soften a future announcement: I'll be sending you the report tomorrow (= I will send it, but the progressive feels less abrupt). Spanish does not. In peninsular Spanish, this is just the simple future or ir a + infinitivo.
- English: I'll be sending you the report tomorrow.
- Spanish (natural): Te mando el informe mañana / Te enviaré el informe mañana.
- Spanish (foreign-sounding): Te estaré enviando el informe mañana.
The progressive version is grammatically possible but reads as English-influenced. A peninsular speaker would use the simple present (te mando) or the simple future (te enviaré).
Trap 2: scheduled events seen as a single block
English uses will be Xing for scheduled events too: We'll be having lunch at noon. Spanish does not. The simple present, ir a, or the simple future cover this naturally.
Comemos a la una en casa de mis padres.
We'll be having lunch at one at my parents' place.
Vamos a comer a la una en casa de mis padres.
We're going to have lunch at one at my parents' place.
Saying Estaremos comiendo a la una would force a literal "we'll be in the middle of lunch at one" reading, which is more specific than the English speaker usually intends.
Trap 3: the over-progressive habit
English speakers who learn that Spanish has a present progressive (estoy comiendo) sometimes generalize that any English progressive should be a Spanish progressive. The same temptation hits the future. Resist it. Spanish progressives are reserved for genuinely in-progress, durative situations. Routine, scheduled, or planned future actions take the simple future, ir a + infinitivo, or the simple present.
Mañana cojo el tren de las siete.
Tomorrow I'll be taking the seven o'clock train.
The English is naturally progressive; the Spanish is not. Mañana estaré cogiendo el tren de las siete would mean "tomorrow at the moment I'll be in the act of boarding the seven o'clock train" — usually not what you mean.
The progressive future of conjecture
Just as the simple future expresses present-tense speculation in Spanish (estará en casa = he must be home), the future progressive can express speculation about an action in progress right now.
No me contesta — estará trabajando todavía.
He's not answering — he must still be working.
¿Y los niños? Estarán jugando en el parque, supongo.
And the kids? They must be playing in the park, I suppose.
This is a high-frequency use in casual peninsular speech and an important one to recognize. The progressive adds the in-progress flavor that the simple future cannot give. Estará en el trabajo = he must be at work; estará trabajando = he must be working (right now, in the middle of it).
A side-by-side comparison
To make the choice concrete, here are four scenarios and what a peninsular speaker would most naturally say.
| Scenario | Most natural Spanish | Why |
|---|---|---|
| "Tomorrow I'll send you the file." | Te mando / Te enviaré el archivo mañana. | Single planned action — simple present or simple future. |
| "Tomorrow at three I'll be flying to Berlin." | Mañana a las tres estaré volando hacia Berlín. | Anchored moment + in-progress action — future progressive. |
| "I'll be working all weekend." | Estaré trabajando todo el fin de semana. | Extended duration framed as backdrop — future progressive. |
| "He's not answering — he must be sleeping." | No contesta — estará durmiendo. | Progressive conjecture about the present — future progressive of estar. |
Common Mistakes
❌ Te estaré enviando el informe mañana por la mañana.
English-influenced — Spanish prefers a simple future or simple present here.
✅ Te enviaré el informe mañana por la mañana.
I'll send you the report tomorrow morning.
Mapping English I'll be sending onto Spanish estaré enviando is one of the most common transfer errors. Spanish does not use the progressive to soften or formalize an announcement — the simple future or simple present is the idiomatic form.
❌ Mañana estaré cogiendo el tren de las siete.
Wrong meaning — this implies you'll be in the act of boarding at some future moment.
✅ Mañana cojo el tren de las siete.
Tomorrow I'll be taking the seven o'clock train.
For a routine or scheduled future action, Spanish uses the simple present (cojo) or ir a + infinitivo (voy a coger). The progressive forces an in-progress reading that is usually not intended.
❌ Estare trabajando hasta las ocho.
Incorrect — estaré requires the accent on -é.
✅ Estaré trabajando hasta las ocho.
I'll be working until eight.
The simple-future forms of estar — estaré, estarás, estará, estaréis, estarán — keep their accents in every compound construction. Dropping the accent is a misspelling, not a casual variant.
❌ Estaré te esperando en la puerta.
Incorrect — pronouns do not sit between estar and the gerundio.
✅ Te estaré esperando en la puerta.
I'll be waiting for you at the door.
✅ Estaré esperándote en la puerta.
I'll be waiting for you at the door.
Pronouns either come before estar or attach to the end of the gerundio. The middle position (estaré te esperando) is ungrammatical. When the pronoun attaches to the gerundio, the gerundio gains a written accent to preserve its stress (esperándote, llamándome, viéndolos).
❌ Estaremos comiendo a la una en casa de mis padres.
Over-progressive for a scheduled lunch — sounds English-influenced.
✅ Comemos a la una en casa de mis padres.
We're having lunch at one at my parents' place.
Scheduled meal times, transport, classes, and similar fixed-time events take the simple present in Spanish — not the future progressive. Save the progressive for moments when you genuinely want to picture the action as ongoing.
❌ Estará lloviendo mañana en Madrid.
Awkward as a general forecast — needs an anchored moment to make the progressive reading work.
✅ Mañana lloverá en Madrid.
It'll rain tomorrow in Madrid.
✅ Mañana a las cinco estará lloviendo en Madrid.
Tomorrow at five it'll be raining in Madrid.
For weather forecasts and similar predictive statements, the simple future is the standard. The future progressive (estará lloviendo) is only natural with an anchored moment (a las cinco estará lloviendo) — not as a general forecast.
Key takeaways
- The future progressive = simple future of estar
- gerundio. Accents on all estar forms except estaremos.
- Use it for actions in progress at a specified future moment (A las ocho estaré cenando) and for extended durations (Estaré trabajando todo el fin de semana).
- Use it for conjecture about an action in progress right now (Estará durmiendo = he must be sleeping).
- Do not use it as a softened or formalized announcement — that is an English habit, not a Spanish one.
- Do not use it for routine or scheduled future actions — the simple present or simple future is the peninsular choice.
- Pronouns go before estar or attached to the gerundio (with an added accent), never between.
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- Futuro simple: verbos regularesA2 — The Spanish simple future for regular verbs — endings -é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án attached to the whole infinitive, the accents that are obligatory on every form except nosotros, and why ir a + infinitive often wins in everyday peninsular speech.
- Usos del futuro compuestoB1 — When and why peninsular Spanish reaches for habré + participio — completed-by-deadline events, the gossip-grade conjectural use ('he must have arrived already'), and the sequencing of two future actions.
- Cuándo usar el progresivo en españolA2 — When to actually use estar + gerundio in Spanish — a much narrower window than English 'I am -ing'. Action in progress right now, not general activities, not future plans.
- Condicional simple: verbos regularesB1 — Spanish's would-tense — formed by attaching -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían to the whole infinitive. A single set of endings for every regular verb, with an obligatory accent on every form, and a structural twin of the simple future.
- Futuro simple vs ir a + infinitivoB1 — How to pick between the two main Spanish futures — the morphological future (lloverá, te llamaré) and the periphrastic ir a + infinitivo (voy a llamarte). A decision guide for peninsular Spanish, where ir a dominates speech and the simple future dominates print.