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Spanish (Spain)

In Spanish, the future tense isn't just for talking about tomorrow. You can also use it to express a guess, a hypothesis, or a probability about the *present*.

### Wondering out loud (Questions)

When you ask a question using the future tense, you are wondering about a present situation. In English, this often translates to "I wonder if..." or "Could it be...?"

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### Making a guess (Statements)

When you make a statement using the future tense, you are expressing that something is likely true right now. It translates to "It is probably..." or "It must be...".

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### Guessing what is happening right now

You can apply this same concept to continuous actions by using the future tense of *estar* followed by a gerund (*-ando* / *-iendo*). Use this to wonder what someone is doing right now, or to state what they are probably doing.

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### Putting it together

You will frequently hear these two uses paired together: asking a question in the future tense to wonder about a mystery, and making a statement in the future tense to guess the answer.

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Future for probability (¿cómo será?)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular subjects and 'ser' (yo soy, esto es)

Plural nouns and definite articles (los, las)

Plural pronouns and 'ser' (somos, sois, son)

Adjective agreement (-o, -a, -os, -as)

Indefinite articles (un, una, unos, unas)

Simple negation (no)

Yes/no questions

Regular '-ar' verbs (-o, -as, -a...)

Regular '-er' verbs (-o, -es, -e...)

Regular '-ir' verbs (-o, -es, -e...)

Locative adverbs (aquí, allí)

Question words (quién, cómo)

The verb estar (estoy, estás)

The preposition en (en)

Ser vs. estar

The verb tener (tengo, tienes)

Possessive determiners (mi, tu, su)

Origin and possession (de, del)

The verb ir (voy, vas)

Destination (a, al)

The personal 'a' (a)

Stem-changing verbs: e to ie

Stem-changing verbs: o to ue

Irregular first-person verbs

Reflexive verbs (me, te, se)

Numbers 1 to 10 (uno, dos, tres)

Numbers 11 to 20 (once, doce, trece)

Counting by tens to 100 (treinta, cuarenta, cien)

Compound numbers up to 99 (veintiuno, treinta y uno)

Days of the week (el lunes, el martes)

The family and the personal 'a' (a mi tío, a mi prima)

Months of the year

Telling time (es la, son las)

Verbs of liking (me gusta)

Plural agreement with verbs of liking (gustan)

Degree modifiers (muy, mucho)

Formal address (usted, ustedes)

Direct object pronouns (lo, la, los, las)

The near future (ir a)

Obligation (tener que)

Present continuous (-ando, -iendo)

Affirmative commands (tú, vosotros)

Basic Food and Drink

The Human Body: Head and Arms

The Human Body: Legs and Health

Wardrobe Essentials

Fresh Produce

Meals and Proteins

Public Transport

Hello and goodbye (hola, ¿qué tal?)

Thank you, sorry, OK (gracias, vale)

There is, there are (hay)

My building (la escalera, el ascensor)

Describing people (moreno, rubio, tímido)

Land and sea (el mar, el río, el norte)

Sightseeing (la plaza, la catedral)

Asking the way (cerca, a la derecha, todo recto)

In class (¿puedes repetir?)

Verb + infinitive (quiero comer, sé leer)

What's your name? (me llamo, encantado)

Phone, computer and email

Hundreds and thousands (doscientos, mil)

What do you do? (¿a qué te dedicas?)

Personal details (la edad, la fecha de nacimiento)

Me neither (también, tampoco, ni)

How much is it? (el precio, la vuelta)

What's the weather like? (hace sol, nieva)

Free time (el concierto, el tenis)

At the bar (¿qué vas a tomar?)

The Natural World

Demonstratives (este, ese, aquel)

Prepositions of place (encima de, debajo de)

Prepositional pronouns (para mí, contigo)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primero to décimo)

Adverbs of frequency (a veces, nunca)

Exclamations (¡qué...!)

Indefinite pronouns (algo, alguien)

Indefinite determiners (algún, ningún)

Indirect object pronouns (le, les)

Double object pronouns (me lo, te la)

Double object pronouns (se lo, se la)

Verbs of preference (encantar, interesar)

Impersonal obligation (hay que)

Starting and finishing actions (empezar a, terminar de)

Adjective comparatives (más que, menos que)

Comparatives of equality (tan como)

Noun comparatives (tanto como)

Question	Answer
the UFO	el ovni
I wonder if we are seeing a UFO now.	¿Estaremos viendo un ovni ahora?
the ship	la nave
space	espacial
That UFO is probably a spaceship.	Ese ovni será una nave espacial.
Could the ship be landing in the forest?	¿Estará aterrizando la nave en el bosque?
the planet	el planeta
mysterious	misterioso
The ship is probably from another mysterious planet.	La nave será de otro planeta misterioso.
I wonder if there is a space base on the moon.	¿Habrá una base espacial en la luna?
I wonder what that strange planet is like.	¿Cómo será ese planeta extraño?
the light / the power (electricity supply)	la luz
They are probably studying that mysterious light.	Estarán estudiando esa luz misteriosa.
to shine	brillar
I wonder why that light is shining so much.	¿Por qué brillará tanto esa luz?
Could that star be a UFO?	¿Esa estrella será un ovni?
to observe	observar
the radar	el radar
I wonder if they are observing the sky with the radar.	¿Estarán observando el cielo con el radar?
the alien	el extraterrestre
The doctor is probably observing the aliens.	La médica estará observando a los extraterrestres.
The boss probably thinks that the radar is broken today.	El jefe pensará que el radar está roto hoy.
The aliens are probably very intelligent.	Los extraterrestres serán muy inteligentes.
Why might that mysterious light be shining so much? It must be a UFO.	¿Por qué brillará tanto esa luz misteriosa? Será un ovni.