Spanish Future Tense vs Ir a + Infinitive: Complete Guide

Last Updated on June 19, 2026 by I Love Spanish Club

In Spanish there are two main ways to talk about the future — the simple future tense (futuro simple) and the ir a + infinitive construction. Both mean “will” or “going to” in English, but they’re used in different situations. Understanding the difference will make your Spanish sound much more natural. In this complete guide you’ll learn when to use each one — with clear rules, conjugation tables, and plenty of real examples. ¡Vamos al futuro! (Let’s go to the future!)

🔮 The Two Ways to Express the Future in Spanish

	Construction	English equivalent	Example
Option 1	Ir a + infinitive	Going to / Will	Voy a comer pizza.
Option 2	Simple future tense	Will	Comeré pizza.

💡 Quick rule: Think of ir a + infinitive as “going to” — for plans and near future. Think of the simple future as “will” — for predictions, promises, and distant future. In everyday spoken Spanish, ir a + infinitive is used FAR more often!

📐 Construction 1 — Ir a + Infinitive

This is the most common way to express the future in spoken Spanish — especially in Latin America. It’s formed with the present tense of IR + a + any verb in the infinitive:

IR (present tense) + a + infinitive

Voy + a + comer = Voy a comer (I’m going to eat)

IR — Present tense conjugation

Pronoun	IR	Example with COMER	English
yo	voy	voy a comer	I’m going to eat
tú	vas	vas a comer	you’re going to eat
él/ella	va	va a comer	he/she is going to eat
nosotros	vamos	vamos a comer	we’re going to eat
vosotros	vais	vais a comer	you all are going to eat
ellos/ustedes	van	van a comer	they’re going to eat

When to use Ir a + infinitive

Use it for…	Example	English
Plans already made	Esta noche voy a estudiar.	Tonight I’m going to study.
Near future events	Va a llover mañana.	It’s going to rain tomorrow.
Intentions	Voy a aprender español.	I’m going to learn Spanish.
Everyday conversation	¿Qué vas a hacer hoy?	What are you going to do today?

📐 Construction 2 — Simple Future Tense

The simple future is formed by adding endings directly to the infinitive — the same endings for ALL verbs (-ar, -er, -ir):

Infinitive + future endings

comer + é = comeré (I will eat)

Simple Future Endings — Same for ALL verbs

Pronoun	Ending	Hablar	Comer	Vivir
yo	-é	hablaré	comeré	viviré
tú	-ás	hablarás	comerás	vivirás
él/ella	-á	hablará	comerá	vivirá
nosotros	-emos	hablaremos	comeremos	viviremos
vosotros	-éis	hablaréis	comeréis	viviréis
ellos	-án	hablarán	comerán	vivirán

Irregular Simple Future Verbs

Verb	Stem	Yo form	English
tener	tendr-	tendré	I will have
venir	vendr-	vendré	I will come
poner	pondr-	pondré	I will put
salir	saldr-	saldré	I will leave
poder	podr-	podré	I will be able to
hacer	har-	haré	I will do/make
decir	dir-	diré	I will say
saber	sabr-	sabré	I will know

When to use the Simple Future

Use it for…	Example	English
Predictions	En 2050 habrá más robots.	In 2050 there will be more robots.
Promises	Te llamaré mañana.	I will call you tomorrow.
Formal/written Spanish	El evento comenzará a las 8.	The event will begin at 8.
Probability (present)	¿Dónde estará Juan?	Where could Juan be? (I wonder…)
Distant future plans	Algún día viajaré por el mundo.	Someday I will travel the world.

💡 Interesting use! The simple future can also express probability or wonder about the present — ¿Dónde estará Juan? doesn’t mean “Where will Juan be?” but rather “I wonder where Juan is right now.” This is unique to Spanish!

⚖️ Ir a + Infinitive vs Simple Future — Side by Side

Ir a + Infinitive	Simple Future
Near future, concrete plans	Distant future, predictions
Very common in spoken Spanish	More common in formal/written Spanish
Latin America — preferred form	Spain — used more frequently
Voy a estudiar esta noche.	Estudiaré más en el futuro.
I’m going to study tonight.	I will study more in the future.

⚠️ Important: In everyday spoken Latin American Spanish, ir a + infinitive is used for almost ALL future situations — even ones where English would use “will.” The simple future sounds more formal or literary in conversation. Both are correct — context decides!

💬 Real Sentences — Both Constructions Together

Esta noche voy a ver una película.
Tonight I’m going to watch a movie. (plan)

Algún día viviré en España.
Someday I will live in Spain. (distant dream)

¿Qué vas a hacer este fin de semana?
What are you going to do this weekend? (near future)

El año que viene aprenderé a tocar la guitarra.
Next year I will learn to play guitar. (future plan)

Vamos a ganar el partido.
We’re going to win the match. (confident plan)

¿Quién será ese señor?
I wonder who that man is. (probability)

🎯 Practice Quiz

Choose the best construction — ir a + infinitive or simple future:

Tonight I’m going to eat with my family. (concrete plan) →
Someday there will be life on Mars. (distant prediction) →
What are you going to do tomorrow? (near future question) →
I promise I will call you. (promise) →
It’s going to rain this afternoon. (near future) →

👉 Click to see the answers

Esta noche voy a comer con mi familia. ← ir a (concrete plan)
Algún día habrá vida en Marte. ← simple future (distant prediction)
¿Qué vas a hacer mañana? ← ir a (near future)
Te llamaré. ← simple future (promise)
Va a llover esta tarde. ← ir a (near future)

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