Using the present tense instead of future to express the future?

Question

I know that you can use ir + a to express the simple future i.e. I am going to the movies (Voy al cine), but the present also be used in place of the future tense in a conversation, or even writing?

For example, could I say Lo hago (I'll do it) instead of Lo haré?

Correct me if I'm wrong but I heard that you can use the present in place of the future when you specify a time such as lo hago manaña, but I would like to know if I can use the present tense when I don't specify a specific time?

did you watch the video - warrenmarshall, Mar 4, 2013

I just watched the video and it was very helpful, thanks for posting it! - zbanks17, Mar 4, 2013

Answer 1

I know that you can use ir + a to express the simple future i.e. I am going to the movies (Voy al cine), but the present also be used in place of the future tense in a conversation, or even writing?

Perfectly, even in writing. And it is often used more often than the future tense.

For example, could I say Lo hago (I'll do it) instead of Lo haré?

Without adding a future reference (e.g. mañana), it is a bit strange.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I heard that you can use the present in place of the future when you specify a time such as lo hago manaña, but I would like to know if I can use the present tense when I don't specify a specific time?

With a proper context it is possible, but not common.

So what your saying is when I need to use the future for something, use the future tense, even in a conversation? - zbanks17, Jan 4, 2011

Zach, irrespective of the 'rights and wrongs', ask a local, or listen to how sentences are commonly constructed. You can then chose between speaking 'correctly' or 'normally'. e.g El carro va rapido/rapidamente... - afowen, Jan 4, 2011

Okay thanks, thats good advice. - zbanks17, Jan 4, 2011

Answer 2

So what your saying is when I need to use the future for something, use the future tense, even in a conversation? - Zach-Banks 53 secs ago

Well... the sad truth is that the names of the tenses are misleading. The present tense can be used to talk about the past, the future, timeless statements, but not for activities happening in the present. In other words, for everything but the present time.

The future is not used to talk about the future, but to make approximations about events in the present or future, and with the appropriate context, even in the past. The present tense, along with "voy a + infinitive" are used a lot more than the future tense for future events.

See, the thing is that all tenses can be used for the past, the present and the future. The theory in most grammars about the tenses is contradictory, if not plain wrong. Even in English, you use the present tense for future scheduled events (My flight departs tomorrow at 8), the present continuous for future planned events (I'm getting married next year), and the present with "to go" for other future events (I am going to study harder next year).

This is exactly what I was taught in my grammar class, with lots of examples. I found it very confusing at the time, but it is gradually starting to make sense. - lorenzo9, Jan 4, 2011

Answer 3

En España se utilizan voy a o el presente más que el futuro.

Answer 4

Similarly you'd not say 'lo haré/hago mañana' without prior context. Therefore we have no distinction between when you'd add or omit temporal context from your response statement (lo hago). Out of interest, what is your linguistic background Lazarus?

I will not pretend to speak for Lazarus, who is a native Spanish speaker who teaches Spanish to native English speakers and has an incredible command of Spanish grammar--I said in one post that if he disagreed with the RAE I would side with him, and I wasn't kidding--but there are situations where you are referring to future events that can be readily predicted from the present and sometimes a time frame is necessary to distinguish what is going to happen really soon from what can be reasonably forseen as happening at a certain time in the future, and these have to be dfferentiated from those which are predictions that need to be verified. Those that can be reasonably extrapolated from the present can use the present tense, while those that require verification need the future tense. English is somewhat similar:

I am flying to Paris.
My flight to Paris leaves tomorrow.
I will go to Paris (someday.)

Yeah, he seems to have quite the command of the lingo, hence my enquiry as to his background. - afowen, Jan 4, 2011

My point above came from the suggestion that it is unusual to express the future using the present without a temporal reference. I gave examples of where this is the case and Lazarus suggested that the temporal reference would have preceeded the reply. - afowen, Jan 4, 2011

My observation is that this is often the case when the future tense is in fact used and thus can see no distinction between when you might say 'lo hago' as opposed to 'lo haré', the former being more common... - afowen, Jan 4, 2011

In your examples, the time is right now. If the waiter was going to bring you your check next year, he would phrase it differently. - lorenzo9, Jan 4, 2011

Díle a Chingue que le toque arreglar el techo. Se lo digo. It is normal to hear there and includes no time reference. Are you saying that in the reply it's intimated that he will do the telling soon? Just trying to get to grips with the language... - afowen, Jan 4, 2011

*to here that here - afowen, Jan 4, 2011

That is my understanding, but it's more of a certainty thing than an immediacy thing. There are links on the net about how Spanish children learn the future tense that say they learn the probabilistic meaning first. - lorenzo9, Jan 4, 2011

Thanks, I think we've just about exhausted this one :-) - afowen, Jan 4, 2011

Answer 5

In English there are 8 ways of creating a future meaning:

The normal 4 with “will”

I will leave.

I will have left

I will be leaving

I will have been leaving (not a good example with this verb

and

I leave (tomorrow)

I am leaving (tomorrow)

I am going to leave (tomorrow)

I shall leave (tomorrow)

I have been told that all but one of them (shall) can be used in Spanish.

Question: Can I shall leave (tomorrow) be translated into Spanish?

Shall and will are the same in Spanish no? - afowen, Jan 4, 2011

""Shall" is the future tense. In the 10 commandments in the Bible, they are all listed as future tense. I think there is a lesson on future commands right here on SD. - Luciente, Jan 4, 2011

In that context, 'thou shalt' is the same as 'thou wilst' i.e. shall = will. - afowen, Jan 4, 2011

Answer 6

One might imagine that usage varies by country...

In Colombia, present tense is frequently used without a 'temporal qualifier' for want of knowledge of the industry phrase, to express what will be done in the future.

Examples:

¿Me traes la cuenta, por favor?

Lo hago.

Te lo traigo.

¿Me la guardas?

Se lo digo.

Etc.

Those sentences are used everywere, but you are providing a context, which justifies the use of the present tense to talk about the future. - lazarus1907, Jan 4, 2011

Ah good to know that they are used everywhere, thanks Lazarus. Is there not though always context? You'd not simply state 'lo hago'. It would be in response to another sentence that provided the temporal context... - afowen, Jan 4, 2011

Similarly you'd not say 'lo haré/hago mañana' without prior context. Therefore we have no distinction between when you'd add or omit temporal context from your response statement (lo hago). Out of interest, what is your linguistic background Lazarus? - afowen, Jan 4, 2011

se "lo" digo. - Deanski, Jan 4, 2011

Thanks Deanski - edited! - afowen, Jan 4, 2011

Answer 7

I was going to write a long winded answer then I remembered this video which has your answer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeO-5ELDfMI

un saludo