I will arrive at the airport - present or future?

Question

In English I can say 'I will arrive at the airport on Monday' (future), but am more likely to say 'I arrive at the airport on Monday' (present). In Spanish, would the present or future tense be more colloquial?

Welcome to the forum. - rac1, Aug 29, 2013

This looks like homework. - rac1, Aug 29, 2013

Answer 1

Hi there. You can use both present and future. As you do in English, in Spanish you can use the Simple Present Tense to talk about things that are planned, on a schedule or if they are unalterable.

El Sol sale a las seis de la mañana.

Mi avión llega a las tres de la tarde el lunes.

Llego al aeropuerto el jueves.

I hope this helps.

[Correct my English. Thank you]

:) - ian-hill, Aug 29, 2013

You could introduce 'cuando' and use the subjunctive.. - annierats, Aug 29, 2013

Answer 2

Hola Janedj

In English one can also say

A. "I am arriving at the airport on Monday" = present continuous for the future.

and

B. "I am going to arrive at the airport on Monday.

I am not sure if A is used in Spanish but B is often used in Bolivia instead of the simple future tense for many verbs.

It's a neat "trick" because then one does not need to know all the future tenses.

PS it would be great if you would complete your SD profile. - it helps us help you.

Thank you Ian. - 003492fc, Aug 29, 2013

The future tense is the easiest of all the tenses. There are very few irregulars and the endings are the same for "ar", "er" and "ir" verbs. - gringojrf, Aug 29, 2013