Informal Future in Spanish

Quick Answer

The informal future, also called the periphrastic future (el futuro perifrástico), is formed with the verb ir(to go).

Unlike the simple future, which uses just one word, the informal future uses a combination of the verb ir, the preposition a, and an infinitive.

Informal Future Formula

ir + a + infinitive

Compare the two forms in the table below.

	Simple Future	Informal Future
Spanish	Estudiaré mucho mañana.	Voy a estudiar mucho mañana.
English	I will study a lot tomorrow.	I am going to study a lot tomorrow.

The following examples show the informal future used with each of the different grammatical subjects in Spanish.

examples
Yo voy a viajar por España. I am going to travel around Spain.
Tú vas a cantar. You are going to sing.
Usted va a ser famoso. You are going to be famous.
Él va a montar en monopatín. He is going to skateboard.
Ella va a comprar un coche nuevo. She is going to buy a new car.
Nosotros vamos a cenar a las nueve. We are going to eat dinner at 9 o'clock.
Vosotros vais a jugar al fútbol esta tarde. You are going to play soccer this afternoon.
Ustedes van a estudiar mucho. You are going to study a lot.
Ellos van a dormir en el primer piso. They are going to sleep on the first floor.
Ellas van a bailar. They are going to dance.

Tense about tenses in Spanish? Never fear! Read about other tenses in Spanish in these articles:

• Present

• Present Progressive

• Preterite

• Imperfect

• Future Tenses

• Simple and Informal Future

• Future Progressive

• Subjunctive

• Subjunctive vs. Indicative

• More Subjunctive