Future Tense in Catalan

In Brief

The Catalan simple future (futur simple) uses one set of endings for every verb: -é, -às, -à, -em, -eu, -an. Add them to the infinitive or to an irregular future stem: cantaré (“I will sing”), tindrem (“we will have”), faràs (“you will do”), vindran (“they will come”). Unlike English, Catalan expresses “will” within the verb itself rather than with a separate auxiliary word.

Overview

The simple future presents an event or state as later than the moment of speaking. It is useful for predictions, promises, announcements, plans presented as facts, and the result of an open condition: Demà plourà (“It will rain tomorrow”), T'ajudaré (“I will help you”), and Si estudies, aprovaràs (“If you study, you will pass”). It can also express a guess about the present, an important use covered later in this article.

This tense is normally introduced at B1. You need to recognise an infinitive (the dictionary form, such as cantar, “to sing”) and grammatical person (the form that identifies who acts: I, you, we, and so on). The system is compact: all three main verb groups take the same six endings, and subject pronouns are often omitted because those endings already identify the subject.

For an English-speaking learner, the main adjustment is to stop looking for a separate equivalent of “will.” One Catalan word can contain both the action and the subject: arribarem means “we will arrive.” The endings are highly predictable, but several very common verbs have a special future stem (the base to which the ending is added), so forms such as tindré, podràs, and farem should be learned as patterns rather than translated word by word.

How It Works

One set of endings

The simple future endings are the same for -ar, -er/-re, and -ir verbs.

Person	Typical subject	Ending	cantar (“to sing”)
first-person singular	jo	-é	cantaré
second-person singular	tu	-às	cantaràs
third-person singular	ell, ella, vostè	-à	cantarà
first-person plural	nosaltres	-em	cantarem
second-person plural	vosaltres	-eu	cantareu
third-person plural	ells, elles, vostès	-an	cantaran

The accent marks in -é, -às, and -à are part of the spelling. The stress falls on the ending in every form: can-ta-RÉ, can-ta-RÀS, can-ta-RÀ. In the plural, the endings have no written accent: cantaREM, cantaREU, cantaRAN.

Catalan commonly leaves out the subject pronoun. Aniré a Tarragona already means “I will go to Tarragona”; jo is unnecessary unless you are contrasting people or adding emphasis: Jo cuinaré i tu pararàs taula (“I will cook and you will set the table”).

Regular formation

With regular -ar and -ir verbs, add the ending directly to the complete infinitive. Many verbs ending in -er also retain that infinitive spelling.

Infinitive	Meaning	jo	tu	ell/ella	nosaltres	vosaltres	ells/elles
parlar	to speak	parlaré	parlaràs	parlarà	parlarem	parlareu	parlaran
perdre	to lose	perdré	perdràs	perdrà	perdrem	perdreu	perdran
dormir	to sleep	dormiré	dormiràs	dormirà	dormirem	dormireu	dormiran

The spelling of some -re infinitives becomes shorter because their final unstressed e does not remain before the ending. For example, perdre gives perdré, viure gives viuré, and escriure gives escriuré. This does not change the six endings.

A practical formation formula is:

future stem + -é, -às, -à, -em, -eu, -an

For a regular verb, the future stem is usually the infinitive or its predictable shortened form. For an irregular verb, learn the special stem once and use the same endings.

Common irregular stems

Irregularity affects the stem, not the endings. A verb with the stem tindr- therefore follows the same pattern as cantar- after that point: tindré, tindràs, tindrà, tindrem, tindreu, tindran.

Infinitive	Meaning	Future stem	Example
anar	to go	anir-	aniré
haver	to have; auxiliary	haur-	hi haurà
saber	to know	sabr-	sabrem
cabre	to fit	cabr-	cabrà
poder	can, to be able to	podr-	podràs
voler	to want	voldr-	voldran
tenir	to have	tindr-	tindré
venir	to come	vindr-	vindreu
fer	to do, to make	far-	farem
ser	to be	ser-	seràs

Several of these stems are shared with the Catalan conditional: tindré (“I will have”) beside tindria (“I would have”), and faré (“I will do”) beside faria (“I would do”). This makes the future an excellent foundation for learning the conditional later.

Negatives, questions, and object pronouns

Put no immediately before the conjugated verb:

• No arribaré tard. — “I will not arrive late.”
• No ho oblidarem. — “We will not forget it.”

Catalan does not add an equivalent of English “do” to make questions. Intonation or a question word is enough:

• Vindràs demà? — “Will you come tomorrow?”
• Quan vindran? — “When will they come?”

An object pronoun (a short word standing for the person or thing affected by the action) normally goes before a finite future verb: T'ho explicaré demà (“I will explain it to you tomorrow”), Ens trucaran (“They will call us”). Do not place it inside the future form.

Future meaning without the simple future

Catalan does not use the simple future every time English uses “will.” The present tense is natural for a fixed arrangement or an event understood as imminent, especially with a clear time expression:

• Demà dinem amb la Marta. — “We’re having lunch with Marta tomorrow.”
• El tren surt a les nou. — “The train leaves at nine.”

The construction anar a + infinitive can present something as about to happen or already intended: Ara t'ho vaig a explicar (“I’m going to explain it to you now”). Use it thoughtfully, however: forms of anar also build the very common periphrastic past, so va cantar means “he/she sang,” not “he/she is going to sing.” Context and the form of anar matter.

Examples in Context

Catalan	English	Note
Demà aniré a Tarragona.	Tomorrow I will go to Tarragona.	Irregular anar stem
Seràs feliç aquí.	You will be happy here.	Prediction with ser
Tindrem temps per parlar.	We will have time to talk.	Irregular tenir stem
Quan vindran?	When will they come?	Question word + future
L'any que ve viuré a Girona.	Next year I will live in Girona.	Regular shortened -re stem
Et trucaré quan arribi a casa.	I will call you when I get home.	Promise; et precedes the future verb
No ho faré una altra vegada.	I will not do it again.	Negative with no and ho
Podreu entrar a partir de les deu.	You will be able to enter from ten o’clock onward.	Announcement or rule
Hi haurà prou cadires per a tothom.	There will be enough chairs for everyone.	Impersonal hi haurà
Crec que demà plourà.	I think it will rain tomorrow.	Prediction
Si estudies cada dia, aprovaràs l'examen.	If you study every day, you will pass the exam.	Open condition
Jo prepararé el sopar i tu compraràs el pa.	I will make dinner and you will buy the bread.	Pronouns mark a contrast
A aquestes hores ja seran a Lleida.	By now they are probably already in Lleida.	Future expressing a present guess
D'aquí a deu anys, com serà la ciutat?	Ten years from now, what will the city be like?	Question about a future state

Common Mistakes

Using a present ending after the infinitive

• Wrong: Demà cantaro a la festa.
• Right: Demà cantaré a la festa.
• Why: The future keeps the future stem and adds -é for “I.” It does not combine the infinitive with a present-tense ending.

Dropping the accent from singular forms

• Wrong: Ell arribara demà.
• Right: Ell arribarà demà.
• Why: The third-person singular ending is -à. The first three singular endings are written -é, -às, -à; omitting the accent is a spelling error and can obscure the intended form.

Treating an irregular verb as fully regular

• Wrong: Tenirem més temps demà.
• Right: Tindrem més temps demà.
• Why: Tenir uses the future stem tindr-. Add the normal first-person plural ending -em to get tindrem.

Copying English “will” as a separate word

• Wrong: Jo will parlaré amb ella.
• Right: Parlaré amb ella.
• Why: The ending of parlaré already expresses both future time and first-person singular. Catalan needs no separate auxiliary equivalent to “will.”

Using the future after si in an open condition

• Wrong: Si estudiaràs, aprovaràs.
• Right: Si estudies, aprovaràs.
• Why: In a realistic open condition, the si clause normally uses the present indicative, while the result may use the future: “If you study, you will pass.” English also uses a present form after “if,” so the reliable pattern is si + present, future.

Confusing the future with the conditional

• Wrong: M'agradaria ajudar-te, i ho faré si pogués.
• Right: M'agradaria ajudar-te, i ho faria si pogués.
• Why: Faré means “I will do it” and presents the result as expected. Faria means “I would do it” and matches the hypothetical si pogués (“if I could”). Future endings and conditional endings attach to the same stem, but their meanings differ.

Usage Notes

Prediction, intention, and certainty

The simple future is neutral in formal announcements and straightforward predictions: La reunió començarà a les onze (“The meeting will begin at eleven”). In conversation, speakers often choose the present when an arrangement is already fixed: Demà treballo des de casa (“I’m working from home tomorrow”). Both can refer to future time, but the future often presents the statement as a prediction, promise, conclusion, or fact viewed from now.

English “will” has many jobs, so translation cannot be mechanical. A spontaneous offer can naturally use the future—Ja ho faré jo (“I’ll do it”)—but a timetable may sound more direct in the present. Pay attention to the speaker’s viewpoint, not only to the calendar date.

Formal and informal address

The forms themselves do not change register. Informal singular tu takes second-person singular (vindràs), while formal singular vostè takes third-person singular (vindrà). Informal plural vosaltres takes vindreu; formal plural vostès takes vindran. Since pronouns are often absent, the social relationship may be visible only through the verb ending and context.

Pronunciation and spelling

All future forms are stressed on the ending. Learning the six endings aloud as a rhythm helps prevent confusion with present forms. In writing, give special attention to the accents in the singular and to stem consonants in tindr-, vindr-, podr-, and voldr-.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

A future form can express probability now

The simple future can mark a conjecture—a reasoned guess rather than literal future time. In Ara seran les vuit, the speaker means approximately “It must be about eight now.” Likewise, Qui trucarà a aquestes hores? can mean “Who could be calling at this hour?” Context tells you that the speaker is wondering about the present.

This use does not map neatly onto English “will.” English often uses “must,” “probably,” “I wonder,” or “could” instead. Translate the degree of uncertainty, not just the verb form.

Time clauses may require another mood

When a future action follows a connector such as quan (“when”), Catalan often uses the present subjunctive—the subjunctive is a verb form used for events viewed as pending, uncertain, desired, or otherwise not asserted as facts. Compare:

• Et trucaré quan arribi. — “I will call you when I arrive.”
• Quan arribaràs? — “When will you arrive?”

The direct question uses future arribaràs. The pending event inside the time clause uses arribi. You can use the simple future confidently before learning all subjunctive forms, but expect this contrast in authentic Catalan.

The future perfect looks back from a future point

The future perfect describes something that will already be complete by a later reference point. It uses the future of haver plus a past participle (a form such as acabat, “finished”):

• A les sis ja haurem acabat. — “By six we will already have finished.”
• Quan arribis, hauran marxat. — “When you arrive, they will have left.”

This is a separate tense, but knowing hauré, hauràs, haurà, haurem, haureu, hauran makes it much easier to learn.

The historical origin explains the shape

The Romance future developed from an infinitive plus forms of haver. You do not need this history to conjugate the tense, but it explains why the endings are shared by every verb group and why they resemble forms connected with haver. In modern Catalan, however, cantaré is one word and should be learned as one conjugated form.

Practice Tips

1. Learn endings separately from stems. Recite -é, -às, -à, -em, -eu, -an, then apply them to one regular verb and one irregular stem: parlar-, tindr-, far-.
2. Write a realistic six-sentence forecast. Include a plan, a weather prediction, a promise, a negative, a question, and one si + present, future sentence. This practises meaning as well as conjugation.
3. Build irregular families. Put future and conditional pairs on the same card—podré/podria, vindrem/vindríem, faràs/faries. The common stem reduces memorisation and helps keep the endings distinct.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Present Tense: -ar Verbs — provides the basic ideas of person, conjugation, and subject omission.
• Next step: Conditional Mood — uses the same regular and irregular stems with conditional endings.
• Next step: Basic Conditional Sentences — combines the present and future in open conditions such as Si plou, no sortiré.