Overview
The subjunctive is one of the three moods in Spanish, the other two being the indicative (actions, events, facts) and the imperative (commands). You can find more on the differences between the subjunctive and the indicative here!
The future subjunctive (el futuro del
subjuntivo
) is rarely used in modern Spanish. It was traditionally used in complex sentences with WEIRDO verbs that described a hypothetical, future action. Nowadays, the present subjunctive is used in virtually all cases in which the future subjunctive would have been used, but the future subjunctive does still appear, primarily in legal documents and literary contexts, so it’s good to be able to recognize it.
What's WEIRDO again?
Many of the verbs and phrases that require the subjunctive fit into the acronym WEIRDO: Wishes, Emotions, Impersonal expressions, Recommendations, Doubt/Denial, and Ojalá.
Finding the Future Subjunctive Stem
The stem for the future subjunctive is the same as that of the imperfect subjunctive, or the third person plural of the preterite (without the -ron at the end).
Preterite Form Future Subjunctive Stem
hablaron
habla-
tuvieron
tuvie-
vieron
vie-
Future Subjunctive Stem Examples
infinitive 3rd person preterite future subjunctive stem
caber
cupieron cupie-
dar
dieron die-
decir
dijeron dije-
dormir
durmieron durmie-
estar
estuvieron estuvie-
haber
hubieron hubie-
hacer
hicieron hicie-
ir
fueron fue-
leer
leyeron leye-
tener
tuvieron tuvie-
pedir
pidieron pidie-
poder
pudieron pudie-
poner
pusieron pusie-
preferir
prefirieron prefirie-
querer
quisieron quisie-
saber
supieron supie-
sentir
sintieron sintie-
ser
fueron fue-
traducir
tradujeron traduje-
traer
trajeron traje-
Irregular Future Subjunctive
Any verb that is irregular in the third person plural of the preterite will maintain that irregularity in the future subjunctive. (Ex.
tener
)
Future Subjunctive Endings
All conjugations for -ar, -er, and -ir verbs have the same future subjunctive endings:
Subject Ending
yo -re
tú -res
usted, él, ella -re
nosotros -remos
vosotros -reis
ustedes, ellos, ellas -ren
The nosotros form of the future subjunctive often has a tilde.
Examples: hubiéremos, supiéremos
Future Subjunctive Examples
No creo que vinieren mis abuelos.
I don’t believe my grandparents will come.
Espero que me diere un regalo bueno.
I hope that she will give me a good gift.
El que recibiere la mayoría de los votos será presidente.
The one who receives the most votes will be president.
Sea lo que fuere.
Let be what will be.
Digan lo que dijeren.
Say what should be said.
