Spanish Future Perfect Tense

The Spanish future perfect tense is used to say that something will have been done in the future.

In this post, you’ll learn how to conjugate the future perfect in Spanish, when to use it, what it is and see a plethora of example sentences and more.

Let’s get into it. 

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What Is the Spanish Future Perfect Tense?

The future perfect in Spanish is used to describe something that “will have” been done in the future.

In other words, it’s used to talk about something that is expected to be done in the future, before another future event.

For example:

Habré terminado mi cena antes de que llegue a casa.  (I will have finished my dinner before he gets home.)

Habrás viajado a Punta Cana ya. (You will have already traveled to Punta Cana.)

It may seem a bit complex, but once you get a handle on how to form the future perfect in Spanish and when to use it, you’ll sound more fluent!

How to Form the Spanish Future Perfect

To form the Spanish future perfect tense, we use this formula:

haber (“to have,” conjugated in simple future) + past participle

Conjugating Haber in Simple Future

Here are the simple future conjugations of haber (to have) you will use to form the future perfect:

Conjugating the Past Participle

The past participle of a verb is formed by adding -ado to the stem of -ar verbs, or -ido to the stem of -er and -ir.  Here are some examples:

Let’s take a look at some examples of this formula in use:

Sofía habrá [haber in simple future] terminado [past participle] sus estudios en 2022. (Sofía will have finished her studies by 2022.)

Yohabré [haber in simple future) vivido [past participle] aquí 10 años el mes que viene. (Next month I will have lived/been living here for 10 years.)

As we know already, in Spanish, we don’t always need to add a subject, and forming the future perfect is no different.

If we don’t want to emphasize the subject, we can use haber (conjugated in simple future) + past participle. 

So we’ve seen the most basic use of the formula—but there are a few changes we can make to alter the meaning:

• Make it negative. If you want to make the future perfect negative, add no in front of haber:

No habrás terminado para mañana. (You won’t have finished by tomorrow.)

• Pose a question. Instead of making a statement, add question marks or change the intonation when speaking:

¿Habrás terminado para mañana?  (Will you have finished by tomorrow?)

• Using a subject. If you have a subject, insert it after the past participle when asking a question:

¿Habrás terminado tú para mañana? (Will you have finished by tomorrow?)

Example Using Hablar in Future Perfect

Now, let’s practice conjugating the future perfect in Spanish using hablar as an example:

• Habré hablado  — I will have talked
• Habrás hablado  — You will have talked
• Habrá hablado  — He/she/you (formal) will have talked
• Habremos hablado — We will have talked
• Habéis hablado — You (plural) will have talked
• Habrán hablado  — They/you all will have talked

When to Use the Spanish Future Perfect Tense

Actions That Will Be Finished in the Future

The Spanish future perfect can be used to talk about actions that will be finished (or not) at a certain point in the future.

Similar to what happens with the English future perfect, Spanish very often includes future time expressions when using this tense.

Have a look at some examples:

Mañana habré vuelto ya.  (I will have already come back by tomorrow.)

Habremos aterrizado en Sevilla a esta hora mañana.  (This time tomorrow we will have landed in Seville.)

To Express Something That Might’ve Happened

The future perfect can also express that something may have happened, but we aren’t sure!

It can translate to “may have,” “must have” or “might have.”

So we’re really only hypothesizing:

Ya habrá llegado a casa.  (He may have already arrived home.)

Habrán vendido la casa.  (They must have sold the house.)

Spanish Conditional Perfect vs. Spanish Future Perfect

While we use the future perfect to talk about something that will happen, we use the conditional perfect when we want to say that something would have happened if a condition had been fulfilled. It usually uses the word si (if):

Habría ido si no hubiera estado enfermo.  (I would have gone if I had not been ill.)

Si me lo hubieras dicho antes, te habría ayudado.  (If you had told me before, I would have helped you.)

Where it can get confusing is when we want to talk about things that may have happened in the past, as technically you could use either the conditional perfect or the future perfect. 

However, there are some rules to help you decide which is correct:

1. Use the conditional perfect when it is possible that something happened/did not happen in the past, but the outcome was different from the one you expected.
2. Use the future perfect when something may have happened and there is enough present evidence to be almost sure your guess was correct.

Here are some examples that show the difference:

Habría llegado a tiempo si no me hubiera quedado dormido.  (I would have arrived on time if I had not overslept.)

No habríamos perdido si hubieras jugado mejor.  (We would not have lost if you had played better.)

Me habré tomado unos seis cafés. (I may have had around six coffees.)

Habremos esperado dos horas ya.  (We must have waited/been waiting for two hours already.)

Compared to other verb tenses, conjugating the future perfect is simple. But don’t be tempted to fall back onto other tenses (like the conditional or future simple) just because you haven’t mastered it yet.

The best way to practice the future perfect and make it come natural is by talking with native speakers—or listening to them.

For example, the language learning program FluentU lets you watch hundreds of Spanish videos that come with interactive subtitles.

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These help you spot instances of the future perfect, so you can see how it’s actually used in different contexts. Pair that with HelloTalk—a language exchange app for meeting native speakers online—and you’ll be golden.

Spanish Future Perfect Tense Practice Exercises

Now that you know how to use the Spanish future perfect, try these practice exercises to test your mastery.

To complete the sentences, conjugate the verbs in bold (according to the specified pronoun) in the future perfect. Then, check your answers at the end.

1. Yo (aprender) 2,000 palabras en español para el fin de este año. (I will have learned 2,000 Spanish words by the end of this year.)
2. Tú (llegar) en mayo, ¿verdad? (You will have arrived in May, right?)
3. Yo no (ser) demasiado grosero, ¿o sí? (I mustn’t have been too rude, right?)
4. Ellos (trabajar) más de 40 horas esta semana. (They will have worked more than 40 hours this week.)
5. Nosotros (viajar) a México ya. (We will have traveled to Mexico already.)
6. Él (cerrar) la tienda a las 8. (He will have closed the shop at 8.)
7. Ustedes (comer) seis veces hoy. (You all will have eaten 6 times today.)
8. Yo (escribir) un libro el próximo año. (I will have written a book next year.)
9. Tú (volver) a casa antes de medianoche. (You will be home before midnight.)
10. Ellas (jugar) desde la mañana hasta la noche. (They will have played from morning to night.)

Answer key:

1. Yo habré aprendido 2,000 palabras en español para el fin de este año.
2. ¿Tú habrás llegado en mayo, ¿verdad?
3. Yo no habré sido demasiado grosero, ¿o sí?
4. Ellos habrán trabajado más de 40 horas esta semana.
5. Nosotros habremos viajado a México ya. 
6. Él habrá cerrado la tienda a las 8.
7. Ustedes habrán comido seis veces hoy.
8. Yo habré escrito un libro el próximo año.
9. Tú habrás vuelto a casa antes de medianoche.
10. Ellas habrán jugado desde la mañana hasta la noche.

Now that you know how to use this tense, give it a try and perfect your way into the future!

Stay curious, my friends, and as always, happy learning!

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

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