How do we talk about what will happen in the near future in Spanish? We can use the simple future tense, but if you’re the kind of person who’s constantly struggling with Spanish verb conjugations, we have a much easier solution. In this post, you’ll learn all about the voy a hack to instantly talk about the future in Spanish.

Spanish speakers use this sentence structure a lot. In everyday conversations, native speakers actually use this construction more than the simple future.

Ir + a + infinitive is the magic formula that will help you speak about your plans and intentions effortlessly. In fact, ir a infinitive phrases are the same as going to phrases in English. Let’s see a couple of examples:

• ¿Qué vas a hacer mañana? – What are you going to do tomorrow?

• Voy a tomar el tren a Buenos Aires. – I am going to take the train to Buenos Aires.

Let’s get started and see how we can build and use this voy a hack.

Future Tense Spanish: How to Form the Near Future

Unlike the simple present or simple future conjugations that consist of a single word, this near future construction is formed of three elements: simple present conjugation of ir + a + infinitive verb.

Technically, this near future construction isn’t even considered to be a tense at all, since it’s just built around the simple present conjugation of ir.

“Ir” simple present conjugation

Ir conjugation in simple present is all you need to know for forming the first part of the voy a construction: you just conjugate ir and include the preposition a. Here’s the ir conjugation table in simple present tense:

Once you’ve applied the conjugations above, all you do is add the infinitive form of whatever verb describes the action you’ll be doing in the near future, and you’re talking about the future! Don’t forget to include the preposition a between your conjugated form of ir and the infinitive. Let’s see this with a few more examples:

• Él va a perder el autobús. – He is going to miss the bus.

• No vamos a trabajar el próximo fin de semana. – We are not going to work next weekend.

• Van a cantar nuestra canción favorita. – They are going to sing our favorite song.

• Voy a ganar la lotería el año que viene. – I am going to win the lottery next year.

• Tú no me vas a decir la verdad. – You are not going to tell me the truth.

Now that you know how to form the voy a structure to say I’m going to in Spanish, let’s look at the contexts where it’s normally used.

When to Use “Voy a”

Immediate future

Here we’re referring to what we are going to do soon. This immediate future could be within seconds, minutes, or hours.

• ¿Vas a venir al cine con nosotros? – Are you going to come to the cinema with us?

• Mis amigos van a caminar por el parque en una hora. – My friends are going to walk in the park in an hour.

Making plans

We can also use this construction when we want to make plans for the future. The intent is there, even if we have no certainty whether we’ll be able to follow through on them or not.

• Van a ir de vacaciones a la Patagonia. – They are going to go on vacation to Patagonia.

• Vamos a sacar notas excelentes el próximo semestre. – We are going to get excellent grades next semester.

Expressing intentions

Like the previous context, here it’s even clearer that the intent may or may not actually happen. You’ll hear people use the voy a construction for their traditional New Year’s resolutions, for example.

• Este verano, voy a caminar 10 kilómetros por día. – This summer, I’m going to walk 10 kilometers per day.

• El próximo año voy a aprender a hablar japonés. – Next year, I’m going to learn Japanese.

Conclusion

Well that was easy, right? Rather than applying the simple future tense in Spanish, we’ve just introduced this simple hack for talking about the future using ir + a + infinitive. We covered the ir simple present conjugation for the first part of the construction, we emphasized the need to then include the preposition a, and then we saw how all we need to do is include an infinitive to create this near future construction. Easy!

Y ahora, ¿qué vas a hacer? – And now, what are you going to do? How about a few exercises to practice using the voy a hack using this ir a infinitive construction?

Exercises: Future Spanish using “Voy a”

Express the action in the near future of the verb in brackets using the ir + a + infinitive formula. The English translation is already expressed in the future for you.

1. Él me (llamar) el fin de semana que viene.

He is going to call me next weekend.

2. Ellos (leer) más sobre el tema.

They are going to read more about the topic.

3. Ellos no te (decir) nada. Es un secreto.

They are not going to tell you anything. It’s a secret.

4. ¿Qué (necesitar) los niños para el colegio?

What are the kids going to need for school?

5. Tú me (dar) el regalo de cumpleaños mañana.

You are going to give me the birthday present tomorrow.

6. Nosotros (hablar) con los padres de Juan.

We are going to talk to Juan’s parents.

7. Yo (cantar) en la iglesia el domingo.

I’m going to sing at church on Sunday.

8. Mis amigos y yo (tomar) maté juntos en la reunión.

My friends and I are going to drink maté together at the meeting.

9. Yo (ir) al aeropuerto mañana por la mañana.

I’m going to go to the airport tomorrow morning.

10. Tú (recordar) su dirección.

You are going to remember his address.

Answers

1. Él me va a llamar el fin de semana que viene.

He is going to call me next weekend.

2. Ellos van a leer más sobre el tema.

They are going to read more about the topic.

3. Ellos no te van a decir nada. Es un secreto.

They are not going to tell you anything. It’s a secret.

4. ¿Qué van a necesitar los niños para el colegio?

What are the kids going to need for school?

5. Tú me vas a dar el regalo de cumpleaños mañana.

You are going to give me the birthday present tomorrow.

6. Nosotros vamos a hablar con los padres de Juan.

We are going to talk to Juan’s parents.

7. Yo voy a cantar en la iglesia el domingo.

I’m going to sing at church on Sunday.

8. Mis amigos y yo vamos a tomar maté juntos en la reunión.

My friends and I are going to drink maté together at the meeting.

9. Yo voy a ir al aeropuerto mañana por la mañana.

I’m going to go to the airport tomorrow morning.

10. Tú vas a recordar su dirección.

You are going to remember his address.