Futuro Perfecto: how to form and when to use it?

The Futuro Perfecto (Spanish future perfect or compound future) is formed with the simple future of haber + the past participle. It describes actions that will be finished by a given moment in the future or expresses a guess about the recent past.

• Completed future action: Para mañana habré terminado el trabajo (By tomorrow I will have finished the work)
• Guess about the past: Habrá llegado tarde, no contesta el teléfono (He must have arrived late, he isn't answering)
• Action prior to another future action: Cuando llegues, ya habré preparado la cena (When you arrive, I will have already made dinner)
• Surprise or complaint: ¡Cómo se habrá atrevido! (How could he have dared!)

How is the Futuro Perfecto formed?

The rule is simple: simple future of haber + past participle. Haber is conjugated; the participle stays invariable (ending in -ado or -ido, except for irregulars).

Regular verbs: hablar, comer, vivir

When is the Futuro Perfecto used?

The Futuro Perfecto has four main uses:

1. Action that will be completed before a moment in the future

• Para mañana habré terminado el trabajo (By tomorrow I will have finished the work) — the action ends before that point.
• En diciembre ya habremos comprado el coche (By December we will have already bought the car).
• Antes de las ocho habrán llegado a casa (Before eight they will have arrived home).

2. Guess or probability about the recent past

• Habrá llegado tarde, no contesta el teléfono (He must have arrived late, he isn't answering).
• No la veo: se habrá ido ya (I don't see her: she must have left already).
• ¿Dónde estará Juan? Habrá salido a comprar pan (Where is Juan? He must have gone out to buy bread).

3. Action prior to another future action

• Cuando llegues, ya habré preparado la cena (When you arrive, I will have already made dinner).
• Para cuando empiece la película, todos habrán comprado las palomitas (By the time the movie starts, everyone will have bought popcorn).

4. Surprise, complaint or indignation about something past

• ¡Cómo se habrá atrevido a decirme eso! (How could he have dared to tell me that!)
• ¡Qué tontería habré hecho para merecer esto! (What silly thing must I have done to deserve this!)

Which verbs have an irregular participle?

Since the Futuro Perfecto uses the past participle, the irregulars are the same as in Pretérito Perfecto, Pluscuamperfecto, and Condicional Compuesto. Haber is always regular (habré, habrás…).

Participles with hiatus

In verbs like oír, creer, leer, caer, traer, the participle carries an accent on the í: habré oído, habré creído, habré leído, habré caído, habré traído.

What is the difference between Futuro Simple and Futuro Perfecto?

The Futuro Simple describes a future action itself; the Futuro Perfecto describes an action that will already be finished at a future point.

How does it differ from the Condicional Compuesto?

The Futuro Perfecto describes something completed in the future or a guess about the recent past; the Condicional Compuesto describes something that would have happened in the past under different circumstances.

Want to practice the Futuro Perfecto? In our app you can conjugate verbs with interactive exercises and compare it with the Futuro Simple and the Condicional Compuesto.