The future continuous in Spanish is estar in the future (estaré, estarás, estará, estaremos, estaréis, estarán) plus a gerund: estaré comiendo, I will be eating. Use it for an action in progress at a future moment, or to guess what someone is doing right now: estará durmiendo, he's probably sleeping.
estar (future) + gerundio = will be doing- How to say 'will be doing' in Spanish
- estaré + gerundio
- When to use the future continuous
The future continuous in Spanish says what will be happening at a moment in the future: Mañana a esta hora estaré volando a Madrid — tomorrow at this time I'll be flying to Madrid. It's estar in the future plus a gerund, and if you already know estoy comiendo, you know 90% of it.
There's a second use most textbooks bury, and it's the one my students end up using most: guessing about what someone is doing right now. Estará durmiendo — he's probably sleeping. After 40 years in the classroom, I teach the guess before the prediction, because that's the order you'll hear them in real life. Let me show you both.
The big pictureWhen to use the future continuous in Spanish
- An action in progress at a specific future moment — A las nueve estaremos cenando. (At nine we'll be having dinner.) You're zooming in on a point in the future and describing what's underway.
- Probability about the present — No contesta. Estará manejando. (She's not answering. She's probably driving.) A future form, a present meaning: a guess about what's happening right now.
- Something ongoing over a future stretch of time — Todo el mes estaré trabajando en el proyecto. (All month I'll be working on the project.)
Two honest notes. First, Spanish uses this tense less than English uses "will be doing" — the simple future often does the job. Second, the probability use is not a bonus; in conversation it's the main event.
The patternHow to form it: estaré + gerundio
Conjugate estar in the simple future and add the gerund. The gerund is the same one you use in the present progressive, and it never changes.
| Subject | ESTAR (future) | Example |
|---|---|---|
| yo | estaré | Estaré trabajando hasta las seis. — I'll be working until six. |
| tú | estarás | ¿Estarás estudiando esta noche? — Will you be studying tonight? |
| él / ella / usted | estará | Estará viajando toda la semana. — She'll be traveling all week. |
| nosotros / nosotras | estaremos | Estaremos esperando en la puerta. — We'll be waiting at the door. |
| vosotros / vosotras (Spain) | estaréis | Estaréis durmiendo a esa hora. — You'll be sleeping at that hour. |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | estarán | Estarán comiendo ahora mismo. — They're probably eating right now. |
Estar is regular in the future: whole infinitive + -é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án. Gerund rules (-ando / -iendo, leyendo, durmiendo) are in the present progressive in Spanish guide.
Think of it as sliding one piece. Estoy comiendo (now) → estaré comiendo (then). The gerund stays put; only estar travels through time. If you can conjugate estar in the future, this tense is already yours.
Real SpanishFuture continuous examples in real situations
From the classroomCommon mistakes English speakers make
- Using it wherever English uses "will be doing." "I'll be working tomorrow" is usually just Mañana trabajo or Mañana voy a trabajar. Reserve estaré trabajando for a pinned moment (a las tres) or an emphasis on the ongoing activity.
- Missing the probability meaning. When a Spanish speaker says Estará en una reunión, they are not predicting; they are guessing that he's in a meeting now. If the sentence makes no sense as a future, it's a guess.
- Overusing ir a with the gerund. Voy a estar comiendo exists and is fine, but students lean on it too much. The compact, more common form is estaré comiendo.
- Regular gerund on irregular verbs. Estará dormiendo — no. Estará durmiendo. The gerund keeps its spelling changes no matter which tense estar is in.
Don't confuseFuture continuous vs simple future
| Feature | Simple future | Future continuous |
|---|---|---|
| Form | trabajaré | estaré trabajando |
| English | I will work | I will be working |
| Focus | the whole action, as a fact or promise | the action in progress at a moment |
| Example | Mañana trabajaré desde casa. — Tomorrow I'll work from home. | Mañana a las diez estaré trabajando. — Tomorrow at ten I'll be working. |
| Guessing | Estará en casa. — He's probably home. | Estará durmiendo. — He's probably sleeping. |
When in doubt, the simple future is the safer choice. Its endings and irregular stems are in the Spanish future tense guide.
The future continuous is one of three "future" tenses built on the same six endings; the third, the Spanish future perfect (habré terminado), looks back from a future point instead of zooming in on one. You'll find all three, and every other tense, in my overview of all the Spanish tenses.
PracticeQuick quiz: future continuous spanish
Six questions from the lesson. Answer in your head, then open to check.
