The Future Perfect Indicative (Futuro Perfecto or Futuro Compuesto de Indicativo) is used to talk about actions that will have been completed by a certain point in the future. It’s also used to express speculation or conjecture about a past action. It’s the equivalent of the English “will have + past participle” (e.g., “I will have finished”).

When to Use the Spanish Future Perfect Indicative

The Future Perfect Indicative has two main uses:

1. Action Completed Before a Future Point/Action

Describing an action that will be finished before a specific time or another event in the future.

  • Para el año que viene, habré terminado mis estudios. (By next year, I will have finished my studies.)
  • Cuando llegues, ya habremos cenado. (When you arrive, we will have already eaten dinner.)
  • Dentro de un mes, habrán construido el puente. (Within a month, they will have built the bridge.)
  • A las 9, el tren ya habrá salido. (At 9, the train will have already left.)

2. Conjecture or Probability About the Past

Expressing speculation or probability about a past action (similar to using the Future Simple for present conjecture).

  • ¿Dónde están mis llaves? — No sé, las habrás dejado en casa. (Where are my keys? — I don’t know, you probably left / must have left them at home.)
  • María no vino a la fiesta. — Habrá estado enferma. (Maria didn’t come to the party. — She must have been / was probably sick.)
  • ¿Quién se comió la tarta? — Lo habrán hecho los niños. (Who ate the cake? — The children must have done it / probably did it.)

Future Perfect Indicative Formation

This tense is a compound tense formed using:

Future Simple Indicative of haber + Past Participle of main verb

Future Simple Indicative of Haber

Haber (Future Simple Indicative)

  • yo habré

  • tú habrás

  • él/ella/usted habrá

  • nosotros/as habremos

  • vosotros/as habréis

  • ellos/ellas/ustedes habrán

Past Participles (Review)

  • Regular -ar verbs → -ado (e.g., hablado)
  • Regular -er/-ir verbs → -ido (e.g., comido, vivido)
  • Irregular past participles (e.g., dicho, hecho, visto, escrito, puesto, roto, muerto, abierto, vuelto, cubierto)

Complete Conjugation Examples

Hablar (to speak)

  • yo habré hablado (I will have spoken)
  • tú habrás hablado (you will have spoken)
  • él/ella/usted habrá hablado (he/she/you will have spoken)
  • nosotros/as habremos hablado (we will have spoken)
  • vosotros/as habréis hablado (you all will have spoken [Spain])
  • ellos/ellas/ustedes habrán hablado (they/you all will have spoken)

Comer (to eat)

  • yo habré comido (I will have eaten)

  • tú habrás comido (you will have eaten)

  • él/ella/usted habrá comido (he/she/you will have eaten)

  • nosotros/as habremos comido (we will have eaten)

  • vosotros/as habréis comido (you all will have eaten [Spain])

  • ellos/ellas/ustedes habrán comido (they/you all will have eaten)

Hacer (to do/make - irregular participle)

  • yo habré hecho (I will have done/made)
  • tú habrás hecho (you will have done/made)
  • él/ella/usted habrá hecho (he/she/you will have done/made)
  • nosotros/as habremos hecho (we will have done/made)
  • vosotros/as habréis hecho (you all will have done/made [Spain])
  • ellos/ellas/ustedes habrán hecho (they/you all will have done/made)

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Confusing with Future Simple

Future Simple talks about future actions; Future Perfect talks about actions completed before a future point.

  • Future Simple: Mañana terminaré el informe. (Tomorrow I will finish the report.)

  • Future Perfect: Para mañana, ya habré terminado el informe. (By tomorrow, I will have already finished the report.)

2. Incorrect Haber Conjugation

Use the future simple forms of haber (habré, habrás…), not other tenses.

  • Incorrect: Yo he terminado para las cinco.
  • Incorrect: Yo había terminado para las cinco.

  • Correct: Yo habré terminado para las cinco. (I will have finished by five.)

3. Using for Present Conjecture

Use Future Simple for guessing about the present; use Future Perfect for guessing about the past.

  • Present Guess: ¿Qué hora es? — Serán las tres. (What time is it? — It must be three.)

  • Past Guess: ¿Por qué no contestó? — Se habrá quedado dormido. (Why didn’t he answer? — He must have fallen asleep.)

4. Separating Haber and Past Participle

Auxiliary verb haber and the past participle stay together. Don’t insert words between them.

  • Incorrect: Yo habré ya comido.

  • Correct: Yo ya habré comido.

Practice What You’ve Learned

Ready to practice the Spanish future perfect? Head over to our Practice page and select the futuro perfecto option to practice.

The practice tool will help you master forming and using the future perfect tense for actions that will have been completed by a certain point in the future.