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Futuro de conjetura - especulación |
In both English and Spanish the future tense can be used to express speculation or deduction in the present (futuro de conjetura).
1) In informal Spanish this option is preferred, whereas in English we tend to use "must" or "can't".1
-¿No ha venido Juan hoy? -No. Estará con su novia — Hasn't Juan come today? - No. He'll be with his girlfriend
-Los superalimentos son una chorrada -Algo harán, ¿no? — Superfoods are a load of bull -They must do something, mustn't they?
-¿Por qué no ha venido Juan? -No tendrá mucho dinero, supongo — Why hasn't Juan come? -He can't have much money, I guess
2) Although the futuro de conjetura is often interchangeable with the constructions deber de, tener que and haber de, it tends to express more confidence in the speculation.
"Se ha observado que cuando el hablante elige el futuro de conjetura, suele manifestar un juicio especulativo algo más firme que el que se obtiene, por ejemplo, con los verbos modales".3
-¿Quién es ese tipo? —Who's that guy?
→Será el encargado — It'll be the manager[Sounds more sure]
→→ Tiene que ser el encargado — It has to be the manager
→→→Debe de ser el encargado — It must be the manager [Sounds slightly more speculative]
3) As discussed previously, the future tense, when used with relative clauses, tends to induce the subjunctive; the speculative future is no different.
-Habrá gente que se queje de esto, supongo — There are bound to be people who complain about this, I imagine
-Seguro que Juan tendrá una herramienta que funcione — I'm sure Juan will have a tool that works
4) Será (que) is commonly used to denote speculation or probability in the present or past and is often seen in rhetorical questions.
-¿Será que no quieren tirar de la manta? — Could it be that they don't want to lift the lid on this whole thing?
-¿Seré el tío más feo del mundo? — Might/could I be the ugliest guy in the world?
-Es raro que no me haya llamado Juan. Será que no tiene cobertura — It's odd that Juan hasn't called. He probably doesn't have any coverage
5) Use of the speculative future can attenuate a suggestion or rhetorical question. [See also imperfect for attenuation]
- Es de Inglaterra -Dirás/Querrás decir del Reino Unido, ¿no? — He's from England -I think you mean the UK, don't you?
-¿Tendrás dinero, no? — You do have money, don't you?
6) The futuro de conjetura is also commonly used along with the conjunction pero, where it has a concessive effect, similar to using aunque+subjunctive.2
-La guerra será una locura, pero genera mucho dinero [≈ Aunque sea una locura, genera mucho dinero] — War may be crazy, but it does generate a lot of money
-Juan será muy basto y todo lo que tú quieras, pero es un buen compañero [≈ Aunque sea muy basto, es un buen compañero]
-Dinero no tendrá, pero no le faltan ganas [Aunque no tenga dinero, no le faltan ganas]
7) Additionally, the speculative future is often used in exclamations –normally in conversational Spanish– to emphasize a person's negative feature or to express anger or disbelief (also known as 'futuro intensificador' or 'futuro de sorpresa'); it is normally said with a rising intonation.3
-Juan ha vuelto a pegar a su mujer. ¡Será cabrón! — Juan has hit his wife again. What a bastard!
-No me digas que has metido el plástico en el horno... ¡Serás subnormal! — Don't tell me you put the plastic in the oven... You can't be that retarded!
-¡Tendrás cara! Fuera de mi vista. No te lo pienso prestar nunca más — You've got some nerve! Out of my sight. I won't ever lend you it again
-No me ha pagado. ¡Será posible! — He hasn't paid me. Would you believe it!
-(Anda que no/ Mira que) ¡Se lo habré dicho veces! — The number of times I've told her! [Futuro compuesto]
-No es de fiar -¡Si lo sabré yo! — He's not to be trusted -Tell me about it!
8) The speculative future is also common in emphatic conditional sentences.
-Si lo hace, será porque le gusta — If he does it, he must like it
-Si llamó, será porque quiere algo — If he called, he must want something
9) As discussed previously, the conditional is used to speculate about the past.
-Juan no me coge el teléfono. Estará trabajando [Probablemente está trabajando] — Juan won't answer the phone. He must be working
→Juan no me cogía el teléfono. Estaría trabajando [Probablemente estaba trabajando] — Juan wouldn't answer the phone. He must have been working
10) Similarly, the compound form habrá+participio is used for supposition of events that would be expressed in the present perfect, while the conditional (habría+participio) for events that would be expressed in the past perfect. As discussed previously, English often doesn't make the distinction since it is more limited in its modal verbs.
-Juan no está. Habrá salido [Probablemente ha salido] — Juan isn't in. He must have gone out
→Juan no estaba. Habría salido [Probablemente había salido] — Juan wasn't in. He must have gone out
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In Español-Avanzado Articles
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-futuro de conjetura - especulación-
Si lo hace, será porque le gusta — If he does it he must like it (we know he does it)
Si llamó, será porque quiere algo — If he called he must want something (we know he called)