The Future Indicative

There are three ways in which the future tense is used in Spanish.

1. It indicates future time, the same as in English:

El año próximo iremos a Nueva Zelanda. Next year we will go to New Zealand.
La presidenta vendrá a verme mañana. The president will come see me tomorrow.

When “will” is used in questions to express the idea “to be willing to” the future is not used in Spanish. Instead, you should use the present of querer:

Will you be quiet? ¿Quieres callarte?
Will you stand still? ¿Quieres estarte quieto?

2. Conjecture or probability about the present (future of probability). This usage is quite different from English, which uses expressions like “probably”, “must”, “I/you think” instead:

¿Dónde andará tu padre? I wonder where your father is (now).
¿Qué pensará de mí? I wonder what he thinks of me (now).
¿Qué hora será? Serán las nueve. I wonder what time it is (now). It must be 9.
¿Cuándo viene Juan? No sé. Vendrá tarde.
When is Juan coming? I don’t know he’s probably
coming late.

3. Very formal commands, as in the ten commandments (just like in English):

No matarás. Thou shalt not kill.

Other forms of expressing future actions

1. The present indicative is often used to indicate near future actions:
Me visto en cinco minutos. I’ll get dressed in five minutes.
Te veo mañana. I’ll see you tomorrow.

2. Periphrastic future: present of ir + a + infinitive (= “to be going to” + infinitive).

Voy a comprarme un coche nuevo. I’m going to buy a new car.
¿Vas a venir? Are you going to come?