Modern Spanish Grammar: A Practical Guide

TALKING ABOUT THE FUTURE 72.3Aquella misma noche llegaban nuestros invitados de Londres.Our guests from London were arriving that same night.Ese día por la tarde yo me iba a Santiago.That day in the afternoon I was going to Santiago. 17.3.2 (p. 74)72.372.3.1Referring to future eventsPresent/imperfect of ir + a + infinitiveIn informal, spoken language, future events such as ‘England will play Spain’, ‘Thegame will start at 6.00’, are usually referred to with the construction ir + a + infinitive.If reference is to the future with relation to some moment in the present, we use thepresent of ir (see 72.1.1):Inglaterra va a jugar con España.England will play Spain.El partido va a empezar a las 6.00.The game will start at 6.00.If reference is to the future with relation to some moment in the past, we use theimperfect of ir (see 72.1.2):Iban a jugar en Madrid.They were going to play in Madrid.Iba a empezar a las 6.00.It was going to start at 6.00. 20.2 (p. 97)72.3.2Ir + a + infinitive or futureEducated speakers will often alternate between the construction with ir and the futurewhen referring to future events, thus making them almost interchangeable.La función va a ser/será mañana por la noche.The performance will be tomorrow night.Va a terminar/terminará a las 10.00.It will end at 10.00.Generally, in writing, reference to future events is usually made using the future. In thepress, for example, future events are normally reported in that tense.El sábado 23 se inaugurará la X Feria del Libro de Valladolid.The X Valladolid Book Fair will open on Saturday 23rd . . .Las celebraciones se iniciarán a las 10 de la mañana.Celebrations will start at 10.00 a.m.412