The future tense in Quechua is also very easy, but unlike the past tense where the suffix -ra/-rqa was used for every grammatical person, to conjugate the future tense in Quechua you have to learn new verb endings. All verbs are regular, that does not change.
1. Future simple in quechua
Look at the following table where the endings of the present simple and future simple are compared:
| Pronoun | Present | Future |
| Noqa | -ni | -saq |
| Qan | -nki | -nki |
| Pay | -n | -nqa |
| Noqanchis | -nchis | -sun / -sunchis |
| Noqayku | -yku | -saqku |
| Qankuna | -nkichis | -nkichis |
| Paykuna | -nku | -nqaku |
Note that for the second person ‘Qan’ and ‘Qankuna’ there is no variation, so how do I realize if someone is speaking in the present or future?🤔 By context.
Well, at the beginning it can be a bit confusing, but with time and practice you will get used to it😀.
In the case of ‘Noqanchis’ there are 2 options: –sun and –sunchis, there is not much difference between them, we could say that -sunchis emphasizes something else, but both forms are valid.
Something that can help you learn these new endings is to look at the apparent relationship between them, for example: –saq (noqa) and –saqku (noqayku) are similar endings, for the plural only the ‘-ku‘ is added.
The same goes for –nqa (pay) and –nqaku (paykuna), for the plural only the ‘-ku‘ is added and they also seem to derive from –n and –nku, only by adding the –qa (-n ➨ –nqa and –nku ➨ –nqaku).
| Singular | Plural |
| Noqa –saq | Noqayku –saqku |
| Pay –nqa | Paykuna –nqaku |
Future simple conjugation of the verb Qhaway (to look)
| Noqa qhawasaq | I will look |
| Qan qhawanki | You will look |
| Pay qhawanqa | He/She will look |
| Noqanchis qhawasun (qhawasunchis) | We will look (including the addressee) |
| Noqayku qhawasaqku | We will look (not including the addressee) |
| Qankuna qhawankichis | You [guys] will look |
| Paykuna qhawanqaku | They will look |
Future simple conjugation of the verb Ruway (to do)
| Noqa ruwasaq | I will do |
| Qan ruwanki | You will do |
| Pay ruwanqa | He/She will do |
| Noqanchis ruwasun (ruwasunchis) | We will do (including the addressee) |
| Noqayku ruwasaqku | We will do (not including the addressee) |
| Qankuna ruwankichis | You [guys] will do |
| Paykuna ruwanqaku | They will do |
As you can see, conjugation in the future simple is as easy as in the present simple, and since all Quechua verbs are regular, just learn the 7 verb endings of the future simple and you can use them for all verbs.😃
Now let’s move on to the future continuous, which is also very easy.
2. Future continuous in Quechua
To conjugate verbs in the future continuous, we must do the same as with the present continuous, just add the suffix -sha, this is the formula:
Verb root + sha + verb ending in future simple
Future continuous conjugation of the verb Qhaway (to look)
| Noqa qhawashasaq | I will be looking |
| Qan qhawashanki | You will be looking |
| Pay qhawashanqa | He/She will be looking |
| Noqanchis qhawashasun (qhawashasunchis) | We will be looking (including the addressee) |
| Noqayku qhawashasaqku | We will be looking (not including the addressee) |
| Qankuna qhawashankichis | You [guys] will be looking |
| Paykuna qhawashanqaku | They will be looking |
Future continuous conjugation of the verb Ruway (to do)
| Noqa ruwashasaq | I will be doing |
| Qan ruwashanki | You will be doing |
| Pay ruwashanqa | He/She will be doing |
| Noqanchis ruwashasun (ruwashasunchis) | We will be doing (including the addressee) |
| Noqayku ruwashasaqku | We will be doing (not including the addressee) |
| Qankuna ruwashankichis | You [guys] will be doing |
| Paykuna ruwashanqaku | They will be doing |
Look at all we can do with just the suffix –sha 😮😃, now you know how to conjugate verbs in: present simple, present continuous, past simple, past continuous, future simple and future continuous. Imagine all the ideas you can express only with this.
Let’s pause for verbal conjugations, now let’s look at other aspects of Quechua grammar.