The Concessive Future

Level 6

The future can grant a point before a contrast: Será moi listo, pero non estuda (he may be very clever, but he does not study). It is not about the future. It means I accept that, but...

How It Works

How it works

The Galician future can express a guess about the present. The concessive future builds on that: the speaker grants something, perhaps true, then contrasts it with what really counts.

  • Será moi listo, pero non estuda. (He may be very clever, but he does not study.)
  • Terá cartos, pero non é feliz. (She may have money, but she is not happy.)

The second part, after pero or mais, is in the present or another normal tense, because it states a fact.

About the past

To concede something about the past, use the conditional, just as with the conditional of probability: Sería moi listo, pero suspendeu todo (he may have been very clever, but he failed everything).

Other ways to say it

You can say the same with aínda que: Aínda que sexa moi listo, non estuda. The concessive future sounds more conversational and often a little ironic.

Not a prediction

In Será moi listo, pero non estuda, nobody predicts that he will become clever. The context, and above all the contrast with pero, shows that the future is concessive.

Examples (6)

  1. Será moi listo, pero non estuda.

    He may be very clever, but he does not study.

  2. Terá cartos, pero non é feliz.

    She may have money, but she is not happy.

  3. Serás o xefe, pero aquí mando eu.

    You may be the boss, but I am in charge here.

    A common, slightly defiant use in conversation.

  4. Terá moitos defectos, mais é boa persoa.

    He may have many faults, but he is a good person.

    Mais is a more formal alternative to pero.

  5. Poderá ser verdade, pero eu non o creo.

    It may be true, but I do not believe it.

  6. Sería moi listo, pero suspendeu todo.

    He may have been very clever, but he failed everything.

    The conditional concedes something about the past.

Common Mistakes

  • Using ir + infinitive for a concession.

    Vai ser moi listo, pero non estuda.
    Será moi listo, pero non estuda.

    Vai ser sounds like a prediction (he is going to be very clever). To grant a point about the present, use the simple future.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

The Concessive FutureLevel 6

Learn This First

A future form can concede a point before a contrasting statement.

Words in This Pattern