El futuro perfecto?
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El futuro perfecto?
The English translation sounds like El futuro perfecto should be used instead:Es probable que yo habré hecho toda la tarea antes de ir al concierto.
Is it that both can be used, or do they have different implications? Or am I just overthinking it? Can you clarify this please? Thanks!

Hola Anna S.
You're not overthinking it. This is actually an important distinction! In Spanish, the future perfect (habré hecho) is typically used to express something that will have happened by a certain point in the future. However, in your example, es probable que haya hecho uses the present perfect subjunctive, which conveys uncertainty or a possibility rather than a definite statement.
The key difference is that es probable que haya hecho implies speculation about whether the homework will be done before the concert, while yo habré hecho states it as a fact. In Spanish, probability or uncertainty often requires the subjunctive (haya hecho), making this the more natural choice in this context.
Saludos
Silvia

Hola de nuevo Anna S.
Great to hear that things are starting to click!
You're right that Spanish doesn’t have a distinct future subjunctive tense in modern usage. While there used to be one (e.g., "hiciere" instead of "hiciera"), it’s now considered archaic and is only found in legal or very formal texts.
Instead, when referring to uncertain future actions, Spanish typically uses:
1. Present subjunctive → after expressions of doubt or possibility ("Cuando llegues, avísame.")
2. Present perfect subjunctive → when referring to something that may have happened in the future ("Es posible que ya haya terminado para entonces.")
For future probability, subjunctive is still used, but we rely on present or present perfect forms, not a specific 'future subjunctive' tense.
Hope this clarifies it!
Un abrazo
Silvia
Thank you Silvia! Having done more lessons and quizzes this already seems obvious :)
It seems the the subjunctive is never really used in a future tense, even when referring to a future possibility - is that true?
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