How to express New Year's resolutions in Spanish?

Happy new year!

We hope you start this year with a lot of energy and enthusiasm. 

Have you already started planning this new year and your resolutions?

Hang on a minute. Don't you know how express purposes in spanish? 

If so, stay with us because we are going to teach you all the necessary grammar to express those objectives that we want to accomplish throughout the new year.

In this article you will learn how to correctly use both future times and some periphrasis that can help you express your purposes.

The future tenses in Spanish and the verbal periphrases It is a fundamental part of Spanish grammar. 

If you come to our spanish courses you will master them in a few classes. 

we are Hispania, Spanish school, and we find ourselves in the city of Valencia, one of the most beautiful and lively cities in Spain.

If you want to learn how to say New Year's resolutions in Spanish, keep reading, we'll tell you right now!

What is a purpose?

First of all, we want you to understand well what a purpose is.

The purposes are objectives or goals what we wear and what we want to achieve in the future. 

There are close targets, short term, and others that require more time, long term. These are known as life purposes.

It is common for people to make a list of purposes at the beginning of January, to face the new year with enthusiasm.

Have you still not thought about what resolutions you want to achieve this new year? What are you waiting for?

Having goals in mind is very important to live motivated. 

These are not great impossible challenges. think about realistic goals that you can fulfill. And don't put too much pressure on yourself, go little by little 🤗.

Shutterstock Image

How to express purposes in Spanish?

We come to the million dollar question. 

There are many ways to talk about purposes in Spanish. 

We are going to present you 5 different ways with verbal periphrases and the two times of future.

Don't you know what is a verbal periphrasis?  

The verbal periphrases are verbal structures which are made up of two verbs, one personally and another in non-personal way (infinitive, gerund and participle).

Additionally, some may have prepositions or the word that.

some examples of verbal periphrases they would be: 

• Go to + infinitive
• Start to + infinitive
• Power + infinitive
• Estar + gerund
• Finish + infinitive
• Leave + participle

Below, we present the different ways you can express your New Year wishes in Spanish.

We start with the periphrasis go to + infinitive.

Future periphrasis: Go to + infinitive 

With this future periphrasis We can talk about things we are going to do in a near future or of plans that we have programmed.

If we use this verb, it usually means that it is certain that we will do a certain action in the future.

Examples of resolutions for the new year withgo to + infinitive:

• This year I'm going to learn Spanish.
• This year I'm going to reform my apartment
• This year José vto change of work.

And you? What objectives you are going to fulfill this year?

Shutterstock Image

Obligation periphrasis: Tener que + infinitive / Haber de + infinitive

sometimes, the resolutions for a new year that we have are so important that we think of them as a obligation.

There are many ways to express obligation in Spanish (imperative, duty + infinitive, etc.) 

Today we are going to focus on infinitive periphrases have to + infinitive and haber de + infinitive.

have to + infinitive

have to + infinitive expresses a strong obligation, something that must be done urgently.

We can use this periphrasis to talk about new year's resolutions what are they necessary for our life and that we take it as an obligation, rather than as a desire.

Examples:

• This year I have to find work.
• This year I have to reconcile with my sister.
• This year I have to connect less to social networks.

Haber de + infinitive

Haber de + infinitive is a periphrastic verb that also expresses obligation, but not so urgent like have to + infinitive.

With this periphrasis we talk about things that we have set ourselves as obligations to do, but that can wait a while.

Examples:

• This year I I have to socialize more with my classmates.
• This year I have to train flexibility.
• This year Javier it has to bemore constant in his studies.

Volitional periphrases: Want + infinitive

Thevolitional periphrases, also known asverbs of will, they serve to expresswishes in spanishor theinterest in doing something.

As you can imagine, the most common iswant + infinitive.

Examples: 

• This yearI want to travelto Valencia.
• This yearI want to sign upto bachata classes.
• This yearI want to takethings more calmly and worry less.

And you? What wishes for the new year do you want to make?

Shutterstock Image

Future imperfect: predictions

With the future imperfect we can talk aboutpredictions. That is, things that we will most likely do in the future.

One moment,Don't you know the form of the future imperfect?We'll explain it to you quickly!

Theconjugation of the future imperfect(can also be called future simple) is very easy.

It always starts from the infinitive + its endings, and it is the same for thethree conjugations.

A verb ending in-ar, asstudy, it would be like this:

Person	Verb
I	study-AND
You	study-ACE
He/She/You	study-TO
We	study-ÉMOS
You	study-EIS
They/Them/You	study-AN

With verbs that end in-er, -irthe formula is exactly the same:infinitive + the indicated endings.

For example, the verbwriteIt would be conjugated like this:

Person	Verb
I	write-AND
You	write-ACE
He/She/You	write-TO
We	write-ÉMOS
You	write-EIS
They/Them/You	write-AN

And what about theirregular verbs? 

Hefuture in spanishalso hasirregular verbs, but we reserve that topic for an article next month in which we will talk in depth about the simple future. 

Follow our blog carefully so you don't miss it!

Now that you know the form of the future imperfect, you can express your New Year's resolutions with this tense.

Examples:

• This yearI will goto my parents' house more often.
• This yearI will learnto cook more elaborate recipes.
• This yearI will approvethe DELE 💪🏻.

Future perfect: purposes that I see as fulfilled in the future

In Spanish we can also express purposes with the other future tense: thefuture perfect.

The form of this time is very simple. Like all perfect tenses, it is conjugated with the verbhaber + participle.

How is the future,the verb haber is in the future(it is irregular).

In the following table you have examples with different verbs in each person.

Person	verb to have	Participle
I	there will be	bought
You	you will have	seen
He/She/You	there will be	gone
We	we will have	made
You	there will be	spoken
They/Them/You	there will be	learned

What infinitives are the participles of?seenandmade? 

Seeanddo. Remember that we also haveirregular participles😁.

How is this verb tense used?

For today's topic, it can be used to talk about purposes that will already be fulfilled in a specific period in the future.

What objectives will you have achieved throughout this year?

For example:

• This year already I will have finished the university.
• This year already I will have taken myself out the driving license.
• This year already I will have bought my new apartment.

All those resolutions will be completely made when this new year ends.

If you notice, in all three examples there is the word already. 

Although it is not obligatory to use it, it is quite appropriate, since it helps express that idea of ​​a completed action in the future.

Shutterstock Image

Make a list of your own goals

Now you know how express purposes in Spanish. Marvelous! 👏🏻

It's time for you to practice everything you've learned. Try to make a new year's resolution list with the 5 ways that we have taught you.

You can use as a reference the template which we show you in the photo above. 

Do you have any questions about this topic? 

Are there any original New Year's resolutions you want to share with us? If so, do not hesitate to write it in the comments box.

And remember that, if you want to learn Spanish in a practical and fun way, our classes in Hispania, Spanish school They are designed with that intention 😉.

We wish you a happy new year and that you fulfill all your goals.

See you soon!

Article written by Carlos Martinez for Hispania, Spanish school.

More articles