Sobre las causas de la desaparición del futuro de subjuntivo y de la ‘decadencia’ del futuro de indicativo en el español contemporáneo
On the reasons for the disappearance of the future subjunctive and the ‘decline’ of the future indicative in contemporary Spanish

Author(s): Witold Sobczak
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies, Theoretical Linguistics, Applied Linguistics, Syntax
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego
Keywords: posteriority; future; tense system; modality; syntax
Summary/Abstract: The aim of this article is to indicate some similarities and differences between the reasons for the disappearance of the future subjunctive and the ‘decline’ of the future indicative in contemporary Spanish. By analysing the characteristics of the subjunctive and the indicative moods, the author will focus on the (im)possibility of replacing those two tenses by other verbal forms. Furthermore, a diachronic-synchronic approach will be applied to discuss the likelihood of a functional reduction of the future indicative. It seems possible that its usage will become restricted to a modal function whose role, in contrast to the future subjunctive, is transparent and cannot be substituted by another form. Therefore, the future indicative may follow in the footsteps of the compound future tense being rarely employed to denote posteriority.

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