The future subjunctive in legal texts and set phrases (sea lo que fuere)

Spanish once had a third subjunctive tense, the future subjunctive (futuro de subjuntivo): hablare, comiere, fuere. In everyday speech it disappeared centuries ago, replaced by the present subjunctive or the present indicative. It survives in legal and administrative texts, in some set phrases and refranes, and in older literature. You won't need to use it in conversation, but at C1 you must recognise it, and you may write it in very formal legal style.

Forms

Take the third-person plural of the preterite (hablaron, tuvieron, fueron), remove -ron and add -re endings. It is the same stem as the -ra imperfect subjunctive (The imperfect subjunctive: -ra and -se forms), with e instead of a.

The compound form is hubiere + participle: hubiere presentado (= haya presentado).

Where it appears

In laws, regulations and contracts, in hypothetical clauses about the future: si clauses, relative clauses with el que / quien, and time clauses.

• El que causare daños a terceros deberá indemnizarlos.Whoever causes damage to third parties must compensate them.
• Si el comprador no abonare el precio en el plazo fijado, el contrato quedará resuelto.If the buyer fails to pay the price within the set period, the contract will be terminated.
• Los alumnos que no se hubieren matriculado antes del día 15 perderán la plaza.Students who have not enrolled by the 15th will lose their place.

Modern legal drafting increasingly replaces it, but many laws in force, notarial deeds and regulations in Spain and Latin America still use it.

Set phrases and refranes

• Sea lo que fuere, hay que tomar una decisión.Whatever the case may be, a decision has to be made.
• Sea como fuere, el acuerdo llegó tarde.Be that as it may, the agreement came too late.
• Adonde fueres, haz lo que vieres.When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
• Cualquiera que fuere la causa, el resultado es el mismo.Whatever the cause may be, the result is the same.

A traditional oath formula, still heard at swearing-in ceremonies in some Latin American countries (Argentina, for example), ends: Si así no lo hiciereis, Dios y la Patria os lo demanden ("If you do not, may God and the Nation hold you to account").

Today you will also hear sea como sea and sea lo que sea (present subjunctive), and sea como fuera with the imperfect. All are in use; the -re version sounds more formal.

Modern equivalents

• Si alguien llama, dile que vuelvo enseguida.If anyone calls, tell them I'll be right back.

Common mistakes

• Confusing -re with -ra: si no abonare (future, legal: if he fails to pay) is not si no abonara (hypothetical: if he didn't pay).
• Using it in conversation or an ordinary email: Si vinieres mañana, avísame sounds archaic. Say Si vienes mañana.
• Building it from the infinitive: tenere, sere. The stem is the preterite one: tuviere, fuere.
• Forgetting the accent in the nosotros form: habláremos, fuéremos.