El futuro próximo / The Near Future

The near future is used to express when you are going to do something (not "will," that is the regular future tense). Do not confuse it with going to a location. You will know it is the near future in Spanish if there is a form of the verb "ir" (to go) in the present tense, followed directly by the word "a" and an infinitive. An example in English:

• I'm going to watch a movie.

To form it, you take the form of "ir" (to go) that corresponds to your subject (person doing the action), and add an infinitive.

• yo: voy + a + infinitivo
• tú: vas + a + infinitivo
• él/ella/Usted: va + a + infinitivo
• nosotros: vamos + a + infinitivo
• (vosotros: vais + a + infinitivo)
• ellos/ellas/Ustedes: van + a + infinitivo

Here's how it can be translated:

• I/you/he/she/it/we/they am/are/is going to [verb].

Here is an example of a verb conjugated in the near future:

cantar (to sing)
yo voy a cantar=I am going to sing
tú vas a cantar=you are going to sing
él/ella/Usted va a cantar=he/she/you are going to sing
nosotros vamos a cantar=we are going to sing
(vosotros vais a cantar=you are going to sing)
ellos/ellas/Ustedes van a cantar=they/you are going to sing

NB: Another way to express something that is about to happen in both Spanish and English is to use "estar a punto de" (to be about to). Just use the present form of "estar" (see verb conjugations) which corresponds to your subject and add "a punto de" and then an infinitive directly after it. Constructions expressing the idea of the near future are called peraphrastics.