Que será, será. Whatever will be, will be. If you remember this sucessful Doris Day song, popular until today, you’ve probably wondered: but what does será means?

Strictly speaking, the word será is the future form of the verb to be in the third person singular. Take a look at the conjugation of the verb to be in this form:

eu serei

você será

ele/ela será

nós seremos

vocês serão

eles serão

Now read some examples with será as verb to be:

• Se a previsão for de sol, a viagem será ótima (If the forecast is sunny, the trip will be great)
• Você será nosso convidado de honra esse fim de semana (You will be our guest of honor this weekend)
• Quem será o próximo presidente do Brasil? (Who will be Brazil’s next president?)
• As revistas de moda anunciam que o azul-marinho será a cor da próxima estação (Fashion magazines advertise that navy-blue will be next season’s color)
• A campainha está tocando. Quem será a essa hora? (The bell is ringing. Who could it be at this hour?)

But the word será in itself, used mostly in questions in this case, can also be a rethorical device that carries the idea of doubt and expresses a hypothetical situation. Será is an interrogative structure that may indicate a possibility, to be applied when we are unsure about something, or when we want to wonder or speculate about a situation in the future. In sentences, it usually follows the structure será + que.  There is no direct equivalent or translation for será in the English language, so it is important to see it in context. Read the examples below:

• Será que vai chover hoje? (I wonder if it is going to rain today)
• Eles estão juntos há tanto tempo. Será que eles vão se casar? (They’ve been together for so long. I wonder if they’ll get married)
• Será que você me emprestaria um dinheiro? (I wonder if you would lend me some money)
• Será que é uma boa ideia? (Do you think it’s a good idea?)
• -Tenho certeza que ele vai conseguir o emprego – Será? -I’m sure he’ll get the job – Do you think so?)
• -A Cíntia faltou à aula hoje – Será que ela está bem? (Cíntia missed school today – I wonder if she is okay)
• Será que ela vai gostar do presente? (Do you think she’ll like the gift?)
• -Não vamos conseguir chegar a tempo com esse trânsito! – Será? (We’ll never make it on time on this traffic! – Really?)
• Será que ele vem na minha festa? (Do you think he’s gonna come to my party?)
• Por que será que as pessoas agem assim? (I wonder why people act like that)

Now listen to this song by Chico Buarque entitled “O que será que será?” and try to identify the word será:

Será que vocês entenderam? I wonder if you got it!

Boa semana a todos! Good week to all!