The future tense
Referring to the future in German
The future tense in German is formed with the verb werden:
The future tense is constructed with the present tense form of the auxiliary verb werden + the infinitive of the relevant verb:
Note that werden is an irregular verb and changes its stem vowel in the du and er/sie/es
The future tense is used less frequently in German than in English. If the context makes the reference to the future clear the present tense is normally used instead. However, the future tense still occurs in the following instances:
🔽When the reference to the future is not clear:
Tim wird wieder in Köln wohnen.
Tim will be living in Cologne again.
The alternative in the present tense Tim wohnt wieder in Köln would be understood as
Ich werde nie wieder den Bus nehmen!
Never again will I take the bus!
Ich werde die Miete morgen bezahlen.
I will pay the rent tomorrow.
🔽To make predictions and to convey the meaning of probability or assumption,
often in conjunction with bestimmt ‘surely’, wahrscheinlich ‘probably’,
möglicherweise ‘possibly’, vielleicht ‘maybe’, wohl ‘probably’:
In German, the present tense – rather than the future tense – is normally used to refer to the future, especially when this is clearly indicated by an expression of time:
Be careful not to confuse the English ‘will’ indicating the future, with the German modal will meaning ‘want/s to’ in German:
The future perfect
The future perfect is used to refer to events that will be completed in the future. It is formed with the present tense form of werden + past participle of the main verb + the infinitive forms of haben or sein:
In zwei Jahren wirst du das Auto abbezahlt haben.
In two years you will have paid for the car.
Er wird wahrscheinlich morgen noch nicht abgereist sein.
He will probably not have left by tomorrow.
Usage
The future perfect tense is rarely used in contemporary German and is usually replaced by the shorter construction of the appropriate present tense form of haben or sein + past participle:
In zwei Jahren wirst du das Auto abbezahlt haben.
➝ In zwei Jahren hast du das Auto abbezahlt.
Er wird wahrscheinlich morgen noch nicht abgereist sein.➝ Er ist wahrscheinlich morgen noch nicht abgereist.
The future tense in German is formed with the verb werden:
Wirst du in Zukunft öfters im Ausland arbeiten?
Will you be working abroad more often in future?
Wir werden uns wahrscheinlich verspäten.
We will probably be delayed.
Note that there is also another less frequently used future tense in German, the future
Will you be working abroad more often in future?
Wir werden uns wahrscheinlich verspäten.
We will probably be delayed.
Note that there is also another less frequently used future tense in German, the future
perfect tense.
Formation of the future tenseThe future tense is constructed with the present tense form of the auxiliary verb werden + the infinitive of the relevant verb:
Ich werde den Zug versäumen.
|
I
shall/will miss the train.
|
Du wirst dich morgen besser fühlen.
|
You
will feel better tomorrow.
|
Werden Sie zur Party kommen?
|
Will
you come to the party?
|
Er wird das gleich erledigen.
|
He
will deal with it at once.
|
Wir
werden heute anfangen.
|
We
shall/will start today.
|
Ihr
werdet alles erfahren.
|
You
will find out everything.
|
Werden
Sie tanzen gehen?
|
Will
you go dancing?
|
Was
werden sie sagen?
|
What
will they say?
|
Note that werden is an irregular verb and changes its stem vowel in the du and er/sie/es
forms.
Usage and functionsThe future tense is used less frequently in German than in English. If the context makes the reference to the future clear the present tense is normally used instead. However, the future tense still occurs in the following instances:
🔽When the reference to the future is not clear:
Tim wird wieder in Köln wohnen.
Tim will be living in Cologne again.
The alternative in the present tense Tim wohnt wieder in Köln would be understood as
‘Thomas is now living again in Cologne’.
🔽When stating intentions or to emphasise a point:Ich werde nie wieder den Bus nehmen!
Never again will I take the bus!
Ich werde die Miete morgen bezahlen.
I will pay the rent tomorrow.
🔽To make predictions and to convey the meaning of probability or assumption,
often in conjunction with bestimmt ‘surely’, wahrscheinlich ‘probably’,
möglicherweise ‘possibly’, vielleicht ‘maybe’, wohl ‘probably’:
Morgen
wird es regnen.
It’s
going to rain tomorrow.
Es wird bestimmt nicht lange dauern.
Surely
it won’t take long.
Das wird wahrscheinlich funktionieren.
That will probably work.
Ich werde vielleicht kommen.
Maybe I will come.
Using the present tense to refer to the futureIn German, the present tense – rather than the future tense – is normally used to refer to the future, especially when this is clearly indicated by an expression of time:
Ich komme gleich
wieder.
I’ll be right
back.
In zwei
Tagen bin ich in
New York.
In two days, I’ll be in New York.
Das Konzert
findet morgen statt.
The concert will take place tomorrow.
Sie heiraten nächstes Jahr.
They will get married next year.
Frequently used words or expressions to indicate the future include: bald ‘soon’, demnächst ‘soon’/‘before long’, gleich ‘right away’, in zwei Tagen/ Wochen/Monaten etc.
‘in two days/weeks/months’ etc., morgen ‘tomorrow’, nächstes Wochenende/nächste Woche etc. ‘next weekend’/‘next week’ etc.
Difference between ‘will’ and ‘want to’ in GermanBe careful not to confuse the English ‘will’ indicating the future, with the German modal will meaning ‘want/s to’ in German:
Ich will jetzt essen.
I want to eat now.
Ich werde weniger essen.
I will eat less.
Formation
The future perfect is used to refer to events that will be completed in the future. It is formed with the present tense form of werden + past participle of the main verb + the infinitive forms of haben or sein:
In two years you will have paid for the car.
Er wird wahrscheinlich morgen noch nicht abgereist sein.
He will probably not have left by tomorrow.
Usage
The future perfect tense is rarely used in contemporary German and is usually replaced by the shorter construction of the appropriate present tense form of haben or sein + past participle:
In zwei Jahren wirst du das Auto abbezahlt haben.
➝ In zwei Jahren hast du das Auto abbezahlt.
Er wird wahrscheinlich morgen noch nicht abgereist sein.➝ Er ist wahrscheinlich morgen noch nicht abgereist.
The future tense
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