futur i Tense in German Grammar
How to use German futur i
Introduction
The future tense I is most commonly used in German to express assumptions about the present or future. We can also use this tense to describe future intentions, although in spoken German it is more common to use the present tense for this purpose. We can translate the future tense I with the English tenses: simple present or future with will or going to.
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Usage
We use the German future tense to indicate:
-
a future intention
Example:
Morgen werde ich das Haus aufräumen.
-
an assumption about the future
Example:
Das wirst du nicht an einem Tag schaffen.
-
an assumption about the present
Example:
Sein Haus wohl immer noch so unaufgeräumt aussehen.
Conjugation of German verbs in the futur i
To conjugate verbs in the future tense, we require the finite form of werden and the infinitive form of the full verb.
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important
We often emphasize assumptions by using words like: wohl, likely/probably, sicher, surely, bestimmt, certainly. As these words clearly show that it is an assumption, we can also use the present tense here.
Example:
Es wird wohl schon spät sein. = Es ist wohl schon spät. It will probably already be late. = It's probably already late.
Er wird sicher keine Zeit haben. = Er hat sicher keine Zeit. He will certainly not have time. = He will certainly not have time.
Sie wird bestimmt zu Hause sein. = Sie ist bestimmt zu Hause. He will certainly not have time. = He will certainly not have time.