Futur I – Future Tense in German Grammar

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What is Futur I in German?

The future tense (Futur I) is mostly used to express assumptions about the present or future in German. We can also use this tense to express future intentions, although, in spoken German, it is more common to use the present tense for this. We can translate the future tense with the English tenses: simple present or future with will or going to.

Learn the rules for the German future tense on Lingolia and understand how and when to use it. Practise verb conjugation and test your grammar skills in the exercises.

Example

Thomas sagte mir gestern: „Morgen werde ich die Akten sortieren.“

Ich sah das Chaos und antwortete: „Das wirst du nicht an einem Tag schaffen.“

So wie ich ihn kenne, wird sein Büro jetzt wohl immer noch so chaotisch aussehen.

When to use Futur I in German

We use the German future tense to express:

  • a future intention
    Example:
    Morgen werde ich die Akten sortieren.Tomorrow I will sort the documents.
  • an assumption about the future
    Example:
    Das wirst du nicht an einem Tag schaffen.You will not manage that in one day.
  • an assumption about the present
    Example:
    Sein Büro wird wohl immer noch so chaotisch aussehen.His office will likely always look this chaotic.

How to conjugate the future tense in German

To conjugate verbs in the future tense, we need the finite form of werden and the infinitive form of the full verb.

person form of “werden” full verb
1st person singular (ich) ich werde gehen
lesen
sehen
gewinnen
2nd person singular (du) du wirst
3rd person singular (er/sie/es/man) er wird
1st person plural (wir) wir werden
2nd person plural (ihr) ihr werdet
3rd person plural/polite form (sie/Sie) sie werden

To Note:

We often strengthen assumptions by using words such as: wohl, sicher, bestimmt (likely/probably, surely, certainly). Since these words clearly show that we’re making 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 be late already. = It is probably late already.
Er wird sicher keine Zeit haben. = Er hat sicher keine Zeit.He will surely have no time. = He surely has no time.
Sie wird bestimmt zu Hause sein. = Sie ist bestimmt zu Hause.She will certainly be at home. = She is certainly at home.