German future I

Usage and definition of the future I tense in German

The future tense (future I) in German is used to specify actions that will take place in the future. You can use the Futur I in German for different reasons. Find them in the table below.

Have a question?

Take online language lessons with a professional teacher

1. Native & verified teachers
2. Free trial lesson
3. Learning materials included

Luciana A.

Christiaan E.

Alessandro C.

Ender A.

David B.

Giuditta P.

Elena C.

Maria Grazia C.

Elena C.

Ilaria B.

Sign up for free

Marker words that indicate the future tense in German

There are some marker words, that typically signal the use of future tense in German.

If the context clearly indicates, that the actions will take place in the future, sometimes the present tense is used, especially in spoken German, e.g. 'morgen fahre ich nach Hamburg' (Tomorrow I drive to Hamburg).

How to conjugate verbs in the future I

To form the future I of weak and strong verbs, the only thing you have to watch out for, is the right construction:

• conjugation of auxiliary verb "werden" in present tense + infinitive of the full verb (at the end of the sentence)

You have to watch out, because the infinitive form of the full verb always comes at the end of the sentence!

See some example sentences below:

• Sie wird einen Hut kaufen. (She will buy a hat.)
• Sie werden lange an diesem Projekt arbeiten. (They will work on this project for a long time.)
• Wenn ich sie das nächste Mal sehe, werde ich ihr meine Meinung sagen! (When I see her the next time, I will give her a piece of my mind.)
• Die Leute werden laut schreien. (The people will scream loud.)
• Du wirst in der Kälte frieren. (You are going to freeze in the cold.)

Probability

There is a special use of the future I tense. Especially when used in combination with one of the adverbs sicher, schon, vielleicht or wohl, the future I is also used to indicate present or future probabilities or likelihoods. See the examples below:

• Petra ist heute nicht zur Arbeit gekommen. Sie wird wohl krank sein. (Petra didn't come to work today. She's probably sick.)
• Sicher wirst du viele Geschenke bekommen. (Surely, you will get a lot of presents.)
• Die Party wird schon gut werden. (The party will be all right.)

 It's pretty easy to learn this tense, because there are no exceptions of the rule of construction. Also do our exercises to test your knowledge about the future I tense in German.