How to express the future in German
Future Tense in German is expressed quite similar to their English counterparts with the auxiliary verb ”werden” (devenir en français).
This verb has 2 meanings: As a full verb, it means development and growth, but it’s also the explicit future form of the only verb that actually has a future of its own - the auxiliary verb ”sein” (to be).
- So the future I of a verb is formed by
werden + infinitiv of the verb itself;
- future II is formed with
werden + particip perfect of the verb + sein.
Example with to go:
- Present tense: Ich gehe, du gehst, er geht, wir gehen, ihr geht, sie gehen.
- Future I: Ich werde gehen, du wirst gehen, er wird gehen, wir werden gehen, ihr werdet gehen, sie werden gehen
- Future II: Ich werde gegangen sein, du wirst gegangen sein, er wird gegangen sein, wir werden gegangen sein, ihr werdet gegangen sein, sie werden gegangen sein.
Also, the reason for these constructions is quite simple.
The Germanic language family (les langues germanophones) lacked future forms. Their need came with the translation of the bible, about the 7th century, when the translation of prophecies of the end of the world required a temporal form of expressing events in the future, the monks used the complete verb ”werden” (in german) and will/shall (in English).
Table with the finalizations in the Future tense
| English
|
German
|
| I will ...
|
[pronoun] + werde + [verb in the infinitive]
|
| You will ...
|
[pronoun] + wirst + [verb in the infinitive]
|
| He will ...
|
[pronoun] + wird + [verb in the infinitive]
|
| She will ...
|
[pronoun] + wird + [verb in the infinitive]
|
| We will ...
|
[pronoun] + werden + [verb in the infinitive]
|
| You will ...
|
[pronoun] + werdet + [verb in the infinitive]
|
| They will ...
|
[pronoun] + werden + [verb in the infinitive]
|
| They will ...
|
[pronoun] + werden + [verb in the infinitive]
|
Examples
Verb : to work: arbeiten
| English Pronouns
|
English Verbs
|
German Pronouns
|
German Verbs
|
| I
|
will work
|
Ich
|
werde arbeiten
|
| You
|
will work
|
Du
|
wirst arbeiten
|
| He
|
will work
|
Er
|
wird arbeiten
|
| She
|
will work
|
Sie
|
wird arbeiten
|
| We
|
will work
|
Wir
|
werden arbeiten
|
| You (plur)
|
will work
|
Ihr
|
werdet arbeiten
|
| They
|
will work
|
Sie
|
werden arbeiten
|
Verb : to buy: kaufen
| English Pronouns
|
English Verbs
|
German Pronouns
|
German Verbs
|
| I
|
will buy
|
Ich
|
werde kaufen
|
| You
|
will buy
|
Du
|
wirst kaufen
|
| He
|
will buy
|
Er
|
wird kaufen
|
| She
|
will buy
|
Sie
|
wird kaufen
|
| We
|
will buy
|
Wir
|
werden kaufen
|
| You (plur)
|
will buy
|
Ihr
|
werdet kaufen
|
| They
|
will buy
|
Sie
|
werden kaufen
|
Verb : to come: ankommen
| English Pronouns
|
English Verbs
|
German Pronouns
|
German Verbs
|
| I
|
will come
|
Ich
|
werde ankomen
|
| You
|
will come
|
Du
|
wirst ankomen
|
| He
|
will come
|
Er
|
wird ankomen
|
| She
|
will come
|
Sie
|
wird ankomen
|
| We
|
will come
|
Wir
|
werden ankomen
|
| You (plur)
|
will come
|
Ihr
|
werdet ankomen
|
| They
|
will come
|
Sie
|
werden ankomen
|
Verb : to help: helfen
| English Pronouns
|
English Verbs
|
German Pronouns
|
German Verbs
|
| I
|
will help
|
Ich
|
werde helfen
|
| You
|
will help
|
Du
|
wirst helfen
|
| He
|
will help
|
Er
|
wird helfen
|
| She
|
will help
|
Sie
|
wird helfen
|
| We
|
will help
|
Wir
|
werden helfen
|
| You (plur)
|
will help
|
Ihr
|
werdet helfen
|
| They
|
will help
|
Sie
|
werden helfen
|
Verb : to let: lassen
| English Pronouns
|
English Verbs
|
German Pronouns
|
German Verbs
|
| I
|
will let
|
Ich
|
werde lassen
|
| You
|
will let
|
Du
|
wirst lassen
|
| He
|
will let
|
Er
|
wird lassen
|
| She
|
will let
|
Sie
|
wird lassen
|
| We
|
will let
|
Wir
|
werden lassen
|
| You (plur)
|
will let
|
Ihr
|
werdet lassen
|
| They
|
will let
|
Sie
|
werden lassen
|
Videos
The Future Tense in German
German Future Tense Tutorial
Sources
Other Lessons
