The future tense (AQA GCSE German): Revision Notes
The Future Tense
The future tense is essential for expressing your plans, intentions, and predictions in German. Whether you're talking about what you'll do tomorrow or next year, mastering this tense will help you communicate effectively about upcoming events and future aspirations.
How to Form the Future Tense
The German future tense follows a straightforward pattern that combines the auxiliary verb werden with an infinitive. This structure allows you to express what will happen or what you intend to do.
Two Essential Components for Future Tense:
- The correctly conjugated form of werden
- The infinitive of your main verb (placed at the end of the sentence)
Conjugation of werden
| Person | werden form | Example with gehen |
|---|---|---|
| ich | werde | ich werde gehen |
| du | wirst | du wirst sein |
| er/sie/es | wird | er wird helfen |
| wir | werden | wir werden fahren |
| ihr | werdet | ihr werdet spielen |
| Sie/sie | werden | Sie werden essen |
The beauty of this system lies in its consistency - once you've learnt the werden conjugations, you can use any infinitive to express future actions.
Worked Example: Building Future Tense Sentences
Step 1: Choose your subject Ich (I)
Step 2: Conjugate werden for your subject Ich werde (I will)
Step 3: Add your main verb as an infinitive at the end Ich werde morgen arbeiten. (I will work tomorrow.)
Step 4: Add time expressions or other elements in the middle Ich werde morgen im Büro arbeiten. (I will work in the office tomorrow.)
Word Order and Inversion in the Future Tense
German word order becomes particularly important when discussing future events, especially when you begin sentences with time expressions. Understanding inversion will help you sound natural and grammatically correct.
The Verb-Second Rule with Time Expressions
When you start a sentence with a time marker (such as morgen, heute Abend, or später), the conjugated form of werden must occupy the second position. This creates an inverted word order that follows German's strict verb-second rule.
Examples with inversion:
- In der Zukunft werde ich studieren. (In the future I will study.)
- Heute Abend werde ich fernsehen. (This evening I'm going to watch television.)
- Später wird er ausgehen. (He's going to go out later.)
Notice how the time expression comes first, followed immediately by the conjugated werden, then the subject, and finally the infinitive at the end.
Using Present Tense to Express Future Intent
German speakers often use the present tense to discuss future plans, particularly when the context makes the future meaning clear. This approach feels more immediate and is commonly used in everyday conversation.
You can express future intentions by combining:
- A present tense verb
- A time marker that indicates future timing
When Present Tense Works for Future Meaning
This method works particularly well for:
- Planned activities and scheduled events
- Situations where the future context is obvious from the time reference
- Informal, conversational contexts
Examples:
- Morgen gehe ich einkaufen. (Tomorrow I'm going shopping.)
- Im Sommer macht er einen Fußballkurs. (In summer he's going to do a football course.)
Alternative Ways to Express Future Intentions
German offers several other structures for discussing future plans, each with slightly different nuances and levels of certainty or desire.
Using wollen (to want to)
Wollen + infinitive expresses strong intention or desire:
- Ich will in der Zukunft nicht studieren. (I don't want to study in the future.)
Using hoffen (to hope)
Hoffen + zu + infinitive indicates hopeful expectations:
- Ich hoffe, eine interessante Arbeit zu finden. (I hope to find an interesting job.)
Using möchte (would like to)
Ich möchte + infinitive expresses polite wishes or preferences:
- Ich möchte Schauspieler sein. (I would like to be an actor.)
Adding Emotional Colour to Future Expressions
Each of these alternatives allows you to add emotional colour and specificity to your future expressions beyond the straightforward werden construction. Choose based on your level of certainty, desire, or politeness required.
Separable Verbs in the Future Tense
When using separable verbs in the future tense, the verb parts rejoin at the end of the sentence, just as they do in other compound tenses. This maintains the integrity of the separable verb while following German's standard word order patterns.
Separable Verbs Stay Together
For example, ausgehen (to go out) becomes wird ausgehen in the future tense, with both parts staying together at the sentence's end. The prefix doesn't separate in future tense constructions.
Key Vocabulary
| German | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| werden | will/going to | Ich werde studieren |
| morgen | tomorrow | Morgen fahre ich weg |
| heute Abend | this evening | Heute Abend gehe ich aus |
| später | later | Später rufe ich an |
| in der Zukunft | in the future | In der Zukunft werde ich arbeiten |
| nächstes Jahr | next year | Nächstes Jahr ziehe ich um |
| bald | soon | Bald besuche ich Deutschland |
Example Sentences with Translations
Future Tense Sentence Construction Examples
Future tense with werden:
- Ich werde morgen nach Berlin fahren. (I will travel to Berlin tomorrow.)
- Sie werden nächste Woche heiraten. (They will get married next week.)
- Wir werden im Sommer Urlaub machen. (We will go on holiday in the summer.)
Present tense with future meaning:
- Übermorgen fliege ich nach Spanien. (The day after tomorrow I'm flying to Spain.)
- Am Wochenende besuchen wir Oma. (At the weekend we're visiting Grandma.)
Grammar and Pronunciation Tips
Essential Pronunciation and Grammar Points
- Werden pronunciation: The 'w' sounds like English 'v', so "VAIR-den"
- Remember that wird (he/she/it will) sounds similar to English "weird" but with a 'd' ending
- Time expressions at the beginning of sentences always trigger inversion - this is non-negotiable in German
- When speaking, emphasise the time marker to make your future intentions crystal clear
- Practice the werden conjugations until they become automatic - they're used constantly in German
Translation Exercises
Practice Exercises: Future Tense Translation
German to English:
- Morgen werde ich meine Freunde besuchen.
- Nächstes Jahr wird sie Medizin studieren.
English to German: 3. Tomorrow I will go to the cinema. 4. Next week we will move house.
Answers:
- Tomorrow I will visit my friends.
- Next year she will study medicine.
- Morgen werde ich ins Kino gehen.
- Nächste Woche werden wir umziehen.
Key Points to Remember:
- The future tense uses werden + infinitive - learn the werden conjugations by heart
- Time markers at the start of sentences require inversion with the verb in second position
- You can often use present tense with time markers instead of the formal future tense
- Alternative structures like wollen, hoffen + zu, and möchte add variety to your future expressions
- Separable verbs stay together at the end of future tense sentences