You use the future tense for something that has not happened yet. In everyday Dutch you mostly do that with the verb gaan. It works much like "going to" in English. Ik ga koken: I am going to cook. Het gaat regenen: it is going to rain.
Gaan plus the full verb
You need two verbs. Gaan is in position 2 and matches the subject. The second verb goes to the end of the sentence. It is the full verb, the form you find in the dictionary: werken, kopen. This form is called the infinitive.
| Subject | Gaan | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| ik | ga | Ik ga morgen werken. | I am going to work tomorrow. |
| jij, u, hij, zij, het | gaat | Hij gaat vanavond koken. | He is going to cook tonight. |
| wij, jullie, zij (plural) | gaan | Wij gaan samen fietsen. | We are going to cycle together. |
The second verb goes to the end
The rest of the sentence sits between gaan and the second verb. That is where the time, the object and the place go. The second verb closes the sentence.
| Subject | Gaan | Middle | End | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ik | ga | morgen | werken. | I am going to work tomorrow. |
| Hij | gaat | vanavond een film | kijken. | He is going to watch a film tonight. |
| Wij | gaan | volgende week naar Parijs | reizen. | We are going to travel to Paris next week. |
| Mijn ouders | gaan | in juli een huis | kopen. | My parents are going to buy a house in July. |
When to use gaan
Gaan fits almost anything in the future.
- A plan: Ik ga morgen de boodschappen doen. (I am going to do the shopping tomorrow.)
- Something you intend to do: Ik ga Nederlands leren. (I am going to learn Dutch.)
- Something you expect: Het gaat vanavond sneeuwen. (It is going to snow tonight.)
Morgen werk ik: the present tense
You can also use the present tense, as in English "I work tomorrow". Just add a time word like morgen (tomorrow) or volgende week (next week). That makes clear you mean later.
- Ik werk morgen.I work tomorrow.
- Morgen werk ik.Same meaning. The verb stays in position 2.
- Volgende week begint de cursus.The course starts next week.
Zullen
Dutch also has zullen, a bit like "will" or "shall": ik zal, hij zal, wij zullen. It works like gaan. Zullen is in position 2 and the full verb goes to the end. You hear it less in everyday talk. It often sounds like a promise: Ik zal je morgen bellen (I will call you tomorrow).
| Question | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Zal ik ...? | You offer help. (Shall I ...?) | Zal ik je helpen? |
| Zullen we ...? | You make a suggestion. (Shall we ...?) | Zullen we koffie drinken? |