A2~30 min

Future Tense

De toekomst — gaan + infinitief, zullen, and present tense for future

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Exam relevant: This topic is covered in the Inburgeringsexamen. You're studying at the required exam level.

Three ways to express the future in Dutch

Dutch has three common ways to talk about the future: (1) present tense + time expression, (2) gaan + infinitive, (3) zullen + infinitive.

Unlike English, Dutch does not have a single dedicated future tense. The most common approach in spoken Dutch is simply to use the present tense with a time word (morgen, volgende week, straks). For planned intentions, gaan + infinitive is used. For predictions, promises, or formal future statements, zullen + infinitive is used.

The Three Future Constructions

Construction	Use	Example
Present + time word	scheduled / near future	Morgen werk ik thuis. — Tomorrow I work from home.
gaan + infinitive	planned intention	Ik ga morgen naar Amsterdam. — I am going to Amsterdam tomorrow.
zullen + infinitive	prediction / promise / formal	Het zal morgen regenen. — It will rain tomorrow.

Conjugation of gaan and zullen

Pronoun	gaan	zullen
ik
jij / je		zult / zal
u
hij / zij / het
wij / we
jullie
zij / ze

The infinitive comes at the end of the sentence: Ik ga morgen werken. Zij zullen bellen.

Future tense in context

Morgen ga ik naar de dokter.

Tomorrow I am going to the doctor.

gaan + infinitive for a planned event

We gaan volgend jaar naar Spanje.

We are going to Spain next year.

Het zal morgen hard regenen.

It will rain hard tomorrow.

zullen for a prediction

Ik zal je bellen als ik klaar ben.

I will call you when I am done.

zullen for a promise

Volgende week beginnen we met het project.

Next week we start the project.

Present tense + time word — most natural in spoken Dutch

Word order: infinitive goes to the end

With gaan and zullen, the main verb infinitive goes to the very end of the clause: "Ik ga morgen werken." (I am going to work tomorrow.) In a subordinate clause: "...omdat ik morgen ga werken." The same end-position rule applies to zullen: "Ik denk dat het zal regenen."

When to use which form

In everyday spoken Dutch, the present tense + time word is the most natural: "Morgen werk ik thuis." Using gaan is natural for personal plans and intentions. Zullen sounds more formal or predictive — use it for weather forecasts, promises, and written/formal contexts. Avoid using zullen for simple plans: "Ik zal morgen naar de winkel gaan" sounds unnatural; "Ik ga morgen naar de winkel" is much better.

Common Mistakes

✗Ik zal morgen naar de supermarkt gaan.

✓Ik ga morgen naar de supermarkt.

For concrete plans, gaan is more natural. Zullen sounds overly formal for everyday plans.

✗Ik ga morgen regen.

✓Het zal morgen regenen.

For weather predictions and impersonal future statements, use zullen. Also: gaan + infinitive requires a proper infinitive (regenen), not a noun.

✗Wij zult bellen.

✓Wij zullen bellen.

wij/we takes zullen (not zult). zult is only for jij/u.

Future tense at work

Scenario: Planning meetings, making promises, and discussing project timelines all require the future tense.

We gaan volgende week de resultaten presenteren.

We are going to present the results next week.

Ik zal het rapport maandag opsturen.

I will send the report on Monday.

Morgen hebben we een vergadering om 10 uur.

Tomorrow we have a meeting at 10 o'clock.

Present tense — most natural for scheduled events

Construction

Use

Example

Present + time word

scheduled / near future

Morgen werk ik thuis. — Tomorrow I work from home.

gaan + infinitive

planned intention

Ik ga morgen naar Amsterdam. — I am going to Amsterdam tomorrow.

zullen + infinitive

prediction / promise / formal

Het zal morgen regenen. — It will rain tomorrow.

Pronoun

gaan

zullen

jij / je

zult / zal

hij / zij / het

wij / we

jullie

zij / ze