The future tense consists of a conjugated form of zullen and an infinitive
at the end of the sentence. Zullen is irregular, however, and the jij / u
form "zal" is used less often than zult. The future tense can also be used
to express probability. When it does, wel is added to the sentence.
ik zal wij zullen
jij / u zult / zal jullie zullen
hij / zij / het zal zij zullen
De reis zal twee uur duren. The trip will last two hours.
Wij zullen het wel weten. We will probably know it.
The regular
present tense can also express a future event with the use of time expressions.
This is common in English too.
Morgen gaan zij naar Rotterdam. They're going to Rotterdam tomorrow.
Gaan and an infinitive at the end
of the sentence can also be used to express the future. This is equivalent
to the English construction "going to + verb."
Ik ga een brief schrijven. I'm going to write a letter.
Future Perfect Tense
The future perfect expresses "will have + past participle" and is
as uncommon in Dutch as it is in English. Zullen is still used at the conjugated
verb, but the past participle and infinitive of hebben (or zijn) are put at
the end of the sentence.
Hij zal de krant gelezen hebben. He will have read the newspaper.
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Indo-European Languages