De Toekomende Tijd (Future Tense)

The toekomende tijd is the future tense of Dutch. There are three main ways to express the future:

1. Zullen + infinitive — the formal/written future (will + verb)
2. Gaan + infinitive — the going-to future, dominant in spoken Dutch
3. Present tense — used for scheduled or near-future events

Each carries a different register. Native Dutch speakers move between them naturally; learners need to know all three.

1. Zullen + infinitive — the standard future

Built with the modal verb zullen in the present tense, followed by an infinitive at the end of the clause.

Ik zal dat morgen doen. — I will do that tomorrow. Hij zal komen. — He will come. Wij zullen het regelen. — We will arrange it.

The structure: subject + zal/zullen in V2 + infinitive at end. Like all modal-verb constructions in Dutch.

Use zullen + infinitive:

• For formal or written future
• For promises and predictions
• For statements about distant or definite future
• In subordinate clauses (where present tense often replaces it in main clauses)

2. Gaan + infinitive — the everyday future

Built with the verb gaan (to go) in the present tense + an infinitive at the end of the clause.

Ik ga dat morgen doen. — I’m going to do that tomorrow. We gaan uitgaan. — We’re going out.

This is the dominant spoken-Dutch future. In casual conversation, gaan + infinitive is far more common than zullen + infinitive.

Use gaan + infinitive:

• For near-future plans
• For things you’ve decided to do
• In casual speech

Ik ga koffie maken. — I’m going to make coffee. Wat ga je doen? — What are you going to do?

The English parallel is exactly going to: I’m going to do it = Ik ga het doen.

3. Present tense as future

For scheduled events, timetables, and near-future plans with a time marker, Dutch often just uses the present tense.

Morgen kom ik naar Amsterdam. — Tomorrow I’m coming to Amsterdam. De trein vertrekt om acht uur. — The train leaves at eight. Volgende week werk ik thuis. — Next week I’m working from home.

The time marker (morgen, volgende week, om acht uur) signals future; the present-tense verb fills in.

This is similar to English usage (tomorrow I’m coming, the train leaves at eight), but Dutch uses it even more often than English.

When to use which

The split is roughly:

• Definite scheduled plan: present tense
• Near-future decision: gaan + infinitive
• Promise, prediction, or formal future: zullen + infinitive

In practice, these overlap. The same idea can often be expressed three ways:

Morgen kom ik. (present — scheduled certain plan) Morgen ga ik komen. (gaan — slightly emphasizing intention) Morgen zal ik komen. (zullen — formal or emphatic)

All three are correct. Native speakers reach for the present tense or gaan most often in conversation, and zullen in writing or formal contexts.

Future perfect — zullen + perfect infinitive

For “will have done,” Dutch uses zullen + the perfect-infinitive structure (auxiliary infinitive + participle).

Ik zal het tegen acht uur hebben afgemaakt. — I will have finished it by eight. Hij zal al zijn vertrokken. — He will have already left.

The two infinitives (hebben/zijn + participle) move to the end of the clause together. This is the future perfect (futurum exactum in some grammar terms).

Zullen for speculation about the present

Dutch sometimes uses zullen for present-time speculation, the way Spanish and Italian do. This is less common but worth recognising:

Het zal wel regenen vanmiddag. — It will probably rain this afternoon / it’s probably going to rain.

Here zal doesn’t predict the future literally; it expresses probability.

Future in subordinate clauses

In subordinate clauses, Dutch sometimes prefers present tense over zullen + infinitive for clarity, with the time marker doing the work:

Ik weet niet of hij komt. — I don’t know if he is coming / will come. Hij zegt dat hij morgen werkt. — He says that he will work tomorrow.

The subordinate-clause verb stays in present indicative, even when referring to the future. This is similar to English (“I don’t know if he is coming”) but contrasts with French/Spanish, which require explicit future morphology.

What you don’t need to do

You don’t need to use zullen + infinitive for every future statement. In conversation, gaan + infinitive or present tense covers most cases.

You don’t need to translate every English will the same way. Sometimes zullen, sometimes gaan, sometimes just present tense.

You don’t need to memorise the future-perfect construction at A2. Recognise zal hebben gedaan and zal zijn gekomen when you see them; you’ll produce them at B1+.

Common confusions

• Zullen vs. zou. Zullen is future (will). Zou is conditional/polite (would). Different jobs.
• Gaan + infinitive is for plans, not literal motion. Ik ga koffie maken means “I’m going to make coffee,” not “I’m going [somewhere] to make coffee.”
• Present tense with time marker = future. Morgen kom ik is grammatical future, no auxiliary needed.
• Subordinate clauses often use present, not zullen. Hij zegt dat hij komt (he says he’s coming), even when meaning future.

Where you’ll meet it in the library

The future tense appears in any Dutch text with promises, predictions, or plans:

• The Low Countries (A2+) — Storica’s book uses future tense for announcements, predictions about Dutch development, and concluding paragraphs about what comes next.
• Any Dutch news report or weather forecast. Morgen zal het regenen, dit weekend zullen we… — formal future is the news register.
• Any Dutch conversation about plans. Ik ga, we gaan, wat ga jij… — casual future is the spoken register.