To talk about the future in Dutch, your first instinct should not be to hunt for a "will." The most natural, most common future is simply the present tense plus a time word: Morgen werk ik thuis ("Tomorrow I'm working from home"). On top of that you have gaan + infinitive for plans you intend to carry out, and Zullen we...? for making suggestions. This page gives you those three tools in the order you should actually reach for them — present first, then gaan, then zullen — and flags the one word-order trap (inversion after a fronted time phrase) that catches almost every English speaker.
Easiest future: present + a time word
If the sentence already tells you when (tomorrow, next week, tonight), the present tense is enough. The time word does the future-marking; the verb stays present.
Volgende week ben ik vrij.
Next week I'm off. — present 'ben' + 'volgende week' = a future statement.
Morgen werk ik thuis.
Tomorrow I'm working from home. — present tense, future meaning from 'morgen'.
Vanavond koken we samen.
Tonight we're cooking together. — present 'koken' pointing forward via 'vanavond'.
This mirrors English a little ("I'm working from home tomorrow"), but Dutch leans on it far more heavily and for all persons. If a time word is present, you almost never need anything fancier. See adverbs/time-adverbs for the time words themselves.
Plans and intentions: gaan + infinitive
For something you intend to do — a plan — use gaan ("to go") + an infinitive at the end. This is the close cousin of English "I'm going to...," and it's extremely common in speech.
Ik ga morgen werken.
I'm going to work tomorrow. — 'ga' + infinitive 'werken' at the end.
We gaan dit weekend verhuizen.
We're going to move this weekend. — 'gaan' + 'verhuizen' for a concrete plan.
Wat ga je vanavond doen?
What are you going to do tonight? — 'ga je ... doen', question form.
Gaan suits planned, intended, or about-to-happen actions especially well. Don't take it too literally — Ik ga koken means "I'm going to cook," not that you're physically going anywhere; the "going" is figurative, exactly as in English.
Suggestions: Zullen we...?
To suggest doing something together — "Shall we...?" / "Should we...?" — use Zullen we...? + an infinitive. This is the single most useful slot for zullen at A2, and it's everywhere in daily life.
Zullen we afspreken?
Shall we meet up? — 'Zullen we' + 'afspreken', a friendly suggestion.
Zullen we vanavond pizza bestellen?
Shall we order pizza tonight? — proposing a plan to someone.
Zal ik je even helpen?
Shall I give you a hand? — singular 'Zal ik...?' offers help.
Zullen is the verb behind English "will," but at A2 you mostly want its suggestion/offer use (Zullen we...?, Zal ik...?), not a blanket "future tense." Reaching for zullen to translate every English "will" is the main over-use error — the present and gaan cover most futures more naturally. For the deeper zullen vs gaan choice, see choosing/zullen-vs-gaan and verbs/future/zullen-and-gaan.
The inversion trap
Here's the word-order rule that catches English speakers. When you start a sentence with a time phrase, the finite verb must stay in second position, so the subject and verb swap places. English keeps subject-then-verb after a fronted adverb ("Tomorrow I work"); Dutch does not.
Morgen ga ik naar Rotterdam.
Tomorrow I'm going to Rotterdam. — 'Morgen' first, so verb 'ga' second, then 'ik'. Not 'Morgen ik ga'.
Volgende week beginnen we met de cursus.
Next week we start the course. — 'Volgende week' first → 'beginnen we', inverted.
Vanavond zal ik je bellen.
Tonight I'll call you. — 'Vanavond' first → 'zal ik'.
The rule is mechanical: whatever comes first, the verb is always element number two. If you front a time word, the subject slides to just after the verb. Get this and your futures will sound right immediately; miss it and even correct verbs land in the wrong order.
Putting it together
A quick decision guide for A2:
- There's a time word and you're just stating a fact about the future → present tense (Morgen ben ik er).
- You're describing a plan or intention → gaan + infinitive (Ik ga het regelen).
- You're suggesting or offering something → Zullen we...? / Zal ik...?
Morgen ben ik er om negen uur.
Tomorrow I'll be there at nine. — plain present + time word.
Ik ga het vanavond regelen.
I'm going to sort it out tonight. — 'gaan' for an intention.
Common Mistakes
❌ Morgen ik ga naar Rotterdam.
Wrong order — after a fronted time word, subject and verb invert.
✅ Morgen ga ik naar Rotterdam.
Tomorrow I'm going to Rotterdam. — verb 'ga' second, then 'ik'.
❌ Ik zal morgen werken. (as the default 'I'm working tomorrow')
Overusing 'zullen' — for a plain plan the present or 'gaan' sounds far more natural.
✅ Ik ga morgen werken.
I'm going to work tomorrow. — 'gaan' for a plan, or simply 'Morgen werk ik'.
❌ Zullen we afspreken morgen?
Awkward placement — the time word normally sits before the final infinitive, not trailing after it.
✅ Zullen we morgen afspreken?
Shall we meet up tomorrow? — 'morgen' before the infinitive.
❌ Ik ga te werken morgen.
Wrong — 'gaan' takes a bare infinitive, no 'te'.
✅ Ik ga morgen werken.
I'm going to work tomorrow. — 'gaan' + plain infinitive, no 'te'.
❌ Wil je dat we pizza bestellen vanavond?
Over-complicated for a simple suggestion to someone you know.
✅ Zullen we vanavond pizza bestellen?
Shall we order pizza tonight? — 'Zullen we...?' is the natural suggestion.
Key Takeaways
- The simplest, most natural future is the present + a time word: Morgen werk ik thuis. Learn this first.
- Gaan + infinitive = plans and intentions ("I'm going to...") — bare infinitive, no te.
- Zullen we...? / Zal ik...? = suggestions and offers. Don't over-use zullen as a blanket "will."
- Fronting a time word triggers inversion: Morgen ga ik..., never Morgen ik ga....
Now practice Dutch
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Start learning Dutch→Related Topics
- The Future: Zullen vs Gaan vs the PresentB1 — Dutch has three ways to talk about the future — zullen (modal: prediction, promise, offer), gaan (a plan or something imminent), and the plain present with a time word (the neutral default) — and 'will' maps cleanly onto none of them.
- Zullen vs Gaan: Expressing the FutureB1 — A decision guide for the Dutch future — gaan for intentions and plans ('going to'), zullen for predictions, promises and proposals ('will/shall', 'Zullen we?'), and the present tense for scheduled events — plus why overusing zullen is the classic English-speaker error.
- Using the Present Tense (Including the Future)A2 — Everything the Dutch simple present covers — habits, the live now, general truths, and, crucially, the everyday future a time word turns it into.
- Time Adverbs: Nu, Straks, Toen, Altijd, NooitA1 — The everyday Dutch time adverbs — nu (now), straks/zo (in a moment), dan vs toen (then, non-past vs past-only), the frequency set altijd/vaak/meestal/soms/nooit, and the calendar words gisteren/vandaag/morgen/overmorgen. Covers the toen–dan split that trips up every English speaker, the inversion a fronted time adverb forces, and why Dutch puts time before manner and place.
- The Dutch Verb System: OverviewA1 — A map of the whole Dutch verb system — two simple tenses, auxiliary-built compounds, and why spoken Dutch tells the past in the perfect.