The Future: skal, vil, kommer til å, present

Norwegian has no dedicated future tense — no single word that simply means "will" the way it does in English. Instead, the future is expressed by four different strategies, and choosing between them is really choosing what flavour of future you mean: a fixed schedule, a plan, a willingness, or a neutral prediction. The single biggest trap for English speakers is treating vil as a plain "will," because vil primarily means want. This page maps all four strategies and tells you which to reach for.

The four strategies at a glance

Read that table as a spectrum from most certain-and-scheduled (the present) through most neutral-prediction (kommer til å). Now let's take each one.

1. The present tense: the default future

The most common and most natural way to talk about the future is simply the present tense plus a time word. If a time adverbial like i morgen ("tomorrow") or klokka tre ("at three") already pins down when, you don't need anything else. This works exactly like informal English "The train leaves at three" or "I fly to London tomorrow."

This is the construction native speakers prefer for scheduled, settled events. Reaching for skal or vil in every future sentence sounds heavy and learner-ish.

2. skal + infinitive: plans and intentions

Skal + a bare infinitive expresses a plan, an intention, an arrangement, or a promise — something that has been decided, usually by the subject. There's a sense of a will behind it: someone intends this to happen.

The key feeling of skal is decided arrangement. Jeg skal reise isn't a guess about the future — it's a plan I've made. This is also why skal shows up in promises and offers: Jeg skal hjelpe deg ("I'll help you") commits the speaker to the action.

Because skal signals intention, it is the wrong choice for things nobody decides — weather, ageing, the sun rising. You wouldn't say det skal regne for "it's going to rain," because rain has no intention.

3. vil + infinitive: prediction and volition — the big trap

Here is the trap that catches almost every English speaker. Vil looks like "will," but its core meaning is want / be willing to. Used as a future, vil expresses a prediction or willingness, not a neutral schedule — and very often it leans toward want.

Those work as predictions, often in a slightly formal or written register. But watch what happens with a personal subject:

Jeg vil komme is heard first as "I want to come," not "I will come." So if you mean a plain, neutral "I'll be there," do not reach for vil. Use skal (intention) or kommer til å (neutral prediction):

4. kommer til å + infinitive: the neutral prediction

When you want the English "going to" — a neutral prediction with no intention attached, often based on evidence in front of you — Norwegian uses kommer til å + infinitive. It's the safe, intention-free future. (Note the spelling: kommer til å, with the little word å.)

Kommer til å is perfect precisely where skal (too much intention) and vil (too much "want") both feel wrong. The clouds don't intend to rain and they don't want to rain — they're simply going to rain. That's kommer til å.

Compare the same event across three strategies and feel the shift:

How English maps onto the four

For an English speaker, the cleanest mental shortcut is:

• English "going to" (neutral prediction) → kommer til å
• English "will" as a promise/decision ("I'll do it") → skal
• English scheduled present ("The train leaves at three", "I fly tomorrow") → plain present
• English "will" as a forecast ("It will rain") → vil (often formal) or kommer til å (everyday)

The one mapping that does not exist: English "will" → vil as a default. That equation is wrong far more often than it's right, because vil drags in "want."

Common Mistakes

For an offer or promise, use skal. Vil shifts the meaning to desire rather than commitment.

Use kommer til å (or vil) for predictions about events no one decides — weather, growing older, the economy.

Skal takes a single bare infinitive and goes in second position; don't echo it. (See verbs/modals-overview for the bare-infinitive rule.)

With a clear time word like i morgen, the plain present is the natural choice. Don't pile on skal for ordinary scheduled events.

Key Takeaways

• Norwegian has no single future tense; pick the strategy that matches your meaning.
• Present + time word = scheduled/certain (toget går klokka tre). The most common future.
• skal + infinitive = plan, intention, promise (jeg skal hjelpe deg).
• kommer til å + infinitive = neutral "going to" prediction (det kommer til å regne).
• vil + infinitive = prediction or volition — and with a personal subject it usually means want, so it is the great false friend of "will."
• Default English "will" → skal or kommer til å, almost never vil.