Here is the headline you should absorb before anything else: Swedish has no future tense. There is no single verb ending, and no one word like English will, that simply means "future." Instead, Swedish talks about the future with three everyday tools you already half-know — the plain present tense, the verb ska, and the phrase kommer att. The interesting part is that these are not three ways of saying the same thing. Swedish makes you choose how you see the future event: as a fixed fact on the calendar, as something you intend to do, or as a prediction about what will happen anyway. English flattens all of that into will; Swedish keeps the distinctions live. This page maps the three tools and the meaning each one carries, then points you to the page that drills each one.
Three ways to point at the future
Every Swedish future statement uses one of these:
- The plain present — for scheduled, timetabled, or certain events. Tåget går klockan tre ("The train leaves at three"). This is the default and often the most natural option.
- ska + infinitive — for intention, plan, or decision. Jag ska resa till Spanien ("I'm going to travel to Spain" — I've decided to). There's a person behind it who wants this to happen.
- kommer att + infinitive — for prediction or inevitability. Det kommer att regna ("It's going to rain"). Nobody decided it; it's just what the speaker expects to happen.
| Tool | Example | Carries the sense of… |
|---|---|---|
| present | Vi åker imorgon. | scheduled / certain — it's on the plan |
| ska + inf. | Jag ska resa till Spanien. | intention / decision — I've chosen to |
| kommer att + inf. | Det kommer att regna. | prediction — I expect it, but I don't control it |
Vi åker imorgon, så jag ska packa ikväll — annars kommer jag att glömma något.
We're leaving tomorrow, so I'm going to pack tonight — otherwise I'll forget something. All three futures in one breath: present (åker), intention (ska packa), prediction (kommer att glömma).
The present: the future you'll reach for most
English already does this — The train leaves at three, I'm flying to Berlin tomorrow — and Swedish leans on it even harder. For anything scheduled, timetabled, or treated as a settled fact, the plain present plus a time word is the most natural future. No ska, no kommer att needed.
Bussen kommer om fem minuter.
The bus comes in five minutes. Plain present 'kommer' + time phrase = future. (Here 'kommer' is just the verb 'come', not 'kommer att'.)
Jag fyller år imorgon.
It's my birthday tomorrow (literally: I turn a year older tomorrow). Present 'fyller' for a certain future event.
Because Swedish has no progressive ("-ing") tense either, this one present form covers a lot of ground. The full treatment is on Using the Present for the Future.
ska: the future you decided on
ska + a bare infinitive (no att) marks the future as something intended, planned, or decided. There is a will behind it — usually the subject's. Jag ska resa doesn't just predict travel; it says I've made up my mind to travel.
Jag ska resa till Spanien i sommar.
I'm going to travel to Spain this summer. 'ska resa' — a decision/plan, not a neutral forecast.
Vi ska gifta oss nästa år.
We're getting married next year. 'ska' signals an intention the couple has settled on.
Because of that whiff of intention, ska also slides easily into obligation and instruction (Du ska vara tyst, "You're to be quiet"). The full range is on The Future with ska.
kommer att: the future that just happens
kommer att + infinitive (the att is required in writing) marks the future as a prediction or inevitable outcome that the subject does not necessarily intend or control. Rain, ageing, consequences, forecasts — things that will happen regardless of anyone's will.
Det kommer att regna i eftermiddag.
It's going to rain this afternoon. A forecast — no one decided it, so kommer att, not ska.
Hon kommer att bli arg när hon får veta det.
She's going to be angry when she finds out. A prediction about a reaction she doesn't choose.
The dedicated page is The Future with kommer att.
The meaning English hides: intention vs prediction
This is the insight that makes the whole system click. English will does two completely different jobs and never tells you which:
- I'll travel to Spain — a decision (= Swedish ska).
- It'll rain tomorrow — a forecast (= Swedish kommer att).
Swedish forces the distinction into the open. ska always carries a trace of will / intention / decision; kommer att is the neutral, objective future for things outside anyone's control. So you can't use ska for the weather — Det ska regna would suggest someone arranged for it to rain, which is absurd. And using kommer att for your own firm plan can sound oddly passive, as if your trip were happening to you rather than by you.
Jag ska sluta röka — men jag kommer nog att misslyckas.
I'm going to quit smoking — but I'll probably fail. 'ska sluta' = my intention; 'kommer att misslyckas' = my honest prediction about an outcome I don't control.
A note on form
Two small but important orthographic points, both detailed on the individual pages:
- ska is the standard modern spelling. You will still meet skall in formal writing, legal texts, and older books — it's the same word, just dressier and now dated in speech. (formal / older)
- kommer att keeps its att in writing. In casual speech people often drop it — Det kommer regna — but leave it in when you write.
Avtalet skall gälla från och med januari.
The agreement shall apply from January onwards. (formal) 'skall' — the dressed-up, older spelling of 'ska', typical of legal/official register.
How the rest of this group fits together
- Scheduled / certain: Using the Present for the Future — the default, most native future.
- Intention / plan: The Future with ska — and its overlap with obligation.
- Prediction / inevitability: The Future with kommer att — the neutral forecast future.
- Deciding between them: Choosing: ska vs kommer att — the side-by-side decision page.
Common Mistakes
❌ Jag will resa till Spanien.
Incorrect — there is no 'will' verb in Swedish. Use the present, ska, or kommer att.
✅ Jag ska resa till Spanien.
I'm going to travel to Spain. Use 'ska' for an intended plan.
❌ Det ska regna imorgon.
Incorrect for a forecast — 'ska' implies someone arranged it. Weather isn't intended.
✅ Det kommer att regna imorgon.
It's going to rain tomorrow. Neutral prediction = kommer att.
❌ Jag ska att resa.
Incorrect — 'ska' takes a bare infinitive, never 'att'.
✅ Jag ska resa.
I'm going to travel.
❌ Hon kommer bli arg. (in writing)
Incorrect in writing — 'kommer att' needs 'att'. Dropping it is for casual speech only.
✅ Hon kommer att bli arg.
She's going to be angry.
Key Takeaways
- Swedish has no future tense and no 'will' verb. Build the future from the present, ska + infinitive, or kommer att + infinitive.
- The present is the default for scheduled or certain events (Vi åker imorgon) — often the most natural choice.
- ska = intention, plan, decision (there's a will behind it). kommer att = neutral prediction or inevitability (no one controls it).
- That intention-vs-prediction split is a meaning English's single will erases — Swedish makes you choose.
- Watch the form: ska
- bare infinitive (no att); kommer att keeps att in writing (dropped only in casual speech). skall is the formal/older spelling of ska.
Now practice Swedish
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Swedish→Related Topics
- The Future with skaA2 — ska + a bare infinitive (no att) expresses the intended future: a plan, decision, or arrangement — Jag ska handla imorgon, Vi ska gifta oss. Because ska always carries a whiff of will and intention, it slides naturally into obligation and command (Du ska göra dina läxor), and it is WRONG for impersonal predictions like weather (use kommer att). The formal/older spelling is skall.
- The Future with kommer attA2 — kommer att + infinitive is Swedish's NEUTRAL future: an objective prediction or inevitable outcome the subject doesn't necessarily intend or control — Det kommer att regna, Du kommer att ångra det, Hon kommer att bli arg. The att is obligatory in writing (unlike after modals), though it's routinely dropped in fast speech (kommer regna). Use it for forecasts, consequences, and natural processes; use ska for things someone decided.
- Using the Present for the FutureA2 — The simple present tense plus a time word is the most natural Swedish future for scheduled or certain events — Tåget går klockan tre, Jag fyller år imorgon, Vi ses senare. It parallels English 'The train leaves at three', but Swedish leans on it even harder: for anything on the timetable, the simplest and most native future is no future marker at all. Over-using ska/kommer att where the present fits is a common learner tell.
- ska vs kommer attA2 — Swedish has two main ways to talk about the future, and they aren't interchangeable. ska expresses intention, a plan, a decision, or a promise — someone has WILLED it (Jag ska sluta röka, 'I'm going to quit smoking'). kommer att is a neutral prediction or an inevitable outcome no one controls (Det kommer att regna, 'It's going to rain'). The test: who controls the outcome? A decider → ska. An external inevitability → kommer att.