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### The Present Tense for Future Events

In English, we usually use "will" or "going to" for future plans. In Dutch, you can simply use the present tense along with a future time word.

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### Time Phrases and Word Order

Future time words—like **overmorgen** (the day after tomorrow) or **aanstaande** (this coming)—are often placed at the beginning of the sentence to emphasize *when* an event happens.

When you do this, remember to invert the subject and verb so the verb stays in the second position.

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### More Future Contexts

This simple structure works with any future time word, such as **vanavond** (tonight), **straks** (later), or **morgen** (tomorrow).

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Future plans in the present tense

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

determiner/pronoun

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular pronouns and 'to be' (ik ben, hij is)

The formal 'you' (u bent)

Definite articles (de, het)

Plural pronouns and 'to be' (wij zijn)

The verb 'to have' (hebben)

Basic word order

Numbers 1 to 10 (een, twee, drie)

Verb stems and the 'I' form (ik werk)

Long vowels in verb stems (maken, ik maak)

Short vowels in verb stems (zitten, ik zit)

Present tense singular (-t)

Present tense plural (-en)

Yes/no questions

Question words (wie, wat, waar)

Noun negation (geen)

Plural nouns (-en)

Plural nouns (-s)

Diminutives (-je)

Adjective modifiers (heel, erg, te)

Verb negation (niet)

Singular possessives (mijn, jouw, zijn, haar)

Plural and formal possessives (ons/onze, jullie, hun, uw)

This and these (deze, dit)

That and those (die, dat)

Asking which (welke, welk)

Numbers 11 to 20 (elf, twaalf, dertien...)

Tens and compound numbers (dertig, veertig...)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (eerste, tweede...)

Telling time: hours and half hours (uur, half)

Telling time: quarters (kwart over, kwart voor)

Question words (hoeveel, waarom)

Irregular verbs (doen, gaan, staan, zien, komen)

Adjective endings (+e)

Adjectives with 'het' words

Prepositions of place (uit, bij)

Subject-verb inversion

Time before place

Modal verbs (willen, kunnen)

Modal verbs (moeten, mogen)

The verb bracket

Separable prefix verbs

The imperative mood (kom, luister)

Singular object pronouns (mij, jou, hem, haar)

Plural and formal object pronouns (ons, jullie, hen, u)

Reflexive verbs and pronouns (zich, me, je)

Position of negation (niet)

The present perfect tense with regular verbs (hebben gewerkt)

The present perfect tense with motion verbs (zijn gegaan)

Irregular past participles (gezien, gedaan)

The present continuous (zijn aan het)

There is / there are (er is, er zijn)

Unstressed there (er)

And, but, or (en, maar, of)

Because (want)

Months of the year

Prepositions of time (om, van ... tot)

Greetings and politeness

Conversational glue

Prepositions with days (op)

Prepositions with seasons (in)

Genitive of time ('s morgens, 's nachts)

Adverbs of frequency (altijd, vaak)

The future tense (gaan)

The future tense (zullen)

Separable verbs with auxiliary verbs

Apostrophe plurals ('-s)

Irregular plurals (-eren)

Complex diminutives (-pje, -etje, -kje)

Possessive 's (Jan's, vaders)

Indefinite pronouns (iets, niemand, alles)

Indefinite subject pronoun (je)

Reciprocal pronoun (elkaar)

Comparative adjectives (-er dan)

Comparatives with spelling change (-der)

Superlative adjectives (-st)

Irregular comparisons (beter, meer, minder)

Expressing preference (graag, liever, het liefst)

Equality comparisons (even ... als)

Fixed prepositions

That clauses (dat)

Because clauses (omdat)

If and when clauses (als)

Inversion after clauses

Separable verbs in clauses

Negation in clauses (niet)

Past tense of to be (was / waren)

Past tense of to have (had / hadden)

Question	Answer
the day after tomorrow	overmorgen
the theater	het theater
the premiere	de première
We are opening the theater the day after tomorrow for the premiere.	Overmorgen openen we het theater voor de première.
the play	het toneelstuk
The day after tomorrow the actors are performing the new play.	Overmorgen spelen de acteurs het nieuwe toneelstuk.
upcoming / next (this coming)	aanstaande
sold out	uitverkocht
This coming Saturday, the play is completely sold out.	Aanstaande zaterdag is het toneelstuk helemaal uitverkocht.
This coming Sunday we will watch you in the theater.	Aanstaande zondag kijken we naar jullie in het theater.
the set	het decor
Tonight the director is checking the set for the premiere.	Vanavond controleert de regisseur het decor voor de première.
Later we are taking the set to the theater.	Straks brengen we het decor naar het theater.
the tension	de spanning
Tonight the tension will be so high that we won't sleep.	Vanavond is de spanning zo hoog dat we niet slapen.
This coming Friday they will feel the tension during the premiere.	Aanstaande vrijdag voelen ze de spanning tijdens de première.
the lead role	de hoofdrol
the applause	het applaus
The actor with the lead role will get a big applause later.	De acteur met de hoofdrol krijgt straks een groot applaus.
Tomorrow the applause after the premiere will be so loud that we won't understand you.	Morgen is het applaus na de première zo hard dat we jullie niet verstaan.
This coming Tuesday we are throwing a party, because the premiere is sold out!	Aanstaande dinsdag geven we een feest, want de première is uitverkocht!
The day after tomorrow we are watching the play, because the actors are great.	Overmorgen kijken we naar het toneelstuk, want de acteurs zijn geweldig.
Next Friday he is playing the lead role.	Aanstaande vrijdag speelt hij de hoofdrol.