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### The Future Tense with "gaan"

To talk about plans, intentions, or things that will happen in the near future, Dutch uses the auxiliary verb **gaan** (to go) with an infinitive. This is similar to the English "going to" construction.

| Subject | Verb |
|---|---|
| ik | ga |
| jij / u | gaat |
| hij / zij / het | gaat |
| wij / jullie / zij | gaan |

### Word Order

In a standard sentence, the conjugated form of **gaan** takes the second position, while the main action (the infinitive) gets pushed to the end of the clause.

{{item:798267}}

{{item:798284}}

### Future Time Expressions

You will often pair the future tense with time expressions like **morgen** (tomorrow) or **in de toekomst** (in the future).

{{item:798274}}

If you place the time expression at the beginning of the sentence for emphasis, the verb and subject swap places (inversion). The infinitive still stays at the end.

{{item:798271}}

### Asking Questions

To ask a question, place the conjugated verb **gaan** before the subject. Remember that when the pronoun **jij** or **je** directly follows the verb, the *-t* ending is dropped (*ga je*).

{{item:798278}}

{{item:798269}}

### Combining Sentences

When connecting clauses with coordinating conjunctions like **en** (and) or **maar** (but), the word order for each part remains standard. The infinitive stays at the end of its respective clause.

{{item:798288}}

{{item:798282}}

The future tense (gaan)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

determiner/pronoun

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Definite articles and gender (de, het)

Indefinite article and formal 'you' (een, u)

Big and small (groot, klein)

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 (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)

Past tense of modal verbs (wilde, kon, moest, mocht)

Question	Answer
the plan	het plan
next	volgend
What is the plan for next year?	Wat is het plan voor volgend jaar?
to discuss	bespreken
We are going to discuss the plan tomorrow.	Wij gaan het plan morgen bespreken.
the idea	het idee
Why are we not going to discuss this idea?	Waarom gaan we dit idee niet bespreken?
I find that a very good idea.	Ik vind dat een heel goed idee.
Next week we are going to start the project.	Volgende week gaan we met het project beginnen.
Are you going to work together in the office?	Gaan jullie op kantoor samenwerken?
the future	de toekomst
What are you going to do in the future?	Wat ga jij in de toekomst doen?
I am dreaming about the future.	Ik ben over de toekomst aan het dromen.
the birthday	de verjaardag
to celebrate	vieren
When are you going to celebrate your birthday?	Wanneer ga je jouw verjaardag vieren?
In the summer we are going to celebrate the party outside.	In de zomer gaan we het feest buiten vieren.
to live together	samenwonen
My boyfriend and I are going to live together in the autumn.	Mijn vriend en ik gaan in de herfst samenwonen.
My parents are going to move, but they have no money.	Mijn ouders gaan verhuizen, maar ze hebben geen geld.
to save	sparen
We are going to save a lot of money for the holiday.	Wij gaan veel geld sparen voor de vakantie.
How many euros are you going to save this week?	Hoeveel euro ga je deze week sparen?
We are going to celebrate my birthday there.	We gaan er mijn verjaardag vieren.
to build	bouwen
We are going to live together and we are going to build a house.	Wij gaan samenwonen en wij gaan een huis bouwen.
They are going to build a large hotel there.	Zij gaan daar een groot hotel bouwen.
having one's birthday	jarig
It is my birthday today.	Ik ben vandaag jarig.
It is my sister's birthday tomorrow.	Mijn zus is morgen jarig.
congratulations	gefeliciteerd
Congratulations on your birthday!	Gefeliciteerd met je verjaardag!
Congratulations! We are going to celebrate.	Gefeliciteerd! Wij gaan het feest vieren.
to intend to / to plan to	van plan zijn
We intend to save.	Wij zijn van plan om te sparen.
I intend to celebrate my birthday.	Ik ben van plan mijn verjaardag te vieren.
congratulations	van harte gefeliciteerd
Congratulations on your birthday!	Van harte gefeliciteerd met je verjaardag!
It is your birthday: congratulations!	Je bent jarig: van harte gefeliciteerd!

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