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Waar zal de inbreker zijn?

Waar zal de inbreker zijn?
Where could the burglar be?
From Lesson 180:Probability and assumption (zullen)·Dutch

Breakdown of Waar zal de inbreker zijn?

zijn
to be
waar
where
zullen
shall / will
de inbreker
the burglar

Questions & Answers about Waar zal de inbreker zijn?

Why is zal translated as 'could' instead of 'will' here?
In Dutch, zullen isn't just used for the future tense. It is frequently used to express a guess, an assumption, or probability. In this sentence, Waar zal de inbreker zijn? means you are wondering about the burglar's current location ('Where might he be?' or 'Where could he be?'), rather than asking where he will go in the future.
Could I use kan instead of zal to ask 'Where can the burglar be?'
Yes, you could say Waar kan de inbreker zijn?, but it changes the tone slightly. Using kan focuses purely on the physical possibilities of his location. Using zal makes it sound more like you are wondering aloud or guessing, similar to 'Where on earth would he be?' in English.
Why is the verb zijn placed at the very end of the sentence?
This is a standard Dutch word order rule for modal verbs. The conjugated modal verb (zal) takes the second position in the sentence right after the question word Waar. This pushes the main action verb in its full infinitive form (zijn) to the very end of the clause.
Why do we use zal here instead of zult?
The subject of the sentence is de inbreker, which is a third-person singular noun (like 'he' or 'she'). The verb zullen conjugates to zal for the first and third person singular. You only use zult when the subject is jij or u (you).

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