Jeg kommer til at arbejde sent i dag.

I

Breakdown of Jeg kommer til at arbejde sent i dag.

• i dag: today
• arbejde: to work
• sent: late

Questions & Answers about Jeg kommer til at arbejde sent i dag.

What does the chunk kommer til at mean here?

It expresses a likely or expected outcome in the (near) future—roughly “is going to” or “will end up.” So Jeg kommer til at arbejde sent i dag = “I’m going to end up working late today,” with a nuance that it feels inevitable rather than a deliberate plan.

Could I use skal or vil instead? What’s the difference?

• Jeg skal arbejde sent i dag: duty/arrangement/agenda (“I’m scheduled/obliged to work late today”).
• Jeg vil arbejde sent i dag: intention/willingness (“I want/intend to work late today”). As a future marker, vil often sounds like desire rather than prediction.
• Jeg arbejder sent i dag: simple present for a plan/timetable (“I’m working late today”).
• Jeg kommer til at arbejde sent i dag: expected outcome/inevitability (“I’ll end up working late today”).

Does komme til at also mean “accidentally”?

Yes—in the past tense it very often means “accidentally/unintentionally.”

• Jeg kom til at slette filen = “I accidentally deleted the file.” In the present/future, kommer til at normally signals a prediction:
• Det kommer til at regne = “It’s going to rain.”

Why is kommer in second position? Is that a rule?