The future tense in German is formed with the verb werden:
Will you be working abroad more often in future?
Wir werden uns wahrscheinlich verspäten.
We will probably be delayed.
Note that there is also another less frequently used future tense in German, the future
Formation of the future tense
The future tense is constructed with the present tense form of the auxiliary verb werden + the infinitive of the relevant verb:
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Ich werde den Zug versäumen.
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I shall/will miss the train.
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Du wirst dich morgen besser fühlen.
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You will feel better tomorrow.
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Werden Sie zur Party kommen?
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Will you come to the party?
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Er wird das gleich erledigen.
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He will deal with it at once.
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Wir werden heute anfangen.
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We shall/will start today.
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Ihr werdet alles erfahren.
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You will find out everything.
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Werden Sie tanzen gehen?
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Will you go dancing?
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Was werden sie sagen?
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What will they say?
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Note that werden is an irregular verb and changes its stem vowel in the du and er/sie/es
Usage and functions
The future tense is used less frequently in German than in English. If the context makes the reference to the future clear the present tense is normally used instead. However, the future tense still occurs in the following instances:
🔽When the reference to the future is not clear:
Tim wird wieder in Köln wohnen.
Tim will be living in Cologne again.
The alternative in the present tense Tim wohnt wieder in Köln would be understood as
🔽When stating intentions or to emphasise a point:
Ich werde nie wieder den Bus nehmen!
Never again will I take the bus!
Ich werde die Miete morgen bezahlen.
I will pay the rent tomorrow.
🔽To make predictions and to convey the meaning of probability or assumption,
often in conjunction with bestimmt ‘surely’, wahrscheinlich ‘probably’,
möglicherweise ‘possibly’, vielleicht ‘maybe’, wohl ‘probably’:
Using the present tense to refer to the future
In German, the present tense – rather than the future tense – is normally used to refer to the future, especially when this is clearly indicated by an expression of time:
Frequently used words or expressions to indicate the future include: bald ‘soon’, demnächst ‘soon’/‘before long’, gleich ‘right away’, in zwei Tagen/ Wochen/Monaten etc.
Difference between ‘will’ and ‘want to’ in German
Be careful not to confuse the English ‘will’ indicating the future, with the German modal will meaning ‘want/s to’ in German:
The future perfect
The future perfect is used to refer to events that will be completed in the future. It is formed with the present tense form of werden + past participle of the main verb + the infinitive forms of haben or sein:
In zwei Jahren wirst du das Auto abbezahlt haben.
In two years you will have paid for the car.
Er wird wahrscheinlich morgen noch nicht abgereist sein.
He will probably not have left by tomorrow.
Usage
The future perfect tense is rarely used in contemporary German and is usually replaced by the shorter construction of the appropriate present tense form of haben or sein + past participle:
In zwei Jahren wirst du das Auto abbezahlt haben.
➝ In zwei Jahren hast du das Auto abbezahlt.
Er wird wahrscheinlich morgen noch nicht abgereist sein.➝ Er ist wahrscheinlich morgen noch nicht abgereist.