Future Tense
भविष्यकाल
German has its own future tense, Futur I (werden + infinitive), but — unlike English's heavy use of 'will' — everyday German often just uses the present tense + a time word to talk about the future, exactly like Hindi's "मैं कल जा रहा हूँ".
Grammar Comparison
व्याकरण तुलना
Futur I: werden + infinitive at the end
Ich werde morgen arbeiten. (I will work tomorrow.)
मैं कल काम करूँगा।
Futur I is built with werden, conjugated to match the subject (werde, wirst, wird, werden, werdet, werden), plus the main verb's infinitive at the very end of the clause — the same 'conjugated auxiliary in second position, infinitive/participle at the end' pattern seen earlier with modal verbs and the Perfekt. Hindi's future tense (-गा/गी/गे ending) is itself a distinct grammatical form, so the werden+infinitive structure will look new, but the underlying principle — a dedicated marker for the future — exists in both languages.
The present tense is the everyday way to talk about the future — just like Hindi
Ich fahre morgen nach Berlin. (I'm going to Berlin tomorrow.)
मैं कल बर्लिन जा रहा हूँ।
Hindi's "मैं कल जा रहा हूँ" uses the present-continuous form for the near future, with no need for the future tense (जाऊँगा). German shares exactly this habit: when a time expression (morgen, nächste Woche, in zwei Jahren) or context already makes clear that something is coming, German speakers strongly prefer the plain present over Futur I — far more than English, which still often reaches for 'will' or 'going to'. Save werde + infinitive for predictions, promises, and guesses without an explicit time marker.
werden also expresses probability, not just the future
Er wird wohl noch schlafen. (He's probably still sleeping.)
वह शायद अभी भी सो रहा होगा।
A second, distinct use of werden + infinitive expresses a present-time guess or speculation, often paired with wohl, sicher, or vermutlich — similar in feel to Hindi's "होगा" (the guessing future, as in "वह सो रहा होगा"), not a genuine future tense. Context (and adverbs like jetzt vs. morgen) usually tells you whether werden marks the future or a present-time guess.
Vocabulary
शब्दावली
| German | Pronunciation | Hindi | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| ich werde ... machen | ikh VAIR-deh ... MAHKH-en | मैं ...करूँगाmaiñ ...karūñgā | I will do ... |
| du wirst ... sehen | doo veerst ... ZAY-en | तुम ...देखोगेtum ...dekhoge | you will see ... |
| er/sie wird ... kommen | air/zee veert ... KOM-en | वह ...आएगा/आएगीvah ...āegā/āegī | he/she will come ... |
| wir werden ... reisen | veer VAIR-den ... RY-zen | हम ...यात्रा करेंगेham ...yātrā kareñge | we will travel ... |
| nächste Woche | NEKH-steh VOKH-eh | अगले हफ़्तेagle hafte | next week |
| in Zukunft | in TSOO-koonft | भविष्य मेंbhaviṣya meñ | in the future |
| bald | bahlt | जल्दीjaldī | soon |
| vermutlich | fair-MOOT-likh | शायदśāyad | probably |
| es wird regnen | es veert RAYG-nen | बारिश होने वाली हैbāriś hone vālī hai | it's going to rain |