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UNIT FIFTEEN<br />
Talking about the future<br />
Introduction<br />
This unit introduces various ways to talk about the future. Strictly speaking,<br />
th<strong>er</strong>e isn’t really a ‘future tense’ in Dutch, because some of the forms<br />
used for the future tense can also have oth<strong>er</strong> functions.<br />
Using the present tense<br />
The simplest way to talk about the future is to use the present tense with<br />
an adv<strong>er</strong>b or a prepositional phrase that expresses future. Examples:<br />
Morgen schrijf ik een essay. Tomorrow I’ll write an essay.<br />
Ov<strong>er</strong> drie dagen komt <strong>er</strong> regen. It will rain in three days.<br />
We eten vanavond bo<strong>er</strong>enkool. We’re having curly kale tonight.<br />
Using the v<strong>er</strong>b zullen<br />
Using the v<strong>er</strong>b zullen in combination with an infinitive is more complicated,<br />
because this modal v<strong>er</strong>b can hold a variety of meanings.<br />
Sometimes, it will not be crystal clear wheth<strong>er</strong> the speak<strong>er</strong> is only talking<br />
about future intentions or actually making a promise.<br />
Morgen zal ik een essay schrijven. Tomorrow I’ll write an essay.<br />
Ov<strong>er</strong> een week zul je we<strong>er</strong> bet<strong>er</strong> zijn. You’ll be bett<strong>er</strong> in a week.<br />
Wie zal straks de champagne openen? Who will open the<br />
champagne lat<strong>er</strong>?<br />
Wat zal de toekomst brengen? What will the future bring?<br />
The sentence Morgen zal ik een essay schrijven can have two meanings.<br />
It can mean ‘It is my plan or my intention to write an essay’ or, secondly,<br />
it can mean ‘I promise I will write an essay tomorrow’. Only in sentences 101
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