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The Future Tense

In English:

English forms the future tense in several ways:

1) by using the progressive present tense when the context makes the future meaning clear:

"I'm seeing her tomorrow."

"We're taking the test on Friday."

2) by combining the verbs "will" or, less frequently, "shall" with the infinitive, not including "to":

"I will do it tomorrow."

"We shall see."

3) by combining the verb "to go" in the progressive present form with the infinitive, including "to":

"I am going to pay you back when I get my allowance."

"Someday she's going to get her comeuppance."

The future tense can also indicate a present likelihood:

"I am going to pay you back when I get my allowance."

"Someday she's going to get her comeuppance."

English has a future perfect tense to talk about a past event from the perspective of the future:

"I will have finished the paper by Monday."

"By the time you get this letter I will have gone to Rio."

The future perfect tense is also used to indicate a past likelihood, one that has consequences for the present or future:

"As you will have already heard, the gym will be closed today"

"You will have noticed that we no longer have a convertible."

In German:

Like English, German can talk about future events in the present tense when the context is clear:

Wir essen heute Abend in der Küche.	We're eating in the kitchen tonight.
Wir sehen uns morgen.	We're meeting tomorrow.
Er macht das erst Samstag.	He's not doing that until Saturday.

Otherwise German uses the auxiliary verb "werden" with the infinitive:

Sie wird dir alles sagen.	She'll tell you everything.
In zehn Jahren werde ich zu alt sein.	In ten years, I'll be too old.
Die Kinder werden das nicht sehen wollen.	The children won't want to see that.

Like English, German can also express present probability with the future tense, often in combination with adverbs such as "bestimmt" (certainly), "sicher" (certainly), "vielleicht" (perhaps), "wahrscheinlich" (probably), or "wohl" (probably):

Die Kinder werden wohl schon zu Hause sein.	The children will probably already be home.
Du wirst uns vielleicht besuchen wollen.	You will perhaps want to visit us.
Er wird jetzt bestimmt vorm Fernseher sitzen.	He'll surely be sitting in front of the television now.

The Future Perfect Tense in German (Futur II):

Like English, German has a future perfect tense that is used to talk about what will in the future be a past event. It is constructed by putting the auxiliary verb of the perfect tense ("haben" or "sein") into a future form:

Bevor wir nach Hause kommen, werden sie alles aufgegessen haben.	Before we get home they will have eaten everything up.
Sie wird schon weggegangen sein.	She will have already gone.
Werden Sie das gemacht haben, bevor wir Sie abholen?	Will you have already done that before we pick you up?

The future perfect can also express a past probability:

Sie werden das sicher gründlich gelesen haben.	You will surely have read that thoroughly.
Er wird das wohl gewusst haben.	He probably will have known that.
Du wirst das bestimmt schon gehört haben.	You will certainly have already heard that.

Perfect Tense

Present Perfekt Tense in German is considered to be the conversational past as it is mostly used in spoken German when referring to past events. When in English you say I saw him, in German you will have to use Ich habe ihn gesehen.

Forming the Present Perfect Tense in German

Weak verbs:

• Typically forms the past participle by adding the prefix "ge-" and a suffix of "-t" or "-et" to the stem:

Ich habe das gesagt.	I said that.
Sie hat gut gespielt.	She played well.
Wir haben schwer gearbeitet.	We worked hard.
Ich habe nichts gehört.	I didn't hear anything.

• If the verb has a separable prefix, the "ge" becomes an infix; it is placed between the prefix and the stem:

Wir haben die Tür zugemacht.	We closed the door.
Ich habe eingekauft.	I went shopping.

• If the verb ends in -ieren, there is no ge- added:

Das hat gut funktioniert.	That worked well.
Sie hat Physik studiert.	She studied physics.
Hast du auch die Küche renoviert?	Did you renovate the kitchen, too?

• If the verb has an inseparable prefix, that replaces the "ge":

Was hast du ihnen erzählt?	What did you tell them?
Habt ihr viel Geld dafür bezahlt?	Did y'all pay a lot of money for that?
Der Wagen hat mir gehört.	The car belonged to me.

Strong verbs:

• The "irregular strong verbs," including the modal auxiliaries when they are not associated with another verb in the infinitive, add the suffix "-t" or "-et" to a (usually) changed stem:

Ich habe das nicht gewollt.	I didn't want that.
Als Kind habe ich gut Chinesisch gekonnt.	As a child I could speak Chinese well.
Sie hat das nicht gewusst.	She didn't know that.
Was hast du mir gebracht?	What did you bring me?

• The remaining strong verbs add "-en" to a stem that may or may not be changed.

Ich habe meinen Hut gefunden.	I found my hat.
Du hast zu schnell gesprochen.	You spoke too fast.
Haben Sie gut geschlafen?	Did you sleep well?
Sie hat mein Buch nicht gelesen.	She didn't read my book.

• These strong verbs fall into distinct categories. Here is a list of the most common strong verbs, arranged in those groups. The rules about the prefix "ge-" remain the same:

Was hast du mitgebracht?	What did you bring along?
Das Konzert hat schon begonnen.	The concert has already begun.
Sie hat schon alles aufgegessen.	She has already eaten up everything.
Die Kinder haben den ganzen Tag ferngesehen.	The children watched TV all day.
Wir haben etwas anderes vorgehabt.	We planned to do something else.

The Auxiliary Verb:

• Most verbs, as in the examples above, take "haben," but some require "sein":

Wann bist du nach Hause gekommen?	When did you come home?
Wir sind ins Kino gegangen.	We went to the movies.
Seid ihr geflogen oder gefahren?	Did y'all fly or drive?
Er ist alt geworden.	He's gotten old.
Sie sind in der Stadt geblieben.	They stayed in the city.
Die Musik ist sehr laut gewesen.	The music was very loud.

• The verbs that take "sein" are mostly predictable on the basis of their meaning. They must satisfy two conditions: 1) they must be intransitive; 2) they must indicate a change of position or of condition. In the example "Wir sind nach Hause gegangen," the verb "gehen" 1) takes no direct object and 2) describes motion from one place to another. The same is true with:

Sie ist spät aufgestanden.	She got up late.
Er ist gestern angekommen.	He arrived yesterday.
Ich bin langsam gelaufen.	I ran (or walked) slowly.

• Examples of a change of condition:

Ihr Ring ist schon grün geworden.	Her ring has already turned green.
Er ist gestern gestorben.	He died yesterday.
Die Pflanze ist schnell gewachsen.	The plant grew fast.
Ich bin sofort eingeschlafen.	I fell asleep immediately.