Future tense with "werden"

German doesn't have a separate future verb ending the way some languages do. Instead, it builds the future with werden + an infinitive at the end of the clause — the same "verb bracket" pattern you already know from modal verbs: a conjugated verb in second position, and an infinitive parked at the very end.

Quick shortcut: conjugate werden in second position, and put the main verb as a plain infinitive at the end of the clause. Ich werde morgen ankommen. (I will arrive tomorrow.)

Conjugating werden

• Ich werde dich morgen anrufen. (I will call you tomorrow.)
• Sie wird bald ankommen. (She will arrive soon.)
• Wir werden das Problem lösen. (We will solve the problem.)

Word order: the same bracket as modal verbs

Werden takes the normal second-position slot, and the infinitive goes all the way to the end — exactly like kann, muss, will, and the other modal verbs:

• Ich kann morgen kommen. → Ich werde morgen kommen.
• Er muss das Auto reparieren. → Er wird das Auto reparieren.

Everything between werden and the infinitive — objects, time expressions, everything — stays in the middle, inside the "bracket."

Separable verbs stay joined

With a separable verb, the prefix doesn't split off in the future — the whole infinitive travels to the end intact:

• ✅ Ich werde dich morgen anrufen. (I will call you tomorrow.)
• ❌ Ich werde dich morgen an, rufe. — never split the infinitive apart

Compare that to the present tense, where the prefix does split off: Ich rufe dich morgen an.

The present tense often works just as well

German frequently uses the plain present tense for the future, especially with a time expression that already makes it clear you're not talking about now:

• Ich komme morgen. (I'm coming tomorrow. / I'll come tomorrow.)
• Wir fahren nächste Woche nach Berlin. (We're going to Berlin next week.)

Use werden when you want to make the future meaning explicit — especially for predictions like Es wird regnen (It will rain), which has no time word to anchor it the way ich komme morgen does. But werden isn't strictly required even there: German often reaches for the present tense whenever the future context is already clear enough from the situation.

In a subordinate clause

In a dass/weil/wenn-clause (see Subordinate clauses with "weil" and "dass"), the whole verb bracket moves to the end together, infinitive first and werden last:

• Ich weiß, dass es morgen regnen wird. (I know that it will rain tomorrow.)
• Sie bleibt zu Hause, weil sie krank sein wird. (She's staying home because she'll be sick.)

Don't confuse it with werden meaning "to become"

Werden has other jobs too. As a full verb, it means "to become" — Ich werde Lehrer (I'm becoming/going to be a teacher); here werde is the main verb of the sentence, with no infinitive at the end at all. Without a final infinitive, werden can also be the passive auxiliary, paired with a past participle instead — Das Buch wird gelesen (The book is being read). If there's an infinitive at the end of the clause, werden is building a future; if there's a past participle instead, it's a passive; if neither, it simply means "become."

Common mistakes

• ❌ Ich werde ankomme morgen. → ✅ Ich werde morgen ankommen. (the second verb must be a plain infinitive, at the very end)
• ❌ Ich werde dich morgen an, rufe. → ✅ Ich werde dich morgen anrufen. (a separable verb's infinitive stays joined in the future)
• ❌ Ich weiß, dass es wird regnen. → ✅ Ich weiß, dass es regnen wird. (in a subordinate clause, the whole bracket — infinitive then werden — moves to the end)
• ❌ Morgen ich werde kommen. → ✅ Morgen werde ich kommen. (fronting morgen still forces subject-verb inversion, same as any other main clause)

Quick check

Put werden and the infinitive in the right place:

1. Ich ___ dir morgen ___. (helfen — I will help you tomorrow)
2. Er ___ das Buch bald ___. (lesen — he will read the book soon)
3. Ich weiß, dass sie nächstes Jahr nach Berlin ___ ___. (ziehen — that she will move to Berlin next year)
4. ___ du mir ___? (helfen — will you help me?)

Key takeaways

• German builds the future with werden (conjugated, second position) + an infinitive at the end of the clause — the same bracket pattern as modal verbs.
• A separable verb's infinitive stays joined together at the end; it doesn't split the way it does in the present tense.
• The present tense often covers the future too, especially with a time expression — use werden when you want the future meaning to be explicit, especially for predictions.
• In a subordinate clause, the infinitive comes before werden, and both sit at the very end together.
• Werden also means "to become" as a full verb, and pairs with a past participle as the passive auxiliary — no infinitive at the end signals one of those instead.