The pattern
Zullen plus an infinitive at the end of the clause. In speech it usually adds a promise, an offer, a suggestion or a guess; as a neutral future it mostly belongs to formal and written Dutch.
- Forms: ik zal, jij zult (in speech often jij zal), hij zal, zij zal, het zal, wij zullen, jullie zullen, zij zullen.
- The infinitive goes to the end: Ik zal het morgen sturen.
- In a subordinate clause (a side clause starting with a word like dat or omdat), zal moves to the end as well, usually right before the infinitive: dat ik het morgen zal sturen.
- Promise or decision: ik zal, we zullen.
- Offer: Zal ik ...? Suggestion: Zullen we ...?
- Guess: zal wel or zullen wel plus an infinitive.
- Formal future: announcements, the news, letters from organisations.
Examples
| Ik zal het morgen sturen. | I will send it tomorrow. |
| Priya en Daan beloven dat ze de sleutel bij de buren zullen afgeven. | Priya and Daan promise that they will leave the key with the neighbours. |
| Zullen we zaterdag naar de markt gaan? | Shall we go to the market on Saturday? |
| Zal ik het raam even dichtdoen? | Shall I close the window? |
| Bas is er nog niet, die zal wel in de file staan. | Bas isn't here yet, probably stuck in traffic. |
| Fatima heeft de rekening gecontroleerd, dus dat zal wel kloppen. | Fatima has checked the bill, so it's probably correct. |
| Yara en Joris hebben de hele week nachtdienst gehad, dus ze zullen wel moe zijn. | Yara and Joris have worked night shifts all week, so they must be tired. |
| De trein naar Utrecht zal tien minuten later vertrekken. | The train to Utrecht will depart ten minutes later. |
| De gemeente zal u binnen vier weken een brief sturen. | The municipality will send you a letter within four weeks. |
Why it works this way
Here is a mental model that ties the four uses together: what follows zullen is not a plain fact yet. It is something you vouch for, offer, suspect or officially announce. Compare:
- Ik bel je morgen. is simple information. Ik zal je morgen bellen. is a promise: you can hold me to it.
- We gaan koffie drinken. is already decided. Zullen we koffie drinken? hands the decision to the other person.
- Het restaurant is vandaag dicht. is what you know. Het restaurant zal vandaag wel dicht zijn. is what you suppose.
English has no single word for all four jobs. For offers and suggestions, English often uses shall: Zal ik? is Shall I? and Zullen we? is Shall we? In promises and future statements, zullen usually corresponds to will, and in guesses it often corresponds to probably or must. Beware the false friend wil: it means want, so Ik wil je bellen is I want to call you. German speakers, keep worden for become and the passive; Dutch does not build its future with it.
Tone matters with wel. Dat zal wel kloppen is a friendly guess, while Dat zal wel. on its own can sound sceptical, like if you say so.
The past form zou has a lesson of its own: Zou and zouden.
Remember: your agenda speaks with the present tense or gaan; your promises, offers and hunches speak with zullen.
Watch out
خطأIk zul je helpen.
صوابIk zal je helpen.
the ik form is irregular: zal
خطأIk zal sturen het morgen.
صوابIk zal het morgen sturen.
the infinitive goes to the end
خطأIk beloof dat ik zal het morgen sturen.
صوابIk beloof dat ik het morgen zal sturen.
after dat, both verbs go to the end
خطأIk word je morgen bellen.
صوابIk zal je morgen bellen.
worden means become, it does not make a future
Quick check
- Fill in the correct form of zullen: Maak je geen zorgen, ik ... de kat eten geven.
- Mei and Ahmed are bored on a rainy Sunday. Mei asks: ... we pannenkoeken bakken? Choose zal or zullen.
- Fix the word order: Carlos zal bellen je vanavond.
- Joris is not at work today. Turn this fact into a guess with zullen and wel: Joris is ziek.
اعرض الإجابات
- zal: the ik form of zullen is zal, not zul.
- zullen: we needs the plural form, and this is a suggestion.
- Carlos zal je vanavond bellen. The infinitive goes to the end.
- Joris zal wel ziek zijn. Zal wel makes it a guess, and is becomes the infinitive zijn at the end.
Use it today
Send one message today that makes a suggestion and a promise, for example to a colleague: Zullen we vrijdag samen lunchen? Ik zal een tafel reserveren.