The near future, and joining sentences together
German barely needs a future tense for near plans — the present does the job. Connectors then turn a list of sentences into a story, and one of them moves the verb.
Colours live this week
10 of 10 in playA thing, a person or a place.
An action or a state — what is happening.
Describes a noun.
Modifies a verb or an adjective.
the / a / some — and possessives like mon, ma.
Stands in for a noun — I, you, he, it.
Links words together — to, in, of, for.
Joins two parts of a sentence.
Opens a question — where, when, how, why.
Learn it whole. Do not take it apart.
Teal conjunctions and gold sequence adverbs do the heavy lifting. Adverbs also carry a dotted underline, so you can pick them out at a glance.
German does not need a future tense here
Where French says je vais manger, German simply uses the present with a time word: Morgen esse ich im Restaurant. There is a proper future — ich werde essen — and you will hear it, but for anything in the next few days the present is what Germans actually say. Remember that starting with Morgen pushes the verb into second place and the subject behind it.
Present tense, future meaning
| Time word | Verb second | In a sentence | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| morgen | esse | Morgen esse ich im Restaurant. | Tomorrow I'm eating at the restaurant. |
| heute Abend | gehe | Heute Abend gehe ich ins Kino. | This evening I'm going to the cinema. |
| später | nehme | Später nehme ich einen Kaffee. | Later I'll have a coffee. |
| nächste Woche | fahre | Nächste Woche fahre ich nach Berlin. | Next week I'm going to Berlin. |
Connectors
Teal joins two ideas. The first three leave the word order alone. The fourth does not — see the note below.
- undandIch habe gegessen und ich habe getrunken.I ate and I drank.
- aberbutEs ist gut aber teuer.It's good but expensive.
- oderor
- dennbecause, for
Leaves the word order alone, which makes it the safe one to start with.
- weilbecause…weil ich [im Ruhestand] bin.…because I'm retired.
Sends the verb to the end. See the note below — this is the important one.
- alsoso, therefore
Not the English also. It means so. Auch means also.
Weil sends the verb to the end
Ich bin im Ruhestand becomes …weil ich im Ruhestand bin. The moment weil appears, the conjugated verb slides to the very back of its clause. Denn means the same thing and leaves the order untouched, which is why it is worth having both: use denn while you are thinking, and weil when you have the sentence planned. This is the same machinery as the second verb going to the end in Week 4 — German likes to keep you waiting.
Sequence words
Gold puts your events in order. Each one starts the sentence, so each one pushes the verb into second place.
- zuerstfirstZuerst habe ich einen Kaffee genommen.First I had a coffee.
- dannthenDann bin ich in den Park gegangen.Then I went to the park.
- danachafterwardsDanach habe ich meinen Sohn gesehen.Afterwards I saw my son.
- schließlichfinallySchließlich bin ich nach Hause gekommen.Finally I came home.
Sentence frames
- 1
Morgen verb ich noun.
Tomorrow I'm going to ___.
- 2
clause, aber / denn / also, clause
…, but / because / so, …
These three leave the word order alone.
- 3
Zuerst … dann … danach … schließlich …
First … then … afterwards … finally …
The story spine. Every one of them moves the verb into second place.
A five-sentence story
Past, future and connectors together. Watch what happens to the word order in every single line.
Zuerst habe ich einen Kaffee genommen.
Dann bin ich in den Park gegangen.
Danach habe ich meinen Sohn gesehen.
Schließlich bin ich nach Hause gekommen.
Morgen reserviere ich einen Tisch.
Before you read the translation
- 1In every line, which word sits in second place?
- 2In the first four lines, which word is waiting at the very end?
First I had a coffee. Then I went to the park. Afterwards I saw my son. Finally I came home. Tomorrow I'm booking a table.
Daily mini-tasks
Listening this week
Slow German or Easy German — someone recounting a day
Podcast apps and YouTube
Listen for the zuerst … dann … danach … schließlich skeleton, and for the participle arriving at the end of each sentence.
Milestone
By the end of this week you should be able to:
- 01Conjugate high-frequency verbs in the present for ich, Sie, er/sie/es and wir.
- 02Keep the conjugated verb in second place, including when a sentence starts with a time word.
- 03Ask for directions, prices and times using the question words.
- 04Recount yesterday in the Perfekt, with both haben and sein, and put the participle at the end.
- 05Talk about near-future plans using the present tense, and join clauses with und, aber, denn, weil and also.