Futur II
Futur II — for English Speakers
Introduction
German Futur II (werden + Partizip II + haben/sein) parallels English future perfect ('will have done'). 'Bis morgen werde ich es gelesen haben' = 'By tomorrow, I will have read it'. Like Futur I, Futur II also expresses assumptions about the past: 'Er wird es vergessen haben' = 'He probably forgot (lit. will have forgotten)'. This assumptive use has no structural parallel in English.
German vs English
In German
Bis morgen werde ich es gelesen haben. (will have read)
In English
By tomorrow, I will have read it.
Key Difference
Same structure: will + have + participle. German stacks haben/sein at the end.
In German
Er wird es vergessen haben. (probably forgot — assumption)
In English
He probably forgot. (English uses adverb, not tense)
Key Difference
German uses Futur II for past assumptions; English uses adverbs like 'probably' with past tense.
Common Mistakes for English Speakers
Bis morgen werde ich es haben gelesen.
Wrong verb order — the participle comes before haben/sein at the sentence end.
Er wird es vergessen hat.
Using finite 'hat' instead of infinitive 'haben' — after werden, the auxiliary must be infinitive.
Practice Examples
In zwei Stunden werden sie angekommen sein.
In two hours, they will have arrived.
Er wird es wohl geschafft haben.
He probably managed it.
Bis nächste Woche werde ich alles erledigt haben.
By next week, I will have finished everything.
Memory Tip
FUTUR II = werden + participle + haben/sein — the 'will have done' tense, plus a secret life as a probability marker.
View Grammar Rule
Futur II
Futur II — B2
Practice Exercises
Futur II Übungen
8 exercises
Other Languages
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