Future Tense in Hindi

In Brief

Hindi normally forms the future with a person-marked verb base followed by ग, whose ending agrees with gender and number: मैं जाऊँगा / जाऊँगी “I will go,” वह आएगा / आएगी “he/she will come,” and हम खाएँगे / खाएँगी “we will eat.” Unlike English will, this is not a separate helper word: the information is built into the Hindi verb form.

Overview

The future tense, भविष्य काल, describes what will happen after now: a plan, prediction, promise, or expected result. It is especially visible in everyday questions such as तुम कब आओगे? “When will you come?” and in arrangements such as हम कल मिलेंगे। “We will meet tomorrow.” This core pattern is introduced at A2.

An English speaker has two adjustments to make. First, Hindi does not put one unchanging word like will before the verb. The verb changes for the grammatical person (who acts), and its final part also changes for gender and number. Second, a speaker often has to choose a gendered form even when English would not show gender: a man says मैं करूँगा, while a woman says मैं करूँगी, both meaning “I will do it.”

The beginner rule is regular enough to use immediately. Learn the endings with a few common verbs first. Changes in the verb base, formal agreement with आप, and the relationship between future and subjunctive forms are explained separately below.

How It Works

The basic structure

A useful way to understand the future is:

future base marked for person + गा / गी / गे

The future base is closely related to the Hindi subjunctive (a verb form used for wishes, possibilities, and other non-factual meanings). The ग part then carries gender and number agreement:

Ending	Agreement	Example
-गा	masculine singular	वह जाएगा “he will go”
-गी	feminine singular; also feminine with plural or respectful subjects	वह जाएगी “she will go”; वे जाएँगी “they will go”
-गे	masculine plural, mixed plural, and respectful masculine	हम जाएँगे “we will go”; आप जाएँगे “you will go”

Hindi masculine plural is also the usual form for a mixed-gender group. An all-female group takes -गी: लड़कियाँ जाएँगी “the girls will go.”

Full pattern with करना “to do”

The subject is the person or thing doing the action. Hindi future forms mark the subject directly; unlike the perfective past with ने, the ordinary future does not use ने.

Subject	Masculine form	Feminine form	English
मैं	करूँगा	करूँगी	I will do
तू	करेगा	करेगी	you will do (very intimate)
तुम	करोगे	करोगी	you will do (familiar)
आप	करेंगे	करेंगी	you will do (respectful)
यह / वह	करेगा	करेगी	this/he or that/he; this/she or that/she will do
हम	करेंगे	करेंगी	we will do
ये / वे	करेंगे	करेंगी	these/they or those/they will do

With मैं, the ending follows the speaker’s gender. With तुम, it follows the person or people addressed. आप is grammatically respectful and therefore uses a plural-style future base, even when addressing one person: आप कब आएँगे? A woman addressed respectfully may be asked आप कब आएँगी?

The pronoun तू is limited to very intimate relationships, addressing a small child, prayer, and contexts where it can also sound insulting. Most learners should actively use तुम with friends and आप in polite situations.

Regular person endings

Removing the gendered ग ending makes the person pattern easier to see. For many consonant-final roots, such as कर- from करना, the pattern is:

Person	Base before ग	Masculine example	Feminine example
मैं	-ऊँ-	करूँगा	करूँगी
तू / यह / वह	-ए-	करेगा	करेगी
तुम	-ओ-	करोगे	करोगी
हम / आप / ये / वे	-एँ-	करेंगे	करेंगी

The nasal marks matter: करूँगा has ूँ, while करेंगे has ें. In careful writing, do not omit them.

Vowel-final verbs and spelling changes

With verbs ending in a vowel, the sounds combine naturally. It is more effective to learn the complete forms than to attach endings mechanically.

Infinitive	मैं, masculine	वह, feminine	तुम, masculine	हम, masculine
जाना, to go	जाऊँगा	जाएगी	जाओगे	जाएँगे
आना, to come	आऊँगा	आएगी	आओगे	आएँगे
खाना, to eat	खाऊँगा	खाएगी	खाओगे	खाएँगे
पीना, to drink	पिऊँगा	पिएगी	पियोगे	पिएँगे

Notice जाएगा, not जागा, and खाएँगे, not खागे. The written य appears in forms such as जाएगा and पिएगी because of how the stem and ending combine.

Common irregular or shortened bases

Several high-frequency verbs have bases that should be memorized as families:

Infinitive	मैं, masculine	वह, masculine	हम, masculine
होना, to be/happen	होऊँगा	होगा	होंगे
देना, to give	दूँगा	देगा	देंगे
लेना, to take	लूँगा	लेगा	लेंगे

The third-person future of होना is particularly common: होगा / होगी / होंगे / होंगी. It can mean “will be,” “will happen,” or, in advanced use, “is probably.”

Negatives and questions

Put नहीं before the future verb:

• मैं कल नहीं आऊँगा। — I will not come tomorrow. (male speaker)
• वह यह काम नहीं करेगी। — She will not do this work.

A yes/no question can begin with क्या. Question words such as कब “when,” कहाँ “where,” and क्या “what” usually stand near the information they ask about:

• क्या आप कल आएँगे? — Will you come tomorrow?
• तुम कहाँ रहोगे? — Where will you stay? (addressing a male)
• वे क्या खरीदेंगी? — What will they buy? (female group)

Hindi does not change the word order by moving an equivalent of English will. Intonation and क्या can turn the statement आप आएँगे into the question क्या आप आएँगे?

Examples in Context

Hindi	English	Note
मैं अगले साल दिल्ली जाऊँगा।	I will go to Delhi next year.	Male speaker
मैं शाम को फ़ोन करूँगी।	I will call in the evening.	Female speaker
वह दस बजे आएगी।	She will come at ten.	Feminine singular
रवि घर पर रहेगा।	Ravi will stay at home.	Masculine singular
हम साथ में खाना खाएँगे।	We will eat together.	Male or mixed group
हम कल जल्दी निकलेंगी।	We will leave early tomorrow.	All-female group
तुम यह किताब कब लौटाओगे?	When will you return this book?	Addressing a male with तुम
क्या आप चाय लेंगी?	Will you have tea?	Respectfully addressing a woman
बच्चे बाहर खेलेंगे।	The children will play outside.	Masculine or mixed plural
लड़कियाँ मैच देखेंगी।	The girls will watch the match.	Feminine plural
आज बारिश होगी।	It will rain today.	Literally, “There will be rain”
मैं तुम्हें नहीं भूलूँगा।	I will not forget you.	Negative; male speaker
अगर समय मिला, तो हम संग्रहालय जाएँगे।	If we have time, we will go to the museum.	Future result after a real condition
चिंता मत कीजिए, सब ठीक होगा।	Don’t worry; everything will be all right.	Reassurance with होना

Common Mistakes

Using one unchanging form like English “will”

• Wrong: मैं करेगा।
• Right: मैं करूँगा। (male speaker) / मैं करूँगी। (female speaker)
• Why: The future base changes for person. मैं requires करूँ-, not the third-person करे-.

Forgetting the speaker’s gender with मैं

• Wrong: मैं जाऊँगा। (said by a woman about herself)
• Right: मैं जाऊँगी।
• Why: The ending agrees with the speaker. English “I will go” gives no gender clue, but Hindi does.

Treating आप like तुम

• Wrong: आप कब आओगे?
• Right: आप कब आएँगे? / आप कब आएँगी?
• Why: Respectful आप takes the plural-style base आएँ-, not the familiar आओ-.

Dropping the nasal sign

• Wrong: हम खाएगे।
• Right: हम खाएँगे।
• Why: First-person plural and respectful forms use the nasalized -एँ- base. The spelling distinguishes खाएँगे from incorrectly formed खाएगे.

Adding ने because the event is completed later

• Wrong: मैंने कल जाऊँगा।
• Right: मैं कल जाऊँगा।
• Why: ने belongs to certain perfective past constructions, not to the ordinary future. Future agreement is with the subject.

Using the future in both halves of an ordinary if-sentence

• Awkward: अगर समय मिलेगा, तो हम जाएँगे।
• Natural: अगर समय मिला, तो हम जाएँगे।
• Why: For a realistic condition, Hindi commonly uses a perfective or other non-future form in the अगर clause and the future in the result. Actual usage varies, but copying English “if … will …” word for word often sounds unnatural.

Usage Notes

Pronouns may be omitted, but agreement remains

When the context makes the subject obvious, Hindi can omit it: कल आऊँगी। “I’ll come tomorrow” clearly points to a female speaker because of -ऊँगी. The verb ending therefore carries information that English often puts in a pronoun.

Future forms cover plans, predictions, and promises

Hindi does not require separate basic constructions corresponding exactly to English will and be going to. Context and time expressions usually show the intended meaning:

• मैं कल टिकट खरीदूँगा। — I’ll buy / I’m going to buy the ticket tomorrow.
• शायद बारिश होगी। — Perhaps it will rain.
• मैं ज़रूर मदद करूँगी। — I will definitely help.

For a fixed arrangement already in progress, Hindi may also use the present continuous in ways similar to English: मैं कल दिल्ली जा रहा हूँ। “I’m going to Delhi tomorrow.” The simple future instead presents the event as future, without necessarily emphasizing that it is already arranged.

Politeness affects the grammar

The choice among तू, तुम, and आप is not merely vocabulary; it selects a different verb form. In unfamiliar or professional situations, आप is the safest choice. Respectful agreement can also be used for a person spoken about: गांधी जी क्या कहते? and related honorific patterns extend beyond this lesson, but in the future you will commonly hear forms such as दादी आएँगी for a respected grandmother.

कल depends on context

कल can mean either “yesterday” or “tomorrow.” The verb normally resolves the ambiguity: वह कल आया means “He came yesterday,” while वह कल आएगा means “He will come tomorrow.”

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master these points at A2, but they explain several forms you will encounter later.

The future base and the subjunctive

Compare वह आए “he/she may come” or “that he/she come” with वह आएगा / आएगी “he/she will come.” The future is historically and structurally close to the subjunctive base plus the gendered ग element. This is why learning करूँ, करे, करो, करें later will feel familiar after करूँगा, करेगा, करोगे, करेंगे.

Do not assume that every form without ग is simply an abbreviated future. In sentences such as शायद वह आए “perhaps he/she may come” or मैं चाहता हूँ कि तुम आओ “I want you to come,” it is a subjunctive form with its own meaning.

Future forms can express probability about the present

Especially with होना, a future-looking form can express a reasoned guess rather than future time:

• वह अब घर पर होगा। — He is probably at home now.
• वे व्यस्त होंगे। — They are probably busy.

The word अब “now” shows that these are present deductions. English often uses must be, will be, or probably here. This inferential use is common, but beginners can first learn होगा simply as “will be.”

Future questions can function as polite requests

A literal future question may soften a request:

• क्या आप मेरी मदद करेंगे? — Will you help me?
• क्या आप यहाँ बैठेंगी? — Will you sit here? (respectfully to a woman)

Tone and situation determine whether the speaker is asking about a future fact or requesting cooperation. More direct commands belong to the imperative mood.

Real conditions do not map word for word from English

In a likely condition, the future is most at home in the result:

अगर बारिश हुई, तो हम घर पर रहेंगे। — If it rains, we will stay home.

Other types of condition use different forms for hypothetical or impossible situations. Those patterns are best learned after the subjunctive and conditional systems; they should not be built by adding future endings everywhere.

Practice Tips

1. Build a four-form chain. Choose one verb each day and say its forms with मैं, वह, तुम, हम: लिखूँगा, लिखेगा, लिखोगे, लिखेंगे. Repeat with feminine endings. This trains person and agreement together.
2. Personalize your plans. Write five true sentences about tomorrow or next week. If relevant, include one negative and one question: मैं कल काम नहीं करूँगी। क्या तुम शाम को आओगे?
3. Listen for the syllable before ग. In speech, compare करूँगा, करेगा, करोगे, करेंगे. Hearing ऊँ / ए / ओ / एँ is as important as memorizing गा / गी / गे.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Simple Present Tense — provides the basic ideas of Hindi subject agreement and gendered verb forms.
• Next step: Subjunctive Mood — uses the closely related forms ऊँ, ए, ओ, एँ for possibility, wishes, and purpose.