Future Tense in Swedish

In Brief

Swedish does not have one dedicated future tense or a single exact equivalent of English will. It usually expresses the future with ska + infinitive for an intention or plan, kommer att + infinitive for a prediction, or the present tense when a future time or arrangement is already clear: Jag ska resa imorgon, Det kommer att regna, Vi åker nästa vecka.

Overview

Talking about the future in Swedish is mainly a matter of choosing a construction, not learning new verb endings. At B1, the essential contrast is between something that is intended, something that is predicted, and something presented as scheduled or settled. Swedish often makes this distinction more explicitly than English, where will, be going to, and the present progressive can overlap.

The two words ska and kommer are finite verbs (verbs marked for tense and placed as the main verb of the clause). The following action stays in the infinitive, the basic verb form found in a dictionary: resa “travel,” äta “eat,” or bli “become.” After ska, there is no att. The construction with kommer normally appears as kommer att.

Future meaning can also come from context alone. A present-tense sentence such as Tåget går klockan sex is grammatically present but refers to a departure at six in the future. Learning to choose among these natural options is more useful than trying to replace every English will with the same Swedish word.

How It Works

The core choice

Construction	Basic structure	Typical use	Example
ska + infinitive	ska + basic verb	intention, decision, promise, arranged plan	Jag ska ringa henne.
kommer att + infinitive	kommer att + basic verb	prediction or expected result	Priserna kommer att stiga.
present tense	present-tense verb, usually with future context	timetable, appointment, settled arrangement	Mötet börjar klockan nio.

These categories are tendencies rather than airtight boxes. A speaker’s choice also shows how they view the event. The same event can be framed as a plan, a prediction, or a fixed arrangement.

1. ska for plans, intentions, and commitments

Use ska + infinitive when the subject intends to act or when the event is treated as planned. Ska has the same form for every subject:

Subject	Structure	Example
jag	ska + infinitive	Jag ska laga middag. — I’m going to cook dinner.
du	ska + infinitive	Du ska träffa Karin. — You’re going to meet Karin.
hon/han/den/det	ska + infinitive	Hon ska börja studera. — She’s going to start studying.
vi/ni/de	ska + infinitive	Vi ska flytta. — We’re going to move.

The infinitive follows directly, without att:

• Jag ska resa imorgon. — I’m going to travel tomorrow.
• Hon ska bli läkare. — She’s going to become a doctor.
• Vi ska inte köpa bilen. — We aren’t going to buy the car.

Ska can also express a promise or firm commitment: Jag ska hjälpa dig can mean “I’ll help you.” With du, it may sound like an instruction or obligation rather than a neutral future: Du ska vara här klockan åtta means “You are to be here at eight.” Context and tone therefore matter.

In questions, ska often asks about a plan or proposes a shared action:

• Ska du jobba imorgon? — Are you going to work tomorrow?
• Ska vi gå? — Shall we go?

2. kommer att for predictions

Use kommer att + infinitive when you predict an event, describe an expected development, or state a likely consequence. The subject does not need to intend or control the event.

• Det kommer att regna. — It is going to rain.
• Du kommer att tycka om filmen. — You’re going to like the film.
• Det här kommer att ta tid. — This will take time.
• Fler människor kommer att arbeta hemifrån. — More people will work from home.

Here, kommer is the present form of komma, but the whole construction does not mean physical movement toward a place. Compare:

• Hon kommer till kontoret klockan nio. — She comes/is coming to the office at nine.
• Hon kommer att arbeta hemifrån. — She will work from home.

The att marks the future construction clearly. In everyday speech and some informal writing, it is also common to hear or see kommer followed directly by an infinitive, as in Det kommer bli bra. Keeping att is a dependable choice for learners and is common in careful writing.

3. The present tense for scheduled or settled events

Swedish frequently uses the ordinary present tense for future events when a time expression, timetable, or shared context makes the future reference obvious.

• Vi åker nästa vecka. — We’re leaving next week.
• Bussen går om fem minuter. — The bus leaves in five minutes.
• Jag träffar tandläkaren på torsdag. — I’m seeing the dentist on Thursday.
• När börjar kursen? — When does the course start?

This is especially natural for transport, calendars, appointments, and firmly arranged activities. English also uses a present form for some future arrangements, but Swedish uses the simple present where English often prefers the present progressive: Vi äter hos Anna ikväll is literally structured like “We eat at Anna’s tonight,” but idiomatic English is “We’re eating at Anna’s tonight.”

Without a future time phrase or supporting context, a present-tense sentence can instead describe a current habit. Jag jobbar hemma normally means “I work from home,” while Jag jobbar hemma imorgon clearly refers to tomorrow.

Choosing the meaning, not translating will

Consider one future event viewed in three ways:

Swedish	Natural interpretation
Jag ska åka till Göteborg på fredag.	I plan/intend to go to Gothenburg on Friday.
Jag kommer att åka till Göteborg ofta i mitt nya jobb.	I predict or expect that I will go there often in my new job.
Jag åker till Göteborg på fredag.	The Friday trip is arranged or settled.

English will may translate any of these depending on context. Before choosing a Swedish form, ask:

1. Is this someone’s intention, decision, or promise? Choose ska.
2. Is this mainly a prediction or expected outcome? Choose kommer att.
3. Is it on a schedule or already arranged? The present tense is often most natural.

Negation and main-clause word order

In a normal main clause, inte comes after the finite verb:

Type	Pattern	Example
ska	subject + ska + inte + infinitive	Jag ska inte stanna länge.
kommer att	subject + kommer + inte + att + infinitive	Det kommer inte att fungera.
present	subject + present verb + inte	Tåget går inte imorgon.

Swedish main clauses follow the V2 rule, meaning that the finite verb occupies the second structural position. If a time expression comes first, the subject moves after the finite verb:

• Imorgon ska jag arbeta hemma. — Tomorrow I’m going to work from home.
• Nästa år kommer företaget att växa. — Next year the company will grow.
• På fredag åker vi till Malmö. — On Friday we’re going to Malmö.

Do not count individual words mechanically: Nästa år is one opening unit, so kommer follows that whole unit.

Questions

Yes/no questions begin with the finite verb:

• Ska ni resa i sommar? — Are you going to travel this summer?
• Kommer det att bli dyrt? — Will it be expensive?
• Börjar filmen snart? — Does the film start soon?

With a question word, the finite verb follows that question element:

• När ska du ringa? — When are you going to call?
• Hur kommer det att påverka oss? — How will it affect us?
• Vilken tid går tåget? — What time does the train leave?

Examples in Context

Swedish	English	Note
Jag ska resa imorgon.	I’m going to travel tomorrow.	Personal plan with ska.
Hon ska bli läkare.	She’s going to become a doctor.	Long-term intention or expected path.
Vi ska inte stanna så länge.	We aren’t going to stay that long.	Inte follows ska.
Ska vi beställa pizza?	Shall we order pizza?	Suggestion about a shared action.
Jag ska ringa dig när jag kommer hem.	I’ll call you when I get home.	Promise; Swedish uses present kommer after när.
Det kommer att regna i kväll.	It’s going to rain this evening.	Weather prediction.
Du kommer att förstå senare.	You’ll understand later.	Expected future result.
Det kommer inte att bli lätt.	It won’t be easy.	Negative prediction.
Den nya lagen kommer att påverka många.	The new law will affect many people.	Neutral forecast.
Vi åker nästa vecka.	We’re leaving next week.	Settled arrangement in the present tense.
Tåget avgår klockan 14.10.	The train departs at 2:10 p.m.	Published schedule.
På måndag börjar jag på mitt nya jobb.	On Monday I start my new job.	Time first; finite verb remains second.
När träffas vi nästa gång?	When are we meeting next?	Future context makes the present clear.
Om du frågar henne, hjälper hon dig säkert.	If you ask her, she’ll probably help you.	Present forms can refer to the future in a condition.

Common Mistakes

Adding att after ska

• Wrong: Jag ska att köpa mat.
• Right: Jag ska köpa mat.
• Why: Like other Swedish modal verbs, ska takes the infinitive directly. English “going to buy” does not determine Swedish structure.

Leaving out att in careful use of kommer att

• Less suitable as a learner’s default: Det kommer regna.
• Safe standard form: Det kommer att regna.
• Why: The shorter construction is common, particularly in speech, but kommer att + infinitive is the clearest general pattern and avoids confusion with the movement verb komma.

Using ska for every English will

• Awkward for a neutral prediction: Priserna ska stiga kraftigt nästa år.
• Better: Priserna kommer att stiga kraftigt nästa år.
• Why: Ska can imply a plan, requirement, or information attributed to a source. For a straightforward prediction, kommer att is usually clearer.

Forgetting inversion after a time expression

• Wrong: Imorgon jag ska jobba.
• Right: Imorgon ska jag jobba.
• Why: In a Swedish main clause, the finite verb is in second position. When imorgon comes first, ska must come before the subject jag.

Putting inte after the action verb

• Wrong: Jag ska gå inte dit.
• Right: Jag ska inte gå dit.
• Why: In a main clause, inte normally follows the finite verb ska, not the infinitive gå.

Assuming a present form always means “now”

• Misreading: Vi äter där imorgon as “We eat there now tomorrow.”
• Correct meaning: “We’re eating there tomorrow.”
• Why: The time expression supplies the future meaning. Swedish does not need a progressive form equivalent to English “are eating.”

Usage Notes

Ska can report what is expected or said

Not every occurrence of ska describes the subject’s own intention. It can report an expectation, instruction, or information from another source:

• Bussen ska komma klockan tio. — The bus is supposed to come at ten.
• Det ska bli soligt imorgon. — It is supposed to be sunny tomorrow.
• Rapporten ska vara klar på fredag. — The report is to be ready on Friday.

In these sentences, ska resembles English “is supposed to” or “is to.” A weather forecast with ska may therefore present reported forecast information, while kommer att presents the speaker’s prediction more directly.

The present tense often sounds concise and confident

When the arrangement is firm, adding ska may be unnecessary. Jag flyger till Berlin på tisdag simply places the flight on the calendar. Jag ska flyga till Berlin på tisdag gives more attention to the plan. Neither is automatically more future than the other.

Time expressions that often signal the future

Common markers include imorgon “tomorrow,” i kväll “this evening,” nästa vecka “next week,” senare “later,” snart “soon,” om en timme “in an hour,” and named days such as på fredag “on Friday.” A time marker helps, but shared context can do the same job: after discussing next summer, Vi bor hos min syster may clearly mean “We’ll stay at my sister’s.”

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

tänker emphasizes intention

Tänker + infinitive can mean “intend to” or “am planning to.” It often highlights the person’s present intention more explicitly than ska:

• Jag tänker söka jobbet. — I intend to apply for the job.
• Tänker du säga något? — Are you going to say anything?

As with ska, no att is used before the following infinitive in this construction. Do not confuse it with tänker på, “think about”: Jag tänker på jobbet means “I’m thinking about the job.”

Future viewed from the past

To talk about a future event from a past viewpoint, Swedish often uses skulle + infinitive. Skulle is the past form historically related to ska, though it also has important conditional uses.

• Hon sa att hon skulle ringa. — She said that she would call.
• Jag visste inte att mötet skulle ta så lång tid. — I didn’t know that the meeting would take so long.

This is often called future in the past: the calling or the end of the meeting was still in the future at the past moment being described.

Present tense in future subordinate clauses

After words such as när “when,” om “if,” and så fort “as soon as,” Swedish normally uses the present tense when the subordinate clause refers to the future:

• Jag ringer när jag kommer hem. — I’ll call when I get home.
• Om det regnar, stannar vi inne. — If it rains, we’ll stay inside.
• Vi börjar så fort hon kommer. — We’ll start as soon as she arrives.

This resembles English in many cases: standard English also says “when I get home,” not “when I will get home.” Notice that Swedish can use the present in both clauses when the future meaning is clear.

Probable conclusions with lär

At a more advanced level, lär + infinitive can express a probable conclusion or expectation:

• Det lär bli dyrt. — It will probably be expensive.
• Hon lär komma senare. — She will probably come later.

This is not a basic neutral future form. It adds the speaker’s judgment that something is likely, and it is more common in written or relatively formal language than in simple everyday planning.

Subordinate-clause negation

In a subordinate clause (a clause that depends on another clause), inte normally comes before the finite verb, unlike in a main clause:

• Main clause: Han kommer inte att arbeta imorgon. — He will not work tomorrow.
• Subordinate clause: Jag tror att han inte kommer att arbeta imorgon. — I think that he will not work tomorrow.

This difference belongs to the wider Swedish word-order system, but future constructions make it especially visible because they contain more than one verb.

Practice Tips

1. Sort future sentences by viewpoint. Take ten English sentences with will or going to and label each one “intention,” “prediction,” or “fixed arrangement” before translating it. Then choose ska, kommer att, or the present tense.
2. Move the time phrase. Practise pairs such as Jag ska jobba hemma imorgon and Imorgon ska jag jobba hemma. This trains both future forms and the V2 word-order rule.
3. Listen for real choices. In Swedish forecasts, travel announcements, and conversations, note whether speakers use ska, kommer att, or the present. Record the surrounding context rather than memorising the construction by itself.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Modal Verbs — explains why ska is followed directly by an infinitive and provides the foundation for its word order.