German grammar › B1
Plusquamperfekt & future tenses
Level B1 · Past-before-the-past, will-do, and will-have-done — three tenses on one timeline
Why three more tenses?
These tenses place actions on the timeline: something that happened before another past event (Plusquamperfekt), something in the future (Futur I), or something that will be finished by a future time (Futur II).
When you use them
- Telling a story in order: Ich hatte schon gegessen, als er kam.
- Promises and predictions: Ich werde dir helfen.
- Guesses about now: Er wird krank sein. (He’s probably ill.)
Pattern
hatte / war + Partizip II · werden + infinitive
What changes
the helper (hatte / war or werden) changes with the person; the other verb goes to the end
Examples
- Ich hatte gegessen. — I had eaten.
- Ich werde kommen. — I will come.
Remember: Past before the past → hatte / war · future → werden.
Watch out: werden is not wanting: Ich will = I want · Ich werde = I will.
Builds on: Perfekt and Präteritum.
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