Studying and My Future - Vocabulary and Talking About Plans

Talking about your future

Thematic Context 5 is all about studying and the future - school, university, careers and ambitions. You will learn the key vocabulary (with its article, so you know the gender) and, most usefully, how to talk about your plans using the future tense: the verb *werden* plus an infinitive at the end. Get that pattern and you can say what you will do about almost anything.

Words for school and the future

Learn each noun WITH its article - that is how you remember its gender. (Notice that German writes every noun with a capital letter.)

Match the German to the English

What die Zukunft means in German

Your German exchange partner talks about their plans for "die Zukunft". What are they talking about?

• The future
• Their homework
• Their school
• A specific job

The future tense: werden + infinitive

To say what you will do, use the verb *werden* plus an infinitive - and send that infinitive to the END of the clause. - ich werde studieren - I will study\n- du wirst arbeiten - you will work\n- er / sie wird reisen - he / she will travel\n- wir werden an der Universität studieren - we will study at university\n\nTo say how long you have been doing something that is still going on, use seit + present: *ich lerne seit zwei Jahren Deutsch* - I have been learning German for two years.

Complete the plans

To say what you will do, use the verb _____ plus an infinitive at the end. So "I will study" is "ich _____ studieren". A polite way to say "I would" is "ich _____" [Higher]. The word for career is der _____, and the word for the future is die _____.

Which one is the future?

Which sentence uses the future tense (werden + infinitive) to talk about a plan?

• Ich werde Medizin studieren (I will study medicine)
• Ich studiere Medizin (I study medicine)
• Ich habe Medizin studiert (I studied medicine)
• Ich studiere seit einem Jahr Medizin (I have been studying medicine for a year)

Two useful patterns

Keep these two apart - they answer different questions. One looks forward; one shows how long something has been going on.

Match each phrase to its meaning

Which talk about the future?

Select the TWO sentences that talk about a future plan.

• Ich werde nach Berlin reisen (I will travel to Berlin)
• Ich werde einen Beruf finden (I will find a job)
• Gestern habe ich Deutsch gelernt (Yesterday I learned German)
• Jetzt esse ich einen Apfel (Now I am eating an apple)

Build the sentence

Put the words in order to make "Ich werde an der Universität studieren" (I will study at university). Remember: the infinitive goes to the END.

• Ich
• werde
• an der
• Universität
• studieren

Say it in German

Three situations. Choose the German that correctly talks about a future plan.

• You want to say "I will work". Which is correct?
• A friend asks about your plans after school. Which reply talks about the future?
• How do you say you have been learning German for two years (and still are)?

Du bist dran! (Your turn)

Write a few sentences in German about your future plans. Use the future tense (werden + infinitive) at least twice, and include some of the vocabulary from this module.

• Use "ich werde" + an infinitive at least twice (for example ich werde studieren, ich werde arbeiten)
• Mention school, university or a career using words like die Schule, die Universität or der Beruf
• Remember to send the infinitive to the END of the clause
• Check your umlauts, your capital letters on nouns, and each article (der, die, das)

Send the infinitive to the end

Two things push a German answer up. First, the future tense (werden + infinitive, infinitive at the end) is your reliable tool for any plan - use it confidently and often. Second, small details win marks: get your umlauts right (die Universität, die Zukunft), give every noun a capital letter and the correct article, and remember seit + present for ongoing study. If you can also drop in a conditional - "ich würde..." [Higher] - you show real range. Plan it, spell it, capitalise it.