Lesson goal
In this lesson, we will look at three main ways to talk about the future: with skal, vil, and the present tense with a time expression. This will help you talk about plans, intentions, arrangements, and upcoming events.
New vocabulary
skal reise — to be going to travel, will travel
skal møte — to be going to meet, will meet
vil lære — to want to learn, want to master
vil kjøpe — to want to buy, will buy / want to buy
i morgen — tomorrow
neste uke — next week
senere — later
snart — soon
Useful phrases
Jeg skal reise i morgen. — I will travel tomorrow.
Hun vil lære mer norsk. — She wants to learn more Norwegian.
Vi møtes neste uke. — We are meeting next week.
Det blir fint vær snart. — The weather will be nice soon.
Jeg skal møte en venn senere. — I will meet a friend later.
Vi skal kjøpe mat i morgen. — We will buy food tomorrow.
Han vil reise neste uke. — He wants to travel next week.
Bussen går snart. — The bus leaves soon.
Grammar
In Norwegian, the future is often expressed not by a separate tense, but by different constructions. Skal usually shows a plan, an arrangement, or something that has already been decided: Jeg skal reise i morgen. This is close to “be going to” or “definitely will.” Vil more often expresses desire, intention, or willingness: Hun vil lære mer norsk. In many cases, this is not just a future fact, but a personal wish. The present tense is also often used for the future if there is a time expression and the context makes it clear that the meaning is future: Vi møtes neste uke, Bussen går snart. This way is especially common with schedules, arrangements, and near-future events. Another useful pattern is blir for a future result or state: Det blir fint vær snart. It is important to look not only at the verb form, but also at the meaning: a decision, a wish, a schedule, or an expected result.
Examples
Jeg skal møte læreren i morgen. — I will meet the teacher tomorrow.
Vi skal reise til Oslo neste uke. — We will travel to Oslo next week.
Hun vil kjøpe en ny bok senere. — She wants to buy a new book later.
Jeg vil lære norsk bedre. — I want to learn Norwegian better.
Toget går snart. — The train leaves soon.
Kurset begynner neste uke. — The course starts next week.
De møtes i morgen kveld. — They are meeting tomorrow evening.
Det blir mørkt snart. — It will get dark soon.
Han skal kjøpe mat etter jobb. — He will buy food after work.
Barna vil reise hjem senere. — The children will want / want to go home later.