zullen

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch solen, suelen, sollen, sullen, from Old Dutch sulan, from Proto-West Germanic *skulan, from Proto-Germanic *skulaną. Compare German sollen, English shall, Danish skulle.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈzʏ.lə(n)/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: zul‧len
• Rhymes: -ʏlən

Verb

zullen

2. (auxiliary, present tense) used to form the future tense of a verb, together with an infinitive; will, going to

   Ik zal zingen.

   I shall sing.

   Het zal toch niet werken.

   It will not work anyway.

   Dat zal niet gebeuren.

   That will not happen.

4. (auxiliary, past tense) used to form the conditional mood of a verb, together with an infinitive; would

   Het werk zou nu af zijn geweest als jij je niet had verslapen.

   The work would have been finished now if you hadn't overslept.

   Dat zou ik niet doen als ik jou was.

   I would not do that if I were you.

6. (modal auxiliary) used to indicate intent or disposition to perform an action in the future: will, shall, be going to, may, might

   Het zou vandaag regenen.

   It was going to rain today.

   Zal ik eerst gaan?

   Shall I go first?

Usage notes

• In the second-person singular, the forms je / u zult and je / u zal are both entirely correct, but the latter is considered more informal in the Netherlands; especially u zal is rarely seen in writing. In Belgium both sets of forms are used interchangeably. Historically, u (U. E. in obsolete usage) was a third-person pronoun and very often took zal (or sal), although second-person forms of zullen are often attested early as well.
• Like most Germanic languages, Dutch prefers to use the present tense when the context already expresses the future: Volgende week koop ik een nieuwe auto. (“Next week I [will] buy a new car.”) The future tense is used chiefly when needed for comprehension. Using it in sentences such as the aforementioned is grammatical, but may sound clumsy especially when repeated in consecutive sentences.

Conjugation

Conjugation of zullen (preterite-present)
infinitive	zullen
past singular	zou
past participle	—
infinitive	zullen
gerund	zullen n
	present tense	past tense
1st person singular	zal	zou
2nd person sing. (jij)	zult, zal, zul2	zou
2nd person sing. (u)	zult, zal	zou
2nd person sing. (gij)	zult	zoudt
3rd person singular	zal	zou
plural	zullen	zouden
subjunctive sing.1	zulle	zoude
subjunctive plur.1	zullen	zouden
imperative sing.	zal
imperative plur.1	zult
participles	zullend	—
1) Archaic. 2) In case of inversion.

Descendants

• Afrikaans: sal
• Jersey Dutch: zal
• Negerhollands: sa, sal
• Skepi Creole Dutch: sa