wollen or werden?

Q: wollen or werden?

English *will* is a future tense; German wollen is not: it states an intention. The future is built with werden - or, far more often, with the present tense plus a time expression.

English will is a future tense; German wollen is not: it states an intention. The future is built with werden - or, far more often, with the present tense plus a time expression.

wollen

The modal verb of intention and will. It says what someone plans, not what will happen.

Ich will nächstes Jahr nach Wien ziehen.I intend to move to Vienna next year.

werden

With an infinitive it forms the future, often with a hint of prediction or promise. In everyday speech the present usually suffices: Morgen komme ich.

Es wird morgen regnen.It is going to rain tomorrow.

The mistake

Ich will dich morgen anrufen - gemeint ist eine einfache Ankündigung.

Ich rufe dich morgen an.

The wrong sentence sounds like an intention with a reservation, almost a wish. A plain announcement goes in the present; werden would be a formal commitment.

Rule of thumb

Ask whether someone has decided it or whether it will simply happen. Decision: wollen. Happening: present tense, or werden if you must.

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