verða (Will Be)

Will Be (Verða)

Level 2

To say will be, use verða in place of vera: Ég verð heima á morgun (I'll be at home tomorrow).

How It Works

Forms.

  • ég verð, þú verður, hann / hún / það verður
  • við verðum, þið verðið, þeir / þær / þau verða

With þú the question form joins up as verðurðu: Hvar verðurðu um jólin?

How to use it. When English says "will be", Icelandic usually uses verða in place of vera. What follows is the same as after vera: a place, an adjective or a noun.

  • A place: Ég verð heima á morgun.
  • An adjective: Það verður kalt í kvöld.
  • An event: Veislan verður á laugardaginn. (The party will be on Saturday.)

For a fixed plan, the present of vera with a time word also works: Veislan er á laugardaginn.

Adjectives after verða agree with the subject, just as after vera: Hún verður þreytt, Hann verður þreyttur.

Other meanings of verða. verða also means "become" or "turn": Hún verður þrítug á morgun (She turns thirty tomorrow). Its past, varð, means "became", not "was": Hann varð reiður (He got angry). See verða. With að + infinitive it means "must": Ég verð að fara (verða að).

For actions rather than states, use the present tense or ætla að.

Examples (6)

  1. Ég verð heima á morgun.

    I'll be at home tomorrow.

    Word by Word: I will-be home tomorrow.

  2. Það verður kalt í kvöld.

    It will be cold tonight.

    Word by Word: It will-be cold tonight.

  3. Hvar verðurðu um jólin?

    Where will you be at Christmas?

    Word by Word: Where will-be-you around the-Christmas?

    verðurðu is verður þú joined together.

  4. Við verðum í Reykjavík alla helgina.

    We'll be in Reykjavík all weekend.

    Word by Word: We will-be in Reykjavík all the-weekend.

  5. Veislan verður á laugardaginn.

    The party will be on Saturday.

    Word by Word: The-party will-be on the-Saturday.

  6. Hún verður þrítug á morgun.

    She turns thirty tomorrow.

    Word by Word: She becomes thirty tomorrow.

    Here verða means "become". The meanings "will be" and "become" often overlap.

Common Mistakes

  • Adding vera after verða, as in English "will be".

    Ég verð vera heima á morgun.
    Ég verð heima á morgun.

    verða already means "will be". It replaces vera instead of helping it.

  • Using the plural form with a singular subject.

    Það verða kalt í kvöld.
    Það verður kalt í kvöld.

    With það (it) the form is verður. verða is for þeir, þær and þau.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

verða (Will Be)Level 2Will Be (Verða)

Learn This First

verða (will be) builds on vera and the present for the future.

Words in This Pattern

verða