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

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

   Het zal toch niet werken.

   It will not work anyway.

   Dat zal niet gebeuren.

   That will not happen.

2. (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.

3. (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

Although there are two conjugated forms for the second person in the present, there is no preferred or more common form as both are used and understood universally throughout the Dutch-speaking world. One or the other may be preferred only in certain regions but even there both are used interchangeably.

Inflection

Inflection 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	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.

Descendants

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