Kurmanji Grammar Series — Lesson 08. Learn how to discuss future plans, promises and predictions in Kurmanji Kurdish, with English explanations, Kurdish examples and a free illustrated PDF. Download the four-page PDF workbook.
Learning objectives — Armancên fêrbûnê
Understand common future-time expressions, form future sentences using ê/dê and non-indicative verbs, negate future clauses, ask questions and discuss plans or predictions.
01 / Future time and tense — Dema dahatû
Kurmanji can express future reference with a future particle and a non-indicative verb form. Present indicative forms may also refer to scheduled future events when the context is clear. English “will” does not always have one mechanically equivalent form.
02 / Core pattern — Avakirina dema dahatû
A standard-oriented teaching pattern is subject + ê + subjunctive-form verb: Ez ê biçim (I will go), Tu yê biçî (You will go), Ew ê biçe (He/she will go). The future marker also occurs as dê in many varieties. Its form and position may vary regionally.
03 / Future paradigm: çûn — Rêzkirina çûn
The verb çûn (to go) uses a non-indicative form in this construction. Note Tu yê in the singular second-person example.
| Person | Future form | English |
|---|---|---|
| ez | Ez ê biçim. | I will go |
| tu | Tu yê biçî. | You will go |
| ew | Ew ê biçe. | He/she will go |
| em | Em ê biçin. | We will go |
| hûn | Hûn ê biçin. | You (plural) will go |
| ew | Ew ê biçin. | They will go |
04 / Present versus future — Dema niha û dahatû
Compare Ez diçim (I go / am going) with Ez ê biçim (I will go). The indicative often has di-, while the future construction here uses non-indicative verb morphology often marked by bi-. Some verbs have irregular patterns.
| Present indicative | Future |
|---|---|
| Ez diçim. | Ez ê biçim. |
| Ez dixwînim. | Ez ê bixwînim. |
| Em diaxivin. | Em ê biaxivin. |
05 / Useful verbs — Lêkerên din
Ez ê bixwînim (I will read), Ez ê bibînim (I will see), Ez ê bikim (I will do), Ez ê binivîsim (I will write), Em ê biaxivin (We will speak). These illustrate common patterns, not a universal rule for every verb.
06 / Negative future — Neyîniya dema dahatû
A common negative future pattern uses ne- on the verb: Ez ê biçim → Ez ê neçim (I will go → I will not go), Ez ê bixwînim → Ez ê nexwînim (I will read → I will not read), Em ê biçin → Em ê neçin. Do not transfer indicative na- automatically.
| Affirmative future | Negative future |
|---|---|
| Ez ê biçim. | Ez ê neçim. |
| Em ê biçin. | Em ê neçin. |
| Ez ê bixwînim. | Ez ê nexwînim. |
07 / Questions — Pirsên dema dahatû
Tu yê biçî? (Will you go?), Hûn ê biçin? (Will you [plural] go?), Tu yê kengî biçî? (When will you go?), Tu yê li ku bixwînî? (Where will you study/read?). Yes/no questions may rely on intonation.
08 / Future-time words — Peyvên dema dahatû
sibê (tomorrow), piştî vê (after this), hefteya bê (next week), sala bê (next year), di pêşerojê de (in the future). Example: Ez ê sibê biçim (I will go tomorrow).
09 / Plans and predictions — Plan, soz, pêşbînî
Future constructions can describe intentions, promises, plans and predictions: Ez ê sibê bixwînim (I will study tomorrow), Em ê hefteya bê biaxivin (We will talk next week). The context determines the interpretation.
10 / Future and mood — Dahatû û awayê lêkerê
The future particle appears with forms commonly described as subjunctive or non-indicative. The prefix bi- does not mean “future” by itself; the construction as a whole expresses future reference.
11 / Common errors — Çewtiyên gelemperî
Avoid Ez ê diçim as the default future pattern taught here; do not mix indicative di- with ê + subjunctive; do not forget person endings or assume every verb takes bi- identically.
12 / Dialogue — Axaftin
A: Tu yê sibê çi bikî? (What will you do tomorrow?) B: Ez ê sibê bixwînim. (I will study tomorrow.) A: Tu yê piştî vê biçî? (Will you go after this?) B: Erê, ez ê biçim. (Yes, I will go.)
13 / Exercises — Rahênan
A. Complete: Ez __ biçim; Tu __ biçî; Ew __ biçe; Em __ biçin. B. Change to future: Ez diçim; Ez dixwînim; Em diaxivin. C. Negate: Ez ê biçim; Em ê biçin; Ez ê bixwînim. D. Translate: “I will go tomorrow”; “Will you go?”; “We will study next week.” E. Why does bi- not independently mean “future”? F. Name two future-time expressions.
14 / Answer key — Bersiv
A. ê; yê; ê; ê. B. Ez ê biçim; Ez ê bixwînim; Em ê biaxivin. C. Ez ê neçim; Em ê neçin; Ez ê nexwînim. D. Ez ê sibê biçim; Tu yê biçî?; Em ê hefteya bê bixwînin. E. Future meaning comes from the whole construction; bi- also appears in non-future non-indicative contexts. F. sibê; hefteya bê.
15 / Sources and editorial notes — Çavkanî
Background references: W. M. Thackston (2006), Kurmanji Kurdish: A Reference Grammar; Geoffrey Haig and Ergin Öpengin, scholarly descriptions of Northern Kurdish. This is an original pedagogical synthesis. Regional forms and usage can vary.
16 / Next lesson — Dersa pêş
Lesson 09: Perfect and Compound Tenses — Dema temamkirî û demên hevedudanî. Lesson 10 will cover modal verbs and modal expressions.
PDF workbook: Download Lesson 08 — Future Tense (Dema Dahatû).
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