wäerten

Luxembourgish

Alternative forms

• wäerden (archaic)

Etymology

From Middle High German werden (“to become”). Non-auxiliary and passive-auxiliary use became obsolete over time, being assumed by ginn (literally “to give”, an unusual semantic development shared by most of Moselle Franconian). This led to the loss of all past forms and ultimately the generalisation of /t/ to the 1st and 3rd persons plural. Cognate with German werden, Dutch worden, English worth, Icelandic verða.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈveːrten/, [ˈvɛːə̯.tən]

Verb

wäerten

1. (auxiliary) Used with the infinitive of a verb to form the future tense.

   Ech wäert mer dat emol ukucken.

   I’m going to have a look at that.

   Du wäerts dech wonneren!

   You’ll see! / You’ll be surprised!

   Et wäert muer schneien.

   It’s going to snow tomorrow.

   Se wäerten nach op der Schaff sinn.

   They’ll still be at work. / They are probably still at work.

Usage notes

• The future tense often expresses a probability, possibility, wish or threat referring to the future or present. Otherwise the present tense is more common, except when the future must be expressed to avoid ambiguity.