Maltese verbs: learn the future tense!

Maltese verbs can be tricky, since they're based on Arabic. For Arabic speakers, Maltese is more or less a simpler version of Arabic. That's not good news for non-Arabic speakers: they'll have to learn it.

So how is the future tense formed in Maltese? Well, you take the present tense of the verb and put either ħa or se in front of the verb. Don't attach the verb though, keep a space in between the two. So for 'to work', that's:

This is where Maltese is spoken. ©

• se/ħa naħdem (I will work)       
• se/ħa taħdem (you will work)                                              
• se/ħa jaħdem (he will work)                                               
• se/ħa taħdem (she will work)                                           
• se/ħa naħdmu (we will work)                                              
• se/ħa taħdmu (you will work)                                              
• se/ħa jaħdmu (they will work) 

If you know the present tense already, it's the most easiest tense to learn!

There are two exceptions though: to be and to have. Here they are:

To be
I will be: (i)nkun
You will be: tkun
He will be: ikun or jkun
She will be: tkun
We will be: (i)nkunu
You will be: tkunu
They will be: ikunu or jkunu

Mind the i is, where indicated, put if the previous word ends with a consonant. The conjugation is similar to the present tense.

To have
I will have: ikolli
You will have: ikollok
He will have: ikollu
She will have: ikollha
We will have: ikollna
You will have: ikollkom
They will have: ikollhom

The ending is the same as for the present tense of to have, except the second is -ok instead of -ek.

More grammar in my book!

Here's my free Maltese course, my paid course and some extra resources to further learn Maltese. The past tense is explained here.