Near future (-ko / -go)

The near future in Basque is very regular: you add a particle to the verb in its base form and keep the auxiliary conjugated in the present. With this lesson you unlock almost any “I will do, I will go, I will see…”.

The rule in one line

Base verb + -ko or -go + auxiliary (present)

Verb	Base form	Future	Example
joan (to go)	joan	joango	Bilbora joango naiz (I will go to Bilbao)
etorri (to come)	etorri	etorriko	Bihar etorriko da (He/she will come tomorrow)
ikusi (to see)	ikusi	ikusiko	Filma ikusiko dut (I will see the film)
jan (to eat)	jan	jango	Pizza jango dugu (We will eat pizza)
eskatu (to order)	eskatu	eskatuko	Kafea eskatuko dut (I will order coffee)

The -ko vs -go rule

It’s a purely phonetic choice:

• -go after n (those ending in -n: joan, jan, izan, egon, eraman).
• -ko after anything else.

Examples:

• joan → joango (n + go)
• jan → jango (n + go)
• izan → izango (n + go)
• ikusi → ikusiko (i + ko)
• erosi → erosiko (i + ko)
• eskatu → eskatuko (u + ko)

If you slip and say joan-ko, everyone will still understand you. But the correct and natural form is joango.

The auxiliary stays in the present

Even though the sentence looks to the future, the auxiliary does not change:

Person	Auxiliary (NOR)	Example
ni	naiz	Bilbora joango naiz
zu	zara	Bilbora joango zara
hura	da	Bilbora joango da
gu	gara	Bilbora joango gara
zuek	zarete	Bilbora joango zarete
haiek	dira	Bilbora joango dira

The same goes for the transitive auxiliary (ukan) when there is an object:

Person	Auxiliary (NOR-NORK)	Example
nik	dut	Filma ikusiko dut
zuk	duzu	Filma ikusiko duzu
hark	du	Filma ikusiko du
guk	dugu	Filma ikusiko dugu
zuek	duzue	Filma ikusiko duzue
haiek	dute	Filma ikusiko dute

Examples in context

• Bihar mendira joango naiz. — Tomorrow I will go to the mountains.
• Datorren astean klasera etorriko zara? — Will you come to class next week?
• Asteburuan film bat ikusiko dugu. — This weekend we will watch a film.
• Etzi familia etorriko da. — The day after tomorrow the family will come.
• Larunbatean lan egingo dut. — On Saturday I will work.

Negation

To negate, add ez in front of the auxiliary (which moves to first position):

• Bihar ez naiz Bilbora joango. — Tomorrow I will not go to Bilbao.
• Filma ez dut ikusiko. — I will not watch the film.

And the question:

• Etorriko al zara? — Will you come?
• Joango al gara mendira? — Will we go to the mountains?

Cultural note: in Basque the future with -ko/-go is also used for many things that in English are just the present: Zer hartuko duzu? — “What are you having / going to have?”. It is one of the most characteristic “voices” of the language; the sooner your ear settles into it, the better.