The future tense
Arabic · Key Stage 2 · The School
Two ways to mark the future
يَكْتُبُ means he writes, present tense. سَيَكْتُبُ means he will write — just سَـ attached to the front. سَوْفَ يَكْتُبُ means the same thing, written as a separate word rather than a prefix.
Near versus far, informally
Many speakers treat سَـ as fairly soon. سَوْفَ can feel more distant or more formal. This is just a tendency, not a strict rule. Both are correct future tense everywhere. The choice is mostly about style.
The present tense underneath never changes
Whichever marker you use, the verb itself does not change. Only the front of the word changes. English works differently. 'Write' becomes 'will write' — a whole new two-word phrase.
Building a future sentence
سَأَذْهَبُ إِلَى المَدْرَسةِ غَداً — I will go to school tomorrow. Break it down: سَـ marks the future, أَذْهَبُ is "I go" in the present, the rest of the sentence is unchanged. Try replacing غَداً with another time word, such as tomorrow morning or next week. Then build your own future sentence starting from a present-tense verb you already know, saying it aloud before you write it down.