GrammarFuture Tense
Future Tense
Russian verbs can express the future in two different ways, depending on the verb's aspect. More about verb aspects
Two types of future
Russian has:
- Compound future (with imperfective verbs)
- Simple future (with perfective verbs)
Compound future (imperfective verbs)
Imperfective verbs describe ongoing, repeated or process actions. They form the future using:
быть (to be) in future + infinitive
Example: чита́ть (to read - imperfective)
| бу́ду чита́ть | I will read |
| бу́дешь чита́ть | you will read (informal) |
| бу́дет чита́ть | he / she / it will read |
| бу́дем чита́ть | we will read |
| бу́дете чита́ть | you will read (plural or formal) |
| бу́дут чита́ть | they will read |
| read all | |
This expresses an ongoing future action, a repeated action or a general plan or intention.
Examples:
- Я бу́ду чита́ть кни́гу. (I will be reading a book - process)
- Мы бу́дем рабо́тать. (We will work)
Simple future (perfective verbs)
Perfective verbs describe completed actions. They form the future using simple personal endings (like present tense forms).
Example: прочита́ть (to read - perfective)
| прочита́ю | I will read |
| прочита́ешь | you will read (informal) |
| прочита́ет | he / she / it will read |
| прочита́ем | we will read |
| прочита́ете | you will read (plural or formal) |
| прочита́ют | they will read |
| read all | |
This form expresses a completed future action:
- Я прочита́ю кни́гу. (I will read the book - finish it)
Key difference (aspect)
- Imperfective → process / repetition → compound future
- Perfective → completed result → simple future
Compare:
- Я бу́ду чита́ть кни́гу. → I will be reading the book.
- Я прочита́ю кни́гу. → I will finish reading the book.
Important notes
Imperfective verbs cannot form simple future
You cannot say я чита́ю to mean future. You must use:
- я бу́ду чита́ть
Perfective verbs have no present meaning
Forms like прочита́ю look like present tense, but actually mean future.
- Я прочита́ю = I will read (not “I read”)
Negation
- Я не бу́ду чита́ть кни́гу. (I will not read / be reading the book)
- Я не прочита́ю кни́гу. (I will not finish the book)
Questions
- Ты бу́дешь чита́ть кни́гу? (Will you be reading the book?)
- Ты прочита́ешь кни́гу? (Will you finish the book?)
Future of “to be”
The verb быть itself has a special future form:
| бу́ду | I will be |
| бу́дешь | you will be (informal) |
| бу́дет | he / she / it will be |
| бу́дем | we will be |
| бу́дете | you will be (plural or formal) |
| бу́дут | they will be |
It is used:
- to form the compound future (буду читать)
- as a main verb: Я бу́ду до́ма. (I will be at home)
When to use which form
- Use imperfective for process, duration, repetition or general plans
- Use perfective when the result or completion matters
Examples:
- Я бу́ду писа́ть письмо́. (I will be writing the letter)
- Я напишу́ письмо́. (I will write the letter - finished)
- Он бу́дет де́лать э́то. (He will be doing it)
- Он сде́лает э́то. (He will do it - completed)
Summary
- Russian has two future forms: compound and simple
- Imperfective verbs → быть + infinitive (for example буду чита́ть)
- Imperfective verbs → process, repetition, or general future
- Perfective verbs → simple future (for example прочита́ю)
- Perfective verbs → completed action
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