Future tense in Russian
In this lesson we will learn how to conjugate Russian verbs in the Future tense.
Future tense with imperfective verbs
The Future tense is formed with an imperfective verb if the action will not be completed of it will be repeated.
The formula of the Future tense with imperfective verbs is:
the conjugated verb быть (to be) + infinitive of the imperfective verb
Here is the conjugation of the verb быть in the Future tense:
я бу́ду – I will
ты бу́дешь – you will
он/она/оно бу́дет – he/she/it will
мы бу́дем – we will
вы бу́дете – you (plural or formal) will
они бу́дут – they will
Examples:
Я бу́ду ждать от тебя́ письма́.
I will wait a letter from you.
Ты бу́дешь у́жинать?
Will you have a dinner?
Она бу́дет приходи́ть к тебе́ ка́ждый день.
She will come to you every day.
Мы не бу́дем тебе́ меша́ть.
We won’t disturb you.
Вы бу́дете скуча́ть по нам?
Will you miss us?
Они́ не бу́дут тебе́ доверя́ть по́сле э́того.
They will not trust you after that.
Future tense with perfective verbs
If the action is supposed to be finished by the moment you are talking about, or if it’s a one-time action, the Future tense is formed with perfective verbs.
The good news is that you actually already know how to form the Future tense with perfective verbs!
Do you remember the conjugation rules in the Present tense? Just apply them to perfective verbs and you’ll get the Future tense.
There is no confusion in this, because, as you remember, the perfective verbs do not have the Present tense.
Let’s see how it’s done. First, let’s remember how to conjugate imperfective verbs in the Present:
| pronoun | 1st conjugation | 2nd conjugation |
|---|---|---|
| я | -у / -ю | -у / -ю |
| ты | -ешь / -ёшь | -ишь |
| он/она́/оно́ | -ет / -ёт | -ит |
| мы | -ем / -ём | -им |
| вы | -ете / -ёте | -ите |
| они́ | -ут / -ют | -ат / -ят |
Now, let’s practice on the verb сде́лать (to do):
Я сде́лаю э́то за́втра.
I’ll do it tomorrow.
Ты сде́лаешь э́то для меня́?
Will you do it for me?
Он сде́лает всё, что ты его́ попро́сишь.
He will do everything you ask him.
Мы не сде́лаем вам ничего́ плохо́го.
We will not do to you any harm.
Вы сде́лаете, что я прошу́?
Will you do what I ask you?
Они сде́лают вам хоро́шее предложе́ние.
They will make you a good offer.
Practice today’s examples with the audio track and try to memorize the Russian words that are unfamiliar to you.
The offline version of this lesson is available here
