The future tense

After this page you will be able to talk about the future in Ukrainian in two ways: with бу́ду and an infinitive, and with a one-word form such as чита́тиму. You will also recognise a third kind of future form, which looks like the present tense but is not.

Which form a verb uses depends on its aspect. The past tense introduced it briefly. Here is a reminder, because the future is where aspect first changes the forms, not just the meaning.

Two kinds of verb

Most Ukrainian verbs come in pairs that share one English translation:

• the imperfective verb presents an action as a process, or as something repeated;
• the perfective verb presents an action as completed, with a result.

At this stage you only need to recognise the two kinds. The Горох dictionary labels each verb as imperfective (недоко́наний вид) or perfective (доко́наний вид). The rest of this page shows what each kind does in the future.

Imperfective verbs: two future forms

An imperfective verb has two future forms. They mean the same thing, and both are correct.

The helper verb and an infinitive

The first form is like English will + verb. Take the future of бу́ти (to be) and add the infinitive. Only бу́ти changes for person; the infinitive stays the same.

One word

The second form is a single word. Take the whole infinitive, including -ти, and add -му, -меш, -ме, -мемо, -мете or -муть. In the verbs on this page, the stress stays where it is in the infinitive.

Like the present tense, both forms show the person in their ending, so the pronoun can be left out when the context is clear: За́втра працюва́тиму. (Tomorrow I’ll be working.)

Perfective verbs: the simple future

Perfective verbs have no present tense, because an action seen as completed cannot be going on now. Their forms with present-tense-style endings mean the future: a single action that will be completed.

Compare чита́ю (I am reading: imperfective, present) with прочита́ю (I will read it: perfective, future). The endings are the same. The verb is different, and so is the time.

As in the present tense, the stress of some verbs moves between the forms. Написа́ти has напишу́ (I will write), but напи́шеш (you will write, informal) and напи́шуть (they will write). Купи́ти has куплю́ (I will buy), but ку́пиш (you will buy, informal) and ку́плять. Check new verbs in a dictionary.

Imperfective or perfective future?

As a rough guide only:

• Use an imperfective future (бу́ду чита́ти or чита́тиму) when you are thinking of the activity itself, how long it lasts, or something that will happen repeatedly.
• Use a perfective future (прочита́ю) when you are thinking of one action that will be finished, with a result.

Choosing between the two takes practice; Aspect explains it in detail. For now, aim to recognise which kind of future you are reading or hearing.

The future of “to be”

The verb бу́ти (to be) has its own future forms, the same ones used in бу́ду чита́ти: бу́ду, бу́деш, бу́де, бу́демо, бу́дете, бу́дуть. On their own they mean will be. In the present tense to be is usually left out, but in the future it is used.

Summary

Common mistakes and limits