Будущее время (Future Simple)
The Будущее время (Future Simple) tense in Russian is used to describe actions that will take place in the future. Russian has two ways of forming the future tense: the simple future with perfective verbs and the compound future with imperfective verbs.
Aspects:
- Imperfective Aspect: Describes actions that will be ongoing, habitual, or repeated in the future. The future tense is formed using a compound structure with the verb быть (to be) in the future tense and the infinitive of the main verb.
- Example: Я буду читать книгу. (I will be reading the book.)
- Perfective Aspect: Describes actions that will be completed in the future. The future tense is formed by conjugating the perfective verb directly.
- Example: Я прочитаю книгу. (I will read the book / I will finish reading the book.)
Active Voice Conjugation:
| Person | Imperfective (читать – to read) | Perfective (прочитать – to read) |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Person | буду читать | прочитаю |
| 2nd Person | будешь читать | прочитаешь |
| 3rd Person | будет читать | прочитает |
| 1st Person Pl. | будем читать | прочитаем |
| 2nd Person Pl. | будете читать | прочитаете |
| 3rd Person Pl. | будут читать | прочитают |
Examples of Aspect Usage:
- Imperfective: Завтра я буду читать книгу. (Tomorrow, I will be reading a book.)
- Perfective: Завтра я прочитаю книгу. (Tomorrow, I will read the book / I will finish reading the book.)
Common Time Expressions:
- Завтра (Tomorrow)
- Через неделю (In a week)
- Скоро (Soon)
Examples:
- Imperfective Positive: Мы будем писать письмо. (We will be writing a letter.)
- Imperfective Negative: Они не будут работать. (They will not be working.)
- Perfective Positive: Она сделает работу. (She will complete the work.)
- Perfective Negative: Он не прочитает письмо. (He will not read the letter.)
