Forming the Future Tense | Czech Grammar

Czech has no single "will" word and no one future ending. Instead, the aspect of the verb decides how its future is formed — which is why you cannot form a future correctly until you know whether your verb is imperfective or perfective. This page is the reference table for the whole system: two main strategies plus one small special set. Once you see that future-building in Czech is really an aspect question, the apparent chaos collapses into three clean rules.

The big idea: aspect chooses the strategy

English builds every future the same way — will plus the verb — regardless of whether the action is ongoing or completed. Czech refuses to do that. Before you can say "I'll write," you must know: am I talking about the process (imperfective) or the completed result (perfective)? The answer routes you to a different machine.

Verb type	How the future is formed	Example
Imperfective	budu imperfective infinitive	budu psát = "I'll be writing"
Perfective	the present-tense form is the future	napíšu = "I'll write (and finish)"
Determinate motion	prefix po-/pů- on the present form	půjdu = "I'll go"

Strategy 1: imperfective → budu + infinitive

For an imperfective verb, the future is analytic: take the future of být — budu, budeš, bude, budeme, budete, budou — and add the imperfective infinitive. The conjugated part is budu; the infinitive never changes.

Person	"to be doing"	"to be reading"
1st sg.	budu dělat	budu číst
2nd sg.	budeš dělat	budeš číst
3rd sg.	bude dělat	bude číst
1st pl.	budeme dělat	budeme číst
2nd pl.	budete dělat	budete číst
3rd pl.	budou dělat	budou číst

This future expresses an action seen as ongoing, repeated, or open-ended in the future — the future counterpart of "will be doing." Crucially, you may only put an imperfective infinitive after budu. A perfective infinitive there is one of the most common beginner errors (see the mistakes below). For the full treatment see the imperfective future.

Zítra budu celý den pracovat z domova.

Tomorrow I'll be working from home all day.

V létě budeme každý víkend jezdit na chatu.

In summer we'll go to the cottage every weekend (repeated).

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budu alone (with no infinitive) means "I will be" — it is simply the future of být: Zítra budu doma "I'll be home tomorrow." So být is both the auxiliary that builds every imperfective future and a full verb in its own right. More on that at the future of být.

Strategy 2: perfective → the present form already is the future

This is the rule that feels strangest to English speakers, so internalize the reason: a perfective verb cannot describe a present moment. A completed whole can't be "in progress now." So Czech reuses the present-tense endings of a perfective verb to mean the future. There is no budu anywhere.

Person	udělat → future	přečíst → future
1st sg.	udělám	přečtu
2nd sg.	uděláš	přečteš
3rd sg.	udělá	přečte
1st pl.	uděláme	přečteme
2nd pl.	uděláte	přečtete
3rd pl.	udělají	přečtou

So udělám ("I'll get it done"), přečtu ("I'll read it through"), napíšu ("I'll write it"), koupím ("I'll buy it") are all futures, even though they look like present-tense conjugations. They describe a single, bounded, completed future action. See the perfective future.

Do večera ten úkol udělám.

I'll get the assignment done by tonight.

Tu knihu přečtu za dva dny.

I'll read that book (cover to cover) in two days.

Strategy 3: determinate motion verbs use po- / pů-

A handful of determinate verbs of motion — jít, jet, letět, běžet, nést, vézt, vést — are imperfective, yet they refuse budu. They build a synthetic future with the prefix po- (or pů- before jít):

Verb	Meaning	Future (1st sg.)
jít	to go (on foot)	půjdu
jet	to go (by vehicle)	pojedu
letět	to fly	poletím
nést	to carry	ponesu

These act like perfective futures in shape (no budu, just a prefixed present form), but the verbs stay imperfective in meaning. The full set and the reasoning are at the motion futures.

Zítra půjdu pěšky a ty pojedeš autem.

Tomorrow I'll walk and you'll drive.

V neděli poletíme do Prahy.

On Sunday we'll fly to Prague.

The aspect contrast, side by side

The same English "I'll write the paper tomorrow" hides two different Czech futures, and choosing wrongly changes the meaning. budu psát foregrounds the activity; napíšu foregrounds the finished product.

Zítra budu psát referát.

Tomorrow I'll be writing the paper (working on it, no claim it's finished).

Zítra napíšu referát.

Tomorrow I'll write the paper (and have it done).

Use the imperfective budu future when the time frame is open or the action is repeated; use the perfective bare-present future when there is a clear endpoint or result. The decision guide is at budu vs. perfective.

Common Mistakes

❌ Zítra budu napsat dopis.

Incorrect — never put a perfective infinitive after budu.

✅ Zítra napíšu dopis.

Tomorrow I'll write the letter.

❌ Budu udělám úkol.

Incorrect — you can't combine budu with a perfective; pick one strategy.

✅ Udělám úkol.

I'll do the assignment.

❌ Budu jít do kina.

Incorrect (nonstandard) — determinate jít uses the synthetic future půjdu.

✅ Půjdu do kina.

I'll go to the cinema.

❌ Celý den napíšu úkoly.

Incorrect — 'all day' is an open-ended activity, so it needs the imperfective future.

✅ Celý den budu psát úkoly.

I'll be writing assignments all day.

❌ Bude prší celý víkend.

Incorrect — the imperfective future needs the infinitive: bude + pršet.

✅ Bude pršet celý víkend.

It'll rain all weekend.

Key Takeaways

Imperfective → budu / budeš / bude…
- imperfective infinitive (budu číst).
Perfective → the present-tense form already means the future (přečtu), never with budu.
Determinate motion verbs → synthetic po-/pů- future (půjdu, pojedu, poletím, ponesu).
One forbidden combination: budu + perfective infinitive is always wrong.
Choose by meaning: open-ended/repeated → budu; bounded/result → perfective.

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