English has one machine for the future — the word will — and you bolt it onto any verb: will work, will buy, will go. Czech has no single word like that. Instead the future splits into three different mechanisms, and which one you reach for is decided before you even think about time: it depends on the aspect of the verb and, in one special group, on whether the verb is a verb of motion. This page is the map. Each route gets its own detailed page; here you see all three side by side so the system holds together in your head.
The three routes at a glance
| Verb type | How the future is built | Example | What it conveys |
|---|---|---|---|
| Imperfective verbs | budu / budeš / bude…
| budu dělat | an action seen as ongoing or repeated ("I'll be doing") |
| Perfective verbs | the perfective present form, used as-is | udělám | a single, completed whole ("I'll get it done") |
| Determinate motion verbs (jít, jet, nést…) | a fixed po-/pů- prefix on the present form | půjdu / pojedu / ponesu | one single trip in one direction ("I'll go / ride / carry") |
Route 1: imperfective → budu + infinitive
If the verb is imperfective (it pictures an action as a process, a habit, or an unbounded stretch), you build the future with the future forms of být plus the infinitive. The infinitive never changes; only budu conjugates.
| já | ty | on/ona/ono | my | vy | oni |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| budu | budeš | bude | budeme | budete | budou |
Budu se učit celý víkend, mám zkoušku.
I'll be studying all weekend, I have an exam.
Co budeš dělat o prázdninách?
What will you be doing over the holidays?
Zítra budu celý den pracovat z domova.
Tomorrow I'll be working from home all day.
Full details and the complete paradigm live on The Imperfective Future (budu + infinitive).
Route 2: perfective → the present form already is the future
A perfective verb cannot describe something happening right now, because "right now" is unfinished and the perfective packages an action as a finished whole. So its present-tense endings are freed up and used for the future instead. Udělám looks like a present but means I will do (and complete) it. There is no budu anywhere.
Naučím se to do pátku, slibuju.
I'll learn it by Friday, I promise.
Hned ti to udělám, počkej chvilku.
I'll do it for you right away, hang on a second.
Až přijdeš, uvařím večeři.
When you arrive, I'll cook dinner.
The mechanics — and why this surprises every learner — are covered on The Perfective Future and The Perfective Present Is a Future.
Route 3: determinate motion verbs → po-/pů- prefix
A small but extremely common group breaks both patterns. The determinate verbs of motion — jít (go on foot), jet (go by vehicle), nést (carry), vést (lead), vézt (transport), běžet (run), letět (fly) — form their future not with budu and not as a perfective present, but by gluing a fixed prefix onto the present-tense forms. For most it is po-; for jít it is the irregular pů-.
| Verb | Future | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| jít (go on foot) | půjdu, půjdeš, půjde, půjdeme, půjdete, půjdou | I'll go (walk)… |
| jet (go by vehicle) | pojedu, pojedeš, pojede, pojedeme, pojedete, pojedou | I'll go (ride/drive)… |
| nést (carry) | ponesu, poneseš, ponese, poneseme, ponesete, ponesou | I'll carry… |
Půjdu domů pěšky, je hezky.
I'll walk home, the weather's nice.
V neděli pojedeme k babičce na oběd.
On Sunday we'll drive to grandma's for lunch.
Ponesu ti tu tašku, ať se nenadřeš.
I'll carry that bag for you so you don't strain yourself.
The full set, including vést, vézt, běžet, letět, is on The Motion Futures (půjdu, pojedu).
The two cardinal errors
Almost every mistake learners make with the Czech future is one of these two, and both come from translating will word-for-word.
*budu udělat
You cannot put budu in front of a perfective verb. The perfective is already future on its own, so budu + perfective is a contradiction the language simply does not allow.
❌ Zítra budu udělat domácí úkol.
Incorrect — budu never combines with a perfective.
✅ Zítra udělám domácí úkol.
Tomorrow I'll do (finish) my homework.
*budu jít
The determinate motion verbs do not use budu either. Jít is imperfective, so a learner reasonably guesses budu jít — but this verb has its own future, půjdu. Reserve budu + motion only for the indeterminate partners (budu chodit = "I'll be walking around / I'll go regularly"), which describe repeated or aimless motion, not one trip.
❌ Zítra budu jít do práce.
Incorrect — jít forms its future as půjdu.
✅ Zítra půjdu do práce.
Tomorrow I'll go to work.
A quick decision flow
- Is the verb a determinate motion verb (jít, jet, nést, vést, vézt, běžet, letět)? → Use the po-/pů- future: půjdu, pojedu, ponesu.
- Otherwise, is the verb perfective? → Use its present form as the future: udělám, koupím, přijdu.
- Otherwise (imperfective)? → Use budu + infinitive: budu dělat, budu kupovat.
That order matters: check for a motion verb first, because jít/jet would otherwise fall into the imperfective rule and tempt you into budu jít. For the full reasoning on when an imperfective budu-future and a perfective future express genuinely different things, see Choosing the Future Form.
Common mistakes
❌ Budu koupit nové boty.
Incorrect — koupit is perfective; no budu.
✅ Koupím nové boty.
I'll buy new shoes.
❌ Budu jet do Brna ve středu.
Incorrect — jet uses the prefixed future.
✅ Pojedu do Brna ve středu.
I'll go to Brno on Wednesday.
❌ Půjdu udělám to.
Incorrect — two futures stacked; pick one route.
✅ Udělám to.
I'll do it.
❌ Budu se to naučit.
Incorrect — naučit se is perfective; drop budu.
✅ Naučím se to.
I'll learn it.
Key takeaways
- Czech has three future routes; English will collapses them into one, which is the root of most errors.
- Imperfective → budu
- infinitive (ongoing/repeated).
- Perfective → the present form, no budu (completed).
- Determinate motion → po-/pů- prefix: půjdu, pojedu, ponesu (one trip).
- The two fatal mistakes are *budu udělat (budu + perfective) and *budu jít (budu + a determinate motion verb).
Now practice Czech
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Start learning Czech→Related Topics
- The Imperfective Future (budu + infinitive)A2 — How Czech builds the future of imperfective verbs with budu + an infinitive, why it pairs only with imperfectives, and when to use it instead of the perfective.
- The Perfective Future (= perfective present)B1 — How the perfective present form expresses a completed future action.
- Special Motion Futures (půjdu, pojedu)B1 — The irregular prefixed futures of jít and jet.
- Choosing the Right FutureB1 — A decision guide for imperfective vs perfective future and motion futures.
- What Is Verbal Aspect?A1 — An overview of the perfective/imperfective distinction that organizes the entire Czech verb system.