For almost every Greek verb the future forces a choice of stem — θα γράψω or θα γράφω. The two commonest verbs of all, είμαι "be" and έχω "have," let you off the hook: they have no perfective stem, so there is nothing to choose. You simply prefix θα to their ordinary present, and you have the future: θα είμαι "I will be," θα έχω "I will have." No new forms, no aspect decision — the two verbs you use most are the two easiest to future.
θα είμαι — "I will be"
είμαι is irregular in the present (είμαι, είσαι, είναι…) and it has only one past, the imperfect (ήμουν "I was") — no aorist at all. Because there is no perfective είμαι, the present forms do all the future work. Put θα in front and you are done:
| Person | Form | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| εγώ | θα είμαι | tha íme | I'll be |
| εσύ | θα είσαι | tha íse | you'll be |
| αυτός/-ή/-ό | θα είναι | tha íne | he/she/it'll be |
| εμείς | θα είμαστε | tha ímaste | we'll be |
| εσείς | θα είστε / θα είσαστε | tha íste / tha ísaste | you'll be |
| αυτοί/-ές/-ά | θα είναι | tha íne | they'll be |
Just as in the present, the single form θα είναι covers both "he/she/it will be" and "they will be" — context or the subject tells you which.
Θα είμαι εκεί στις οκτώ ακριβώς, μη φύγεις χωρίς εμένα.
tha íme ekí stis októ akrivós, mi fíyis chorís eména
I'll be there at eight sharp, don't leave without me.
Θα είσαι σπίτι το βράδυ ή θα βγεις με τους φίλους σου;
tha íse spíti to vrádhi i tha vyis me tus fílus su;
Will you be home tonight or are you going out with your friends?
Μην ανησυχείς, όλα θα είναι εντάξει μέχρι το πρωί.
min anisichís, óla tha íne endáksi méchri to proí
Don't worry, everything will be fine by morning.
θα έχω — "I will have"
έχω is a completely regular Class Α verb in the present (έχω, έχεις, έχει…), and like είμαι it has no aorist — its only past is the imperfect είχα "I had." So its future is again just θα + present:
| Person | Form | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| εγώ | θα έχω | tha écho | I'll have |
| εσύ | θα έχεις | tha échis | you'll have |
| αυτός/-ή/-ό | θα έχει | tha échi | he/she/it'll have |
| εμείς | θα έχουμε | tha échume | we'll have |
| εσείς | θα έχετε | tha échete | you'll have |
| αυτοί/-ές/-ά | θα έχουν(ε) | tha échun(e) | they'll have |
Θα έχεις χρόνο να με βοηθήσεις με τη μετακόμιση το Σάββατο;
tha échis chróno na me voithísis me ti metakómisi to Sávato;
Will you have time to help me with the move on Saturday?
Του χρόνου θα έχουμε επιτέλους δικό μας σπίτι.
tu chrónu tha échume epitélus dhikó mas spíti
Next year we'll finally have a place of our own.
θα έχει — the informal "there will be"
Just as the impersonal έχει means "there is/are" in everyday speech, its future θα έχει means "there will be." It stays 3rd singular no matter how many things follow, and belongs to relaxed, spoken Greek (informal); careful or written Greek prefers θα υπάρχει / θα υπάρχουν.
Θα έχει πολύ κόσμο στο πανηγύρι απόψε, ας πάμε νωρίς.
tha échi polí kózmo sto paniyíri apópse, as páme norís
There'll be a lot of people at the festival tonight, let's go early.
θα έχω as the future-perfect auxiliary
έχω is the auxiliary that builds every perfect tense, and its future θα έχω builds the future perfect — "I will have done" — for an action finished before some future point. The pattern is θα έχω + the fixed perfect form (the aparémfato: γράψει, δει, πάει), and the main verb never changes:
Ως το μεσημέρι θα έχω διαβάσει όλο το βιβλίο.
os to mesiméri tha écho dhiavási ólo to vivlío
By noon I'll have read the whole book.
Μέχρι να γυρίσεις, θα έχουμε φάει, οπότε μην αργήσεις.
méchri na yirísis, tha échume fái, opóte min aryísis
By the time you get back we'll have eaten, so don't be late.
This is a distinct tense with its own page — the future perfect — but note here that it is built on exactly the θα έχω you have just learned. In everyday speech Greeks often replace it with the plain simple future anyway (μέχρι να γυρίσεις θα φάμε), so treat the full future perfect as the more careful register.
Negation
Negate both verbs the ordinary way: δεν in front of θα.
Δεν θα είμαι στη δουλειά την Παρασκευή, θα πάρω ρεπό.
dhen tha íme sti dhuliá tin Paraskeví, tha páro repó
I won't be at work on Friday, I'm taking the day off.
Δεν θα έχουμε αρκετές καρέκλες για τόσο κόσμο.
dhen tha échume arketés karékles ya tóso kózmo
We won't have enough chairs for that many people.
Common Mistakes
1. Using θα έχω for age. Age in Greek is είμαι + χρονών, in the future too — never έχω.
❌ Του χρόνου θα έχω τριάντα χρονών.
Incorrect — age takes είμαι: Του χρόνου θα είμαι τριάντα χρονών.
✅ Του χρόνου θα είμαι τριάντα χρονών.
tu chrónu tha íme tryánda chronón
Next year I'll be thirty years old.
2. Making the existential θα έχει agree in the plural. It is impersonal and stays singular.
❌ Θα έχουν πολλή δουλειά αύριο στο μαγαζί.
Incorrect — the existential is always singular: Θα έχει πολλή δουλειά.
✅ Θα έχει πολλή δουλειά αύριο στο μαγαζί.
tha échi polí dhuliá ávrio sto maghazí
There'll be a lot of work at the shop tomorrow.
3. Inventing a perfective future for είμαι. There is no ×θα είσω or ×θα σταθώ meaning "I'll be"; είμαι has one stem, so it is always θα είμαι.
❌ Θα είσω πιο προσεκτικός την επόμενη φορά.
Incorrect — είμαι has no perfective; the future is θα είμαι.
✅ Θα είμαι πιο προσεκτικός την επόμενη φορά.
tha íme pio prosektikós tin epómeni forá
I'll be more careful next time.
4. Conjugating the second verb in the future perfect. After θα έχω the main verb stays in its fixed form (γράψει, φάει), never a present or past.
❌ Ως το βράδυ θα έχω διαβάσω όλο το κεφάλαιο.
Incorrect — the future perfect is θα έχω + the fixed form: θα έχω διαβάσει.
✅ Ως το βράδυ θα έχω διαβάσει όλο το κεφάλαιο.
os to vrádhi tha écho dhiavási ólo to kefáleo
By this evening I'll have read the whole chapter.
Key Takeaways
- είμαι and έχω keep their present stem in the future: just add θα → θα είμαι, θα έχω. No aspect choice, because neither verb has a perfective stem.
- θα είναι covers both "he/she/it will be" and "they will be," exactly as in the present.
- Colloquial impersonal θα έχει = "there will be" (informal), always singular; careful Greek uses θα υπάρχει / θα υπάρχουν.
- Age is always είμαι + χρονών, never έχω: θα είμαι τριάντα χρονών.
- θα έχω doubles as the auxiliary of the future perfect (θα έχω γράψει), where the main verb stays in its fixed perfect form.
Now practice Greek
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Greek →Related Topics
- The Present of είμαι (to be)A1 — The most frequent verb in Greek — είμαι, είσαι, είναι, είμαστε, είστε, είναι — its irregular mediopassive-shaped paradigm, the single είναι that covers both 'he is' and 'they are', its uses for identity, state, location and existence, and why the word after it stays in the nominative.
- The Present of έχω (to have)A1 — έχω, έχεις, έχει, έχουμε, έχετε, έχουν — a perfectly regular Class Α present that does three big jobs in Greek: possession, the colloquial existential έχει ('there is/are'), and, above all, the auxiliary that builds every perfect tense (έχω γράψει).
- The Future Perfect (θα έχω γράψει)B2 — Put θα in front of the present perfect and it projects into the future: θα έχω γράψει is 'I will have written', an action to be finished by some future point — Μέχρι τις πέντε θα έχω τελειώσει ('By five I'll have finished'). The very same form also does double duty as a confident inference about the present: θα έχει φύγει, 'he'll have left by now'.