When you want to talk about a future action as an ongoing or repeated process — "I'll be working tomorrow," "we'll be studying all summer" — Polish builds a two-part future, much like English "will be doing." This is the compound imperfective future, and it is the mirror image of the perfective simple future: where the perfective uses no auxiliary, the imperfective uses the future of być (będę, będziesz…) plus a form of the main verb. There is one feature that has no English parallel: the second part can be either the plain infinitive or a past participle that agrees in gender — two correct shapes for the same meaning.
The auxiliary: będę
The whole construction is held together by the future of być. Overlearn this — it appears in every compound future:
| Person | być future | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ja | będę | I will |
| ty | będziesz | you will |
| on / ona / ono | będzie | he / she / it will |
| my | będziemy | we will |
| wy | będziecie | you (pl.) will |
| oni / one | będą | they will |
Mind the orthography: będę and będą both carry nasal vowels, but different ones — będę ends in -ę (first person), będą ends in -ą (third-person plural). The dzi in będziesz, będzie, będziemy, będziecie is a soft dź sound; the dz there is part of the digraph, not a typo.
Two equivalent forms of the main verb
Here is the part that surprises learners. After będę, you can attach the main imperfective verb in two ways, and they mean exactly the same thing:
- będę + infinitive — będę czytać ("I will read / be reading")
- będę + the -ł participle (the same gendered form used in the past) — będę czytał (man) / będę czytała (woman)
| będę + infinitive | będę + participle (m.) | będę + participle (f.) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| będę czytać | będę czytał | będę czytała | I will be reading |
| będziesz pracować | będziesz pracował | będziesz pracowała | you will be working |
| będziemy się uczyć | będziemy się uczyli | będziemy się uczyły | we will be studying |
The crucial detail: the participle form agrees in gender and number with the subject, while the infinitive form never changes. So a woman says będę robiła, a man says będę robił, but both can equally say będę robić. In the plural the participle follows the masculine-personal vs. other split: będą robili (group with a man) vs. będą robiły (women, things).
Jutro będę pracować z domu.
Tomorrow I'll be working from home. (infinitive — speaker of any gender)
Jutro będę pracowała z domu.
Tomorrow I'll be working from home. (woman speaking — participle agrees)
Cały weekend będziemy się uczyć do egzaminu.
We'll be studying for the exam all weekend. (infinitive)
Cały weekend będziemy się uczyli do egzaminu.
We'll be studying for the exam all weekend. (participle, group including a man)
When to use the compound future
The compound future is imperfective, so it carries the same meanings as the imperfective elsewhere: an action seen as a process, a habit, or background. Reach for it when the future action is:
- ongoing / in progress — "I'll be working" (not focused on finishing)
- repeated or habitual — "I'll be calling every day"
- backgrounded — the situation that will simply be going on
W wakacje będę dużo czytać i odpoczywać.
Over the holidays I'll be reading a lot and resting.
Od poniedziałku będę chodził na siłownię.
From Monday I'll be going to the gym. (regular habit, man speaking)
Nie dzwoń o ósmej — będę wtedy jadła kolację.
Don't call at eight — I'll be eating dinner then. (background, woman speaking)
Będziemy mieszkać w Gdańsku przez rok.
We'll be living in Gdańsk for a year.
The contrast that defines the system
The compound (imperfective) future and the simple (perfective) future split future time between process and result. Same situation, two framings:
Wieczorem będę czytać tę książkę.
In the evening I'll be reading that book. (the activity — I'll spend time on it)
Wieczorem przeczytam tę książkę.
In the evening I'll read that book. (I'll finish it — a completed result)
będę czytać makes no promise that the book gets finished; it describes how I'll spend the evening. przeczytam promises completion. This is the future-tense echo of the imperfective/perfective distinction you met in the past tense.
Common Mistakes
❌ Będę przeczytać książkę.
Incorrect — przeczytać is perfective, so it can't take będę; either use the imperfective compound or the perfective simple future.
✅ Będę czytać książkę. / ✅ Przeczytam książkę.
I'll be reading the book. / I'll read the book (through).
❌ Będę czytałem... (said by a woman)
Incorrect — the participle must agree in gender; a woman uses czytała.
✅ Będę czytała książkę.
I'll be reading the book. (woman speaking)
❌ Będę czytać książkę i potem będę pisał czytała list.
Incorrect — don't stack the infinitive and participle on one verb; choose one form per verb.
✅ Będę czytać książkę, a potem będę pisać list.
I'll be reading a book, and then I'll be writing a letter.
❌ Jutro będę pracuję.
Incorrect — będę takes the infinitive or the -ł participle, never the present tense (pracuję).
✅ Jutro będę pracować. / ✅ Jutro będę pracował.
Tomorrow I'll be working.
Key Takeaways
- The imperfective future = future of być (będę…) + main verb, used for ongoing, repeated, or backgrounded future actions.
- The main verb appears in two equivalent shapes: the infinitive (będę czytać) or the gender-agreeing -ł participle (będę czytał / czytała). The participle is slightly more common in speech.
- The participle agrees in gender and number (czytał / czytała / czytali / czytały); the infinitive never changes.
- będę combines only with imperfective verbs — never with a perfective. For perfectives, use the simple future (przeczytam).
- Contrast with the perfective future: będę czytać = process, przeczytam = completed result.
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