Russian has two ways of forming the future, and you do not get to pick freely between them — the choice is made for you by the aspect of the verb. An imperfective verb builds a compound future with the auxiliary бу́ду plus an infinitive; a perfective verb builds a simple future out of one conjugated word. This page is a consolidated reference: the бу́ду paradigm, the perfective endings, both halves of a single aspect pair laid out next to each other, and the one fact that ties it all together — the same person-endings give present meaning on an imperfective but future meaning on a perfective. Master that and you can read any conjugated verb's time correctly on sight.
The two futures at a glance
Everything below flows from a single split. There is no neutral "future tense" you can reach for; you commit to an aspect, and the aspect dictates the machinery.
| Imperfective future (compound) | Perfective future (simple) | |
|---|---|---|
| Built from | бу́ду + imperfective infinitive | perfective verb + present-tense endings |
| Number of words | two (бу́ду чита́ть) | one (прочита́ю) |
| Meaning | process, duration, habit — "will be reading / will read (regularly)" | single completed result — "will read it (through)" |
| Example | За́втра я бу́ду рабо́тать до́ма. | За́втра я прочита́ю отчёт. |
За́втра я бу́ду рабо́тать до́ма.
Tomorrow I'll be working from home. — imperfective compound future: an ongoing activity that fills the day.
За́втра я прочита́ю отчёт.
Tomorrow I'll read the report (through). — perfective simple future: one completed action with a result.
The бу́ду paradigm (auxiliary = the future of быть)
The compound future runs on the future of быть ("to be"). быть has no present tense in modern Russian — you don't say я есть студент — but it does have its own future, and that future is exactly the auxiliary you stack in front of an imperfective infinitive.
| Person | Future of быть |
|
|---|---|---|
| я | бу́ду | бу́ду чита́ть |
| ты | бу́дешь | бу́дешь чита́ть |
| он / она́ / оно́ | бу́дет | бу́дет чита́ть |
| мы | бу́дем | бу́дем чита́ть |
| вы | бу́дете | бу́дете чита́ть |
| они́ | бу́дут | бу́дут чита́ть |
The auxiliary carries all the person/number information; the main verb stays a frozen infinitive and never changes. So you conjugate only бу́ду, then append the unchanging imperfective infinitive (чита́ть, рабо́тать, жить, смотре́ть). The same бу́дет / бу́дут forms double as the plain future "will be" of быть itself — За́втра бу́дет дождь ("It'll rain tomorrow").
Ве́чером мы бу́дем смотре́ть фильм.
In the evening we'll be watching a film. — бу́дем + the infinitive смотре́ть; the auxiliary marks 'we'.
Ты бу́дешь жить в общежи́тии?
Are you going to be living in the dorm? — бу́дешь + жить, an open-ended future state.
The perfective endings (a single conjugated word)
The perfective future needs no auxiliary. You take the perfective member of a pair and attach the ordinary present-tense endings — first-conjugation -ю / -ешь / -ет / -ем / -ете / -ют or second-conjugation -ю / -ишь / -ит / -им / -ите / -ят. The result is the future, because a perfective verb has no present to confuse it with.
| Person | прочита́ть (pf.) | написа́ть (pf.) | купи́ть (pf.) | сказа́ть (pf.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| я | прочита́ю | напишу́ | куплю́ | скажу́ |
| ты | прочита́ешь | напи́шешь | ку́пишь | ска́жешь |
| он / она́ | прочита́ет | напи́шет | ку́пит | ска́жет |
| мы | прочита́ем | напи́шем | ку́пим | ска́жем |
| вы | прочита́ете | напи́шете | ку́пите | ска́жете |
| они́ | прочита́ют | напи́шут | ку́пят | ска́жут |
The endings here are identical in shape to a present tense — the stem changes (писа́ть → пишу́, купи́ть → куплю́ with the inserted л) are the same ones you already meet in the present tense. The only new fact is what they mean: on a perfective, they point to the future.
Я ско́ро напишу́ тебе́ дли́нное письмо́.
I'll write you a long letter soon. — написа́ть → напишу́, future.
Мы ку́пим биле́ты сего́дня ве́чером.
We'll buy the tickets tonight. — купи́ть → ку́пим, one completed purchase in the future.
The pair side by side: чита́ть / прочита́ть
The clearest way to feel the split is to take one aspect pair and put both futures next to each other. чита́ть (imperfective) and прочита́ть (perfective) are the same dictionary word "read," divided by aspect — and that division decides the whole future.
| Person | чита́ть (impf.) → бу́ду-future | прочита́ть (pf.) → simple future |
|---|---|---|
| я | бу́ду чита́ть | прочита́ю |
| ты | бу́дешь чита́ть | прочита́ешь |
| он / она́ | бу́дет чита́ть | прочита́ет |
| мы | бу́дем чита́ть | прочита́ем |
| вы | бу́дете чита́ть | прочита́ете |
| они́ | бу́дут чита́ть | прочита́ют |
Read the table across, not down. бу́ду чита́ть = "I'll be reading / I'll read (in general)" — the activity, open-ended, no finish line in view. Прочита́ю = "I'll read it (right through)" — one bounded action ending in a result, the book finished. The difference is not when (both are future) but how the future action is shaped: spread-out process versus single closed result.
Ве́чером я бу́ду чита́ть, а пе́ред сном прочита́ю после́днюю главу́.
In the evening I'll read (in general), and before bed I'll finish the last chapter. — бу́ду чита́ть (process) and прочита́ю (completed result) in one sentence.
Ты бу́дешь чита́ть э́тот рома́н всё ле́то, а я прочита́ю его́ за неде́лю.
You'll be reading this novel all summer, while I'll read it in a week. — duration vs. a single bounded result.
The core insight: same endings, different time
Here is the practical skill the whole reference is aimed at. The endings -ю / -ешь / -ет… do double duty:
- On an imperfective verb they mean the present: я чита́ю = "I am reading (now)."
- On a perfective verb they mean the future: я прочита́ю = "I will read it."
So the form tells you nothing about time on its own — you must read the aspect first. чита́ю and прочита́ю carry the exact same -ю; the prefix про- flips чита́ю from "now" to "later." This is why a conjugated perfective is always future, and why you should train one reflex above all others: see a perfective with present-shaped endings, read it as the future.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (future) |
|---|---|
| я пишу́ — "I'm writing" (now) | я напишу́ — "I'll write" (future) |
| я покупа́ю — "I'm buying" (now) | я куплю́ — "I'll buy" (future) |
| он говори́т — "he's speaking" (now) | он ска́жет — "he'll say" (future) |
Сейча́с я пишу́ электро́нное письмо́, а пото́м напишу́ ещё одно́.
Right now I'm writing an email, and then I'll write another. — пишу́ (present) vs. напишу́ (future): same endings, opposite time.
English has no equivalent trap, because English marks the future with a separate word ("will") regardless of aspect. Russian folds the future into the verb's form and lets aspect carry the time-signal — so the single hardest reading skill is treating a "present-looking" perfective as future. For the full decision logic of which aspect to choose for a future statement, see aspect in the future; the two pairs you'll need most are in the common aspect pairs list.
Common Mistakes
❌ Я бу́ду прочита́ю кни́гу за́втра.
Wrong — прочита́ю is already the future by itself. Don't stack бу́ду on a perfective.
✅ Я прочита́ю кни́гу за́втра.
I'll read the book tomorrow. — perfective future = one word.
❌ Я бу́ду купи́ть молоко́.
Wrong — бу́ду + infinitive works only for imperfectives; купи́ть is perfective, so conjugate it: куплю́.
✅ Я куплю́ молоко́ по доро́ге.
I'll buy milk on the way. — perfective simple future.
❌ Я бу́ду чита́ю ве́чером.
Wrong — the compound future keeps the verb as an INFINITIVE; you can't conjugate it after бу́ду.
✅ Я бу́ду чита́ть ве́чером.
I'll be reading in the evening. — бу́ду + the infinitive чита́ть.
❌ Я прочита́ю по-ру́сски ка́ждый день.
Wrong — a habit/repeated action needs the imperfective compound future, not a single-result perfective.
✅ Я бу́ду чита́ть по-ру́сски ка́ждый день.
I'll read in Russian every day. — habit → бу́ду + чита́ть.
❌ За́втра я напишу́ — э́то зна́чит «пишу́ сейча́с».
Wrong reading — напишу́ is perfective, so it can ONLY mean the future; 'I'm writing now' is the imperfective пишу́.
✅ За́втра я напишу́ письмо́.
Tomorrow I'll write the letter. — perfective, future.
Key Takeaways
- Russian has two futures, and aspect picks which one: imperfective → compound, perfective → simple.
- Imperfective compound future = бу́ду / бу́дешь / бу́дет / бу́дем / бу́дете / бу́дут + an unchanging imperfective infinitive (бу́ду чита́ть).
- Perfective simple future = the perfective verb with present-tense endings (прочита́ю, напишу́, куплю́, скажу́) — one word, no auxiliary.
- The бу́ду auxiliary is the future of быть, which also serves as the plain "will be" (За́втра бу́дет дождь).
- The same person-endings mean present on an imperfective but future on a perfective — the single most important reading skill.
- Never add бу́ду to a perfective, and never conjugate the verb after бу́ду — keep it an infinitive.
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- The Imperfective (Compound) FutureA2 — Russian builds the imperfective future from two words: the conjugated future of быть (бу́ду, бу́дешь, бу́дет, бу́дем, бу́дете, бу́дут) plus an imperfective infinitive — Я бу́ду чита́ть 'I'll be reading / I'll read.' Only the auxiliary бу́ду changes; the lexical verb stays in the infinitive forever. It expresses ongoing, repeated, or habitual future action, and it works ONLY with imperfectives (буду + a perfective is ungrammatical). The same бу́ду-forms also mean 'will be' on their own (Я бу́ду до́ма).
- The Perfective (Simple) FutureA2 — The perfective future is a single word: you conjugate a perfective verb with the ordinary present-tense endings (-у/-ю, -ешь/-ишь…) and the result means the FUTURE — прочита́ю 'I'll read (and finish),' напишу́ 'I'll write,' куплю́ 'I'll buy,' позвоню́ 'I'll call.' The trap is that these forms look exactly like a present tense, but a perfective verb has no present, so a conjugated perfective is always future. It names a single completed action with a result, a promise, or one step in a sequence.
- Talking About the Future: All the OptionsB1 — Russian offers five distinct ways to talk about the future, and choosing well is half the battle: the perfective simple future for single completed acts (Я позвоню́), the imperfective compound future for processes and habits (Я бу́ду звони́ть ка́ждый день), the plain PRESENT tense for scheduled or imminent events (По́езд ухо́дит в семь; За́втра я е́ду в Москву́), собира́ться + infinitive for intention ('be going to'), and хоте́ть / плани́ровать / реши́ть + infinitive for wishes and plans. This page maps each to its meaning and gives you a quick way to decide.
- Aspect in the Future: Simple vs CompoundB1 — Russian builds the future differently for each aspect, and that construction IS the future-aspect choice: the perfective future is SIMPLE (the perfective verb in present-tense endings — я прочита́ю 'I will read it'), the imperfective future is COMPOUND (бу́ду + imperfective infinitive — я бу́ду чита́ть 'I'll be reading'); the trap is that a perfective in present endings always means the future.
- High-Frequency Aspect Pairs: A Reference ListA2 — A reference list of the aspect pairs a beginner must memorize as units, grouped by how the perfective is built. Prefix pairs (де́лать/сде́лать, чита́ть/прочита́ть), suffix/secondary pairs (покупа́ть/купи́ть, открыва́ть/откры́ть), and suppletive pairs (говори́ть/сказа́ть, брать/взять, класть/положи́ть) — the last of which obey no rule and must be learned together. Each pair comes with an English gloss, the stress marked, and a one-line usage note.
- Everyday Verbs: Жить, Знать, Любить in the PresentA1 — Three ultra-high-frequency present-tense verbs taught as worked models. ЖИТЬ ('to live') inserts a в (живу́, живёшь, живёт…) and shows the present-for-duration use (Я живу́ здесь два го́да = 'I've lived here two years'). ЗНАТЬ ('to know') is perfectly regular (зна́ю, зна́ешь…). ЛЮБИ́ТЬ ('to love/like') is second-conjugation with the labial mutation in the я-form (люблю́, but лю́бишь, лю́бят). Together they front-load the whole conjugation system's main surprises into three words you'll use daily.