Позвоните мне, когда будете свободны.

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Breakdown of Позвоните мне, когда будете свободны.

• быть: to be
• когда: when
• свободный: free

Questions & Answers about Позвоните мне, когда будете свободны.

What form is Позвоните, and why is it used here?

• Позвоните is the imperative form of the perfective verb позвонить (“to call”).
• We use a perfective verb in the imperative when we want someone to complete the action once (i.e. make the call).
• The ending -ите tells us it’s addressed to вы (formal singular or plural “you”).

Why is мне in the dative case?

• In Russian, the person to whom you do something takes the dative case.
• Since you are calling to me, мне (“to me”) is dative.
• Think in English: “Call me.” In Russian, that “me” becomes мне.

Why is the subordinate clause когда будете свободны in the future tense, not the present?

• The main verb позвоните is an imperative, so the action is a command about the future.
• The time clause introduced by когда (“when”) refers to a future condition: “when you will be free.”
• Russian generally uses the future tense in subordinate clauses when referring to something that will happen after the command.

Why is свободны not declined for gender or number here?