This lesson will explain various possibilities to form the future tense. Your Ukrainian grammar bank increases lesson by lesson! 🙂
Useful phrase in Ukrainian
Listen and repeat the following sentence:
Я бу́ду чита́ти рома́н, але́ не прочита́ю його́.
I will be reading the novel, but I will not finish reading it.
The verbal aspect and the future of Ukrainian verbs In lesson 11 you have seen the verbal aspect, that is, you have learnt the imperfective and perfective verbs. Now we are going to see how to form the future of these verbs.
During the lesson you will see the concept of “finished action” (=perfective) and “action in progress” (=imperfective).
Ukrainian vocabulary
Read, listen and repeat the basic vocabulary of this lesson.
гість / го́сті
guest / guests
до ре́чі
by the way
по́тім
afterwards
зно́ву
again
гара́зд
ok, alright
за́втра / до за́втра, поба́чимось за́втра
tomorrow, see you tomorrow
недíля
Sunday
дома́шнє завда́ння
homework
впра́ва
exercise
шви́дко
quickly, fast
день наро́дження
birthday
вечíрка
party
суп, м’я́со, десе́рт
soup, meat, dessert
сма́чно, смакота́
yummy, tasty, delicious
Vocabulary of verbs
Read, listen and repeat the basic vocabulary of this lesson.
Ukrainian verbs that you will see on this lesson.
These are the new verbs that you will learn in the dialogues.
Ukrainian (imperfective verb / perfective verb)
English
обíдати / пообíдати
to have lunch
чита́ти / прочита́ти
to read
дзвони́ти / подзвони́ти
to call, to phone
працюва́ти / попрацюва́ти
to work
Dialogues
With extra help for verbs!
Now you are going to see a series of short dialogues which include perfective and imperfective verbs in the future tense. In the grammar section (after these dialogues) you will learn more about these these Ukrainian verbs.
We are going to help you:
- Perfective verbs will be highlighted.
- Imperfective verbs will be highlighted.
Dialogue 1
Ма́ша, сього́дні я не бу́ду працюва́ти. А ти? Ти працю́єш сього́дні?
Маsha, today I’m not going to work. And you? Do you work today?
Я теж не працю́ю. Я бу́ду вдо́ма. А що ти бу́деш роби́ти?
I don’t work either. I’ll be home. And what will you do?
Я бу́ду готува́ти весь ра́нок, тому́ що у ме́не бу́дуть го́сті. До ре́чі, Майкл бу́де допомага́ти менí!
I’ll be cooking all morning because I’m going to have guests. By the way, Michael is going to help me!
Яки́й він молоде́ць! А вве́чері? Що ви бу́дете роби́ти?
What a good boy! And in the evening? What are you going to do?
Нічо́го. Я ду́маю, що ми бу́демо диви́тися телевíзор. А ти?
Nothing. I think that we will watch TV. And you?
Сього́дні я бу́ду чита́ти рома́н весь ра́нок. По́тім пообíдаю та зно́ву бу́ду чита́ти рома́н.
Today I’ll be reading a novel all morning. Afterwards I’ll have lunch and again, I’ll read the novel.
Ти прочита́єш рома́н сього́дні? Якщо́ так, то подзвони́ менí та помірку́ємо що ми бу́демо роби́ти вве́чері.
Will you finish reading the novel today? If so, call me and we’ll think what we’re going to do in the evening.
Гара́зд! Я прочита́ю рома́н та подзвоню́ тобí.
Alright, I’m going to finish reading the novel and I’ll call you.
Dialogue 2
За́втра недíля. Що ти бу́деш роби́ти?
Tomorrow is Sunday. What are you going to do?
За́втра я бу́ду роби́ти моє́ дома́шнє завда́ння.
Tomorrow I’m going to do my homework.
Ти бу́деш роби́ти дома́шнє завда́ння всю недíлю?
Will you be doing your homework all Sunday?
Звича́йно, що ні. Сього́дні вве́чері я прочита́ю текст, а за́втра зра́нку я бу́ду роби́ти впра́ви. Я ду́маю, що я зроблю́ все сього́дні. За́втра я бу́ду відпочива́ти весь день.
Of course not. Today in the evening I’m going to read the text, and tomorrow in the morning I’ll do the exercise. I think that I’ll do everything today. Tomorrow I’m going to be resting all day long.
Молоде́ць! Ти за́вжди ро́биш дома́шнє завда́ння шви́дко.
Well done! You always do your homework fast.
В ме́не іде́я! Я зроблю́ твоє́ дома́шнє завда́ння та по́тім ми бу́демо відпочива́ти ра́зом.
I have an idea! I’m going to do your homework and afterwards we’ll rest together.
Ні. Я все зроблю́ сама́.
No. I’m going to do everything myself.
Гара́зд. Ти менí подзво́ниш за́втра вве́чері? Я бу́ду диви́тися телевíзор.
Alright. Will you call me tomorrow evening? I’ll be watching television.
Так, я подзвоню́ тобí. До за́втра.
Yes, I’ll call. See you tomorrow.
Dialogue 3
Майкл, за́втра твій день наро́дження. Ми бу́демо готува́ти весь ра́нок, тому́ що…у нас бу́де мале́нька вечíрка!
Michael, tomorrow is your birthday. We’re going to be cooking all morning because… we will have a small party!
Ва́у, дя́кую, О́лю! Я бу́ду допомага́ти!
Wow, thanks Oliu! I’m going to help!
До́бре, тодí ти приготу́єш суп та я приготу́ю м’я́со та зроблю́ десе́рт. Все бу́де ду́же сма́чно.
Good, then you will make the soup and I will cook the meat and make the dessert. Everything is going to be very yummy.
А що ми бу́демо роби́ти вве́чері? Ми бу́демо диви́тись телевíзор вдо́ма?
And what will we do in the evening? Are we going to watch tv at home?
Ні, ми кра́ще поди́вимось фільм у кінотеа́трі, до́бре?
No, it’s better if we’re going to watch a movie at the cinema, ok?
Га́рна іде́я.
Good idea.
Ukrainian grammar
Read the following grammar explanations for this lesson:
The future tense in Ukrainian
Step 1: The future of the verb “to be” (бу́ти)
As you have seen in lesson 11, for each English verb in Ukrainian there are two verbs: a perfective and an imperfective one. Now we will see how to form their future tense.
We will start with the future of the verb “to be” (бу́ти).
The verb “бу́ти” is used as an auxiliary verb in order to form the future. It has a similar function as “will” in English.
| Ukrainian | English |
|---|---|
| Я бу́ду | I will be |
| Ти бу́деш | You will be |
| Він / вона́ бу́де | He / she will be |
| Ми бу́демо | We will be |
| Ви бу́дете | You will be |
| Вони бу́дуть | They will be |
Step 2: How form the future tense in Ukrainian
In lesson 11 you have seen that the past tense in Ukrainian is formed the same way for both imperfective and perfective verbs. In the case of the future tense, we have these two ways.
| Future tense of imperfective verbs: | Future tense of perfective verbs: |
|---|---|
| Verb “бу́ти” conjugated in the future tense + infinitive of the imperfective verb. | stem of the perfective verb + endings of the present tense |
| This is similar to the way we form the future tense in English. | This looks like the present tense but it expresses the future. |
We can now see an example with the verb “to read”. Pay attention: for the verb “to read” there are two Ukrainian verbs.
чита́ти (imperfective) and прочита́ти (perfective). We will see below how to form the future tense for each verb:
| чита́ти – to read | imperfective |
|---|---|
| Ukrainian | English |
| Я бу́ду чита́ти | I will read / I’m going to read |
| Ти бу́деш чита́ти | You will read / You’re going to read |
| Він / вона́ бу́де чита́ти | He / she will read / He’s going to read |
| Ми бу́демо чита́ти | We will read / We’re going to read |
| Ви бу́дете чита́ти | You will read / You’re going to read |
| Вони́ бу́дуть чита́ти | They will read /They’re going to read |
| прочита́ти – to read | perfective |
|---|---|
| Ukrainian | English |
| Я прочита́ю | I will read / I’m going to read |
| Ти прочита́єш | You will read / You’re going to read |
| Він / вона́ прочита́є | He / she will read / He’s going to read |
| Ми прочита́ємо | We will read / We’re going to read |
| Ви прочита́єте | You will read / You’re going to read |
| Вони́ прочита́ють | They will read / They’re going to read |
The perfective verbs do not exist in the present tense
This is a difficult concept, but it is important to understand it. we will explain it with an example:
In English we can use the construction “finish + verb + -ing” in the present, but with a future meaning:
- Today I finish reading the book – In 5 minutes I finish cooking – Tomorrow I finish painting
Something similar happens with the perfective verbs in Ukrainian:
You already know that perfective verbs convey the idea of “finished action”. The future of these verbs are formed adding the endings of the present, but (as it happens with “finish + verb + -ing) they have a future meaning.
In other words: The verbs that form the future with the endings of the present (that is, the perfective verbs) don’t have any “present tense”. They can only be used to express past and future.
Step 3: Examples of Ukrainian verbs in the future tense
Have a look at these examples to understand better the use of imperfective and perfective Ukrainian verbs in the future.
Ukrainian verbs give more information that English verbs. That’s why below you will see three columns:
- a sentence in Ukrainian
- the English translation
- a longer translation where you can see the extra information given by the Ukrainian verb.
| Ukrainian | English translation | Information given by the Ukrainian verb, not given by the English one |
|---|---|---|
| За́втра я бу́ду готува́ти суп готува́ти (imperfective): to cook |
“Tomorrow I’m going to cook soup” or “Tomorrow I’ll cook soup” | Tomorrow I will be performing the action of cooking soup, but I don’t say if I’ll finish cooking it or not. |
| За́втра я приготу́ю суп приготува́ти (perfective): to cook |
“Tomorrow I’m going to cook soup” or “Tomorrow I’ll cook soup” | Tomorrow I will cook soup and I will finish cooking it. |
| Іва́н бу́де чита́ти рома́н чита́ти (imperfective): to read |
“Ivan is going to read a novel” or “Ivan will read a novel” | Ivan will be performing the action of reading a novel, but doesn’t tell if he’ll finish it or not. |
| Іва́н прочита́є рома́н прочита́ти (perfective): to read |
“Ivan is going to read a novel” or “Ivan will read a novel” | Ivan is going to be reading the novel until he finishes it. |
| Сього́дні ми бу́демо роби́ти все роби́ти (imperfective): to do |
“Today we’re going to do everything” or “Today we’ll do everything” | Today we are going to be performing the action of doing everything, but we don’t say if we’ll finish or not. |
| Сього́дні ми все зро́бимо зроби́ти (perfective): to do |
“Today we’re going to do everything” or “Today we’ll do everything” | Today we will be doing everything until we finish it. |
Have you noticed it? When you read the English translation (that is, the second column in the examples above) you can’t tell if the Ukrainian sentence used a perfective or an imperfective verb. In real situations you won’t see a sentence alone: you will see a whole context to help you know if the action finished or not.
But as you can see, Ukrainian verbs give more information that English verbs.
Test
Check if you know this lesson:
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