How to talk about the future in Russian?

By: Aleks Novikov Tue Sep 23 2025

Tenses, Verbs

In Russian, just like in English, there are several different ways to talk about the future. You can use:

the future tense (also called the “perfective future”)
the present tense
the imperfective future → быть[byt](to be) + an
using various “planning” verbs + infinitive

In this post, we’ll introduce you to these different ways to express the future: how to form them and when to use them. Are you ready to have a look? Let’s see!

What is the perfective future in Russian?

In Russian, the perfective future is also known as the “future tense.” This tense gets its name because it is formed only from perfective verb stems.

ImportantWhat are perfective and imperfective verbs?

In Russian, most actions can be described using a pair of related verbs: a “perfective” verb and an “imperfective” verb. Though these verbs do often look and sound similar, they are used in slightly different contexts. For example:

делать[DYElat](to make, do) ← imperfective
сделать[ZDYElat](to make, do) ← perfective
зарабатывать[zaraBAtyvat](to earn) ← imperfective
заработать[zaraBOtat](to earn) ← perfective

While dictionaries usually have the imperfective verbs as the main entry, most dictionaries also provide the perfective form. Check out our post on aspect pairs in Russian to learn more!

How to form the perfective future in Russian?

To form the perfective future in Russian, you will follow almost the same pattern that is used to form the Russian present tense. The only difference is that where the present tense is only formed using imperfective verbs, the perfective future is only formed using perfective verbs.

Imperfective (non-past) = Present Tense
Perfective (non-past) = Perfective Future Tense

Compare:

Infinitive	With “present tense” marking
смотреть smaTRYET to watch → imperfective	смотрю smaTRYU I am watching → present tense
посмотреть pasmaTRYET to watch → perfective	посмотрю pasmaTRYU I will watch → future tense

When to use the perfective future in Russian?

In Russian, the perfective future is used to indicate the intention to complete an action in the future. It’s a lot like the future with “will” in English.

These examples show how perfective future verbs are used for actions that will be completed in the future.

perfective future

Я перезвоню тебе через час.

ya pirizvaNYU tiBYE CHEryes chas

I will call you in an hour.

Я начну работу в январе.

ya nachNOO raBOtoo v yanvaRYE

I will start my job in January.

Perfective future verbs can also be used to simply indicate that something will happen in the future regardless of the speaker’s intention to complete an action.

Не знаю. Поживём, увидим.

ni ZNAyu. pazhiVYOM ooVEEdim.

I don’t know. We’ll wait and see.

lit. We’ll live and see.

However, unlike the future with “will” in English, the Russian perfective future is usually not used for actions that last a long time or repeat. So you usually won’t use this tense to translate sentences with the structure “I’ll be verb-ing.”

Important

Often Russians use the perfective verb пойти[payTEE](to go) in the future followed by another perfective verb in the future similar to the English way of saying “I’ll go work on my stuff.” Notice that both verbs in Russian are in the future tense.

Я пойду поиграю пока.

ya payDOO paiGRAyu paKA

I’ll go play for now.

lit. I will go will play for now.

When to use the present tense to discuss the future in Russian?

Most Russian verbs in the present tense can be used to talk about things that are going to happen in the future. You usually will do this when you are making plans or drawing up schedules.

Most often, we use the present tense to talk about the future if we are using verbs of motion such as ехать[YEkhat](go by vehicle) or идти[iTEE](go on foot) or else with prefixed verbs of motion such as улетать[ooliTAT](fly out) or уезжать[ooiZHAT](to leave).

present

Speaker A:

Ты завтра в 8 улетаешь?

ty ZAftra v VOsyem ooliTAyesh

Are you flying out at 8 tomorrow?

Speaker B:

Да, можешь подвезти меня в аэропорт?

da MOzhesh padvisTEE miNYA v aeraPORT

Yeah, can you take me to the airport?

Speaker A:

Ага, я как раз еду в сторону аэропорта.

aGA ya kak ras YEdoo f STOranoo aeraPORta

Yep, I'm conveniently going in the direction of the airport.

What is the imperfective future in Russian?

In Russian, the imperfective future is formed by combining (perfective) future tense of the verb быть[byt](to be) with an imperfective .

быть future tense	infinitive imperfective	English
я буду ya BOOdoo	жить zhyt	I will live
мы будем my BOOdyem	работать raBOtat	we will work
ты будешь ty BOOdyesh	ждать zhdat	you will wait
вы будете vy BOOditye	читать chiTAT	you will read
он будет on BOOdyet	писать piSAT	he will write
она будет aNA BOOdyet	играть igRAT	she will play
они будут aNEE BOOdoot	смотреть smatRYET	they will watch

If you want to remember this, remember that the verb быть[byt](to be) has the same root as the word for “future” in Russian is будущее[BOOdooshchiye]!

When to use the imperfective future?

The imperfective future in Russian is used to indicate that an action could go on for some time, even if that length of time is only implied. You can see this in the examples in the table above, or in the examples below:

future tenseimperfective infinitive

Буду ждать твоего очередного визита.

BOOdoo zhdat tvaiVO ochiridNOva viZEEta

I’ll be awaiting your next visit.

Будем искать новую школу.

BOOdyem isKAT NOvooyu SHKOloo

We’ll be looking for a new school.

In addition, this type of future could indicate that an action will repeat a certain number of times. In this context, it is often used with adverbs of time (frequency) such as всегда[fsigDA](always), часто[CHAsta](often), редко[RYEtka](rarely), никогда[nikagDA](never), etc.

future tenseimperfective infinitive

Я теперь почаще буду забегать.

ya tiPYER paCHAshchye BOOdoo zabiGAT

I will drop by more often now.

Давай больше никогда не будем ссориться.

daVAY BOlshe nikagDA ni BOOdyem SOritsa

Let’s never fight again.

How to express the future using “planning” verbs?

The future can also be expressed by using the present tense of a “planning” verb like verbs that refer to future plans such as собираться[sabiRAtsa](to get ready) and планировать[plaNEEravat](to plan) + an (either perfective or imperfective).

present tenseimperfective infinitive
Мои родственники планируют строить дом.
maEE ROtstviniki plaNEErooyut STROit dom
My relatives are planning on building a house.
present tenseperfective infinitive
Мои родственники планируют построить дом.
maEE ROtstviniki plaNEErooyut paSTROit dom
My relatives are planning on building a house.

As the translations above suggest, these two sentences above are very similar in meaning. The only difference is that using the imperfective infinitive implies that it will take time to build a house, while using the perfective aspect focuses on the intention to complete the building of a house.

Conclusion

In this post, we have tried to uncover some of the mysteries of the future in Russian. In particular, we investigated how the future can be expressed in Russian. To sum up, there are four ways to express the future in Russian, such as...

using perfective verbs in the future tense
using present tense
using the imperfective future with быть + imperfective infinitive
using present tense “planning” verbs + infinitive

Now let’s see how well you can talk about the future! Download the activities below to test your skills!

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