Future Tense

Creating the future tense in Czech involves specific rules and structures. For beginners, this process is straightforward, especially with imperfective verbs. Let’s break down the principles and rules for forming the future tense using the information provided.

Imperfective Verbs

Imperfective verbs describe actions that are ongoing or repetitive. To form the future tense with these verbs, use the present tense of the verb “být” (to be) followed by the infinitive of the main verb.

Structure: být (to be) + infinitive

1. být (to be) conjugation in the future tense:
   • já budu (I will)
   • ty budeš (you will)
   • on/ona bude (he/she will)
   • my budeme (we will)
   • vy budete (you all will)
   • oni budou (they will)
2. Examples:
   • já budu dělat (I will do)
   • ty budeš vařit (you will cook)
   • on bude studovat (he will study)
   • my budeme tancovat (we will dance)
   • vy budete uklízet (you all will clean)
   • oni budou psát (they will write)

Motion Verbs

Motion verbs such as “jít” (to go on foot), “jet” (to go by vehicle), and “letět” (to fly) have irregular future tense forms that need to be memorized:

1. jít (to go on foot):
   • já půjdu
   • ty půjdeš
   • on/ona půjde
   • my půjdeme
   • vy půjdete
   • oni půjdou
2. jet (to go by vehicle):
   • já pojedu
   • ty pojedeš
   • on/ona pojede
   • my pojedeme
   • vy pojedete
   • oni pojedou
3. letět (to fly):
   • já poletím
   • ty poletíš
   • on/ona poletí
   • my poletíme
   • vy poletíte
   • oni poletí

Reflexive Verbs

Reflexive verbs in the future tense follow the same structure as other imperfective verbs but require attention to the placement of “se” or “si,” which always comes in the second position in the sentence.

Examples:

• budu se učit (I will study)
• budete se učit (you all will study)
• budeme se učit (we will study)

Perfective Verbs

This topic is already for the slightly more advanced. Perfective verbs describe actions that will be completed in the future. These verbs use the present tense form to express future actions, unlike imperfective verbs. This means you do not need “být” (to be) to form the future tense for perfective verbs.

Examples:

• Imperfective: budu dělat (I will do)
• Perfective: udělám (I will do/complete)

The key difference is:

• Imperfective verbs use “být” + infinitive (bude dělat).
• Perfective verbs use the present tense form to indicate future (udělám).

Examples:

• zaplatím (I will pay)
• přijdu (I will come)

Important Signals

To help distinguish between perfective and imperfective verbs when forming the future tense, use contextual signals:

• Imperfective verbs often come with words like “vždycky” (always), “každý den” (every day), “teď” (now).
• Perfective verbs are usually associated with “jednou” (once) or “až” (until/when).