Who knows what the future holds? No one, but it’s sure fun to think about it. If you’re studying Serbian, discussing what’s to come is also a perfect way to practice your conversational skills. And the best part? You only need to get a hang of the future tense in the Serbian language.
So, to assist you on your journey to fluency, we put together an easy-to-follow guide on the Serbian future tense with plenty of examples. Take a look!
The future tense in Serbian is futur. It’s a versatile tense, so just by learning it, you’ll be able to talk about all things future. Whether you want to discuss tomorrow’s weather or retirement plans 30 years later, futur will cover it.
Before we get into details, let’s see some examples:
Sutra će padati kiša.
(It’ll rain tomorrow.)
Živeću u Španiji kada ostarim.
(I’m going to live in Spain when I grow old.)
Poludeću.
(I’ll go crazy.)
Now that you know what the future tense in Serbian looks like, it’s time to learn how to form it.
Firstly, here’s the formula for building the future tense:
present tense of the verb hteti (short form) + infinitive
Then, let’s change the auxiliary verb hteti (to want) to fit the subject:
subject | long form | short form |
Ja (I) | hoću | ću |
Ti (you) | hoćeš | ćeš |
On/ona/ono (he, she, it) | hoće | će |
Mi (we) | hoćemo | ćemo |
Vi (you) | hoćete | ćete |
Oni/one/ona (they) | hoće | će |
Next, it’s time to put together some sentences. So, let’s use the verb pevati (to sing) for some examples:
singular | plural | |
1. | Ja ću pevati. | Mi ćemo pevati. |
2. | Ti ćeš pevati. | Vi ćete pevati. |
3. | On/ona/ono će pevati. | Oni/one/ona će pevati. |
Simple, right?
Now, you should know there’s another, shorter way to form the Future Tense in Serbian. We use the shorter form of the future tense whenever we start a sentence with a verb and not a subject. The subject is already implied in the auxiliary verb, so we can omit it, unless we really need to mention it. You will hear a short form of the future tense more frequently in Serbian than the longer form. This is because Serbian people often omit pronouns when speaking. Let’s see what the short form sounds like!
For verbs that end with -ti, remove the ending (-ti) and attach the short form of hteti to the verb stem. Also, omit the subject:
Ja ću pevati. → Pevaću.
singular | plural | |
1. | Pevaću. | Pevaćemo. |
2. | Pevaćeš. | Pevaćete. |
3. | Pevaće. | Pevaće. |
In the case of verbs that end with -ći, you don’t remove the ending. All you need to do is omit the subject and change the order of the auxiliary and main verb:
Ja ću ići. → Ići ću.
singular | plural | |
1. | Ići ću. | Ići ćemo. |
2. | Ići ćeš. | Ići ćete. |
3. | Ići će. | Ići će. |
This group is the trickiest, but only because there’s a sound change in the short form. Namely, -st- becomes -šć-.
For example, let’s see what happens with the verbs jesti (to eat) and pasti (to fall down).
Ja ću jesti. → Ješću.
Ja ću pasti. → Pašću.
singular | plural | |
1. | Ješću. | Ješćemo. |
2. | Ješćeš. | Ješćete. |
3. | Ješće. | Ješće. |
To say that something won’t happen, or that you won’t do something in the future, all you need is the negative particle ne (attached to the auxilary verb hteti):
(ne + short form of hteti) + infinitive
For example, let’s take the verb spavati (to sleep).
singular | plural | |
1. | Neću spavati. | Nećemo spavati. |
2. | Nećeš spavati. | Nećete spavati. |
3. | Neće spavati. | Neće spavati. |
If you thought the negative form was easy, the interrogative form is a walk in the park. To make a question, simply insert da li before the auxiliary verb:
da li + short form of hteti + infinitive
singular | plural | |
1. | Da li ću spavati? | Da li ćemo spavati? |
2. | Da li ćeš spavati? | Da li ćete spavati? |
3. | Da li će spavati? | Da li će spavati? |
Yes, we did say that you only need one future tense to talk about the distant and immediate future, and it’s true. However, as Serbs use other ways to talk about the future, they’re worth mentioning.
1.Prezent:
We can use prezent (the present tense) for fixed schedules or plans. For instance:
Sutra radim ceo dan.
(I work the whole day tomorrow.)
Avion poleće za sat vremena.
(The plane will take off in an hour.)
2. Futur 2:
Futur 2 is another future tense that often goes with the ordinary future tense. Usually, we use it to talk about a future action that happens before, after, or during another future event. For example:
Kada budem imala novca, kupiću auto.
(When I have the money, I’ll buy a car.)
Ići ću u šetnju, ako ne bude padala kiša.
(I’ll take a walk if it doesn’t rain.)
Lastly, here’s an exercise to check your understanding of the future tense in the Serbian language. After you fill in the blanks, check the answer key below the article.
Now that we got the pesky grammar rules out of the way, you can move on to the fun part – putting the Future Tense in the Serbian language to use. All you need to do is make plans and discuss your future in Serbian. It’s that simple!
Also, don’t worry if you can’t remember all the rules immediately – the secret is in practice and repetition.
Finally, if you need a nudge in the right direction, our teachers will guide you on your way to mastering Serbian grammar points. Simply book our individual Serbian lessons and practice the Serbian future tense in a supportive environment!
