The Russian future of быть: where someone will be and what something will be (я буду дома, завтра будет холодно)

Завтра я буду дома. Через год я буду врачом.Tomorrow I will be at home. In a year I will be a doctor.

The verb быть (to be) is usually left out in ordinary present-tense statements of identity, state or location, as in Zero copula and есть: Я дома. (The form есть appears in some contexts.) In the past it appears as был, была, было, были. In the future it appears again, as a full verb with its own forms: буду, будешь, будет, будем, будете, будут.

Quick shortcut: present Он дома (no verb), past Он был дома, future Он будет дома. In the future, будет is the form for he, she, it, and it is also used for "there will be".

The forms of быть in the future

The forms agree with the subject in person and number; they do not change for gender. The past forms are in Russian past tense: the -л form.

Where someone will be

For location use the matching future form of быть with в or на and the prepositional case, or with an adverb such as дома (at home), здесь (here), там (there), as in The prepositional case: location:

• Завтра я буду в школе. (Tomorrow I will be at school.)
• Вечером мы будем на концерте. (In the evening we will be at a concert.)
• Где ты будешь завтра? (Where will you be tomorrow?)

What someone or something will be

To say what someone will be (a job, a role), the predicate noun after a future form of быть usually goes in the instrumental, as in The instrumental case: means, profession and predicates with быть/стать:

• Через год я буду врачом. (In a year I will be a doctor.)
• Она будет учительницей. (She will be a teacher.)

An adjective or an adverb of state goes after будет as usual:

• Завтра будет холодно. (Tomorrow it will be cold.)
• Урок будет интересным. (The lesson will be interesting.)

"There will be" and "will have"

Будет and будут also say that something will exist or happen:

• Завтра будет урок. (There will be a lesson tomorrow.)
• Вечером будет дождь. (There will be rain in the evening.)
• На столе будут цветы. (There will be flowers on the table.)

With у + a person, the same forms say who will have something, as in The genitive case: possession:

• У меня будет время. (I will have time.)
• У нас будет собака. (We will have a dog.)

Not being: не буду and не будет

Не goes in front of the form, as in Negation with "не":

• Завтра я не буду дома. (Tomorrow I will not be at home.)
• Мы не будем в Москве. (We will not be in Moscow.)

When a thing will not exist, the verb is always не будет and the noun goes in the genitive, as in The genitive case: absence with "нет":

• Завтра не будет урока. (There will be no lesson tomorrow.)
• У меня не будет времени. (I will have no time.)

Not the same as the future of other verbs

Быть in the forms above is a verb on its own. The same forms are also used as a helper before an imperfective infinitive: Я буду читать (I will be reading). That use is explained in Future tense: imperfective (быть + infinitive).

Common mistakes

• ❌ Завтра я быть дома. → ✅ Завтра я буду дома. (the verb must agree with the subject)
• ❌ Мы будешь дома. → ✅ Мы будем дома. (мы takes будем)
• ❌ Завтра не будет урок. → ✅ Завтра не будет урока. (the genitive after не будет)
• ❌ Я буду был дома. → ✅ Я буду дома. (буду is not used with the past form)

Quick check

Which form fits each gap?

1. Завтра я ____ дома.
2. Вечером мы ____ в кафе.
3. Завтра ____ холодно.
4. Где ты ____ завтра?
5. Завтра не ____ урока.

Key takeaways

• In the future быть is a real verb: буду, будешь, будет, будем, будете, будут; in the present it is usually left out, and in the past it is был, была, было, были.
• It tells where someone will be (буду дома, буду в школе), what someone will be (буду врачом) and what the weather or a state will be (будет холодно).
• Будет / будут also say "there will be", and у меня будет says "I will have".
• The negative is не буду, and for something that will not exist it is не будет with the genitive (не будет урока).