The Russian perfective future: the simple future (я прочитаю, мы купим, он скажет)

Завтра я прочитаю эту книгу. Вечером я позвоню тебе.Tomorrow I will read this book through. In the evening I will call you.

The perfective future (also called the simple future) is one word. A perfective verb is conjugated with the same endings as a present-tense verb, but because it is perfective, the forms refer to the future: прочитаю, куплю, скажу. It presents a future action as a single, completed one, often with a result.

Quick shortcut: take a perfective verb (прочитать, купить, сказать) and conjugate it like any verb (прочитаю, прочитаешь…). The forms mean the future; there is no буду.

The forms

Perfective verbs follow the usual conjugation patterns from Present tense: first conjugation and Present tense: second conjugation:

Some verbs change a consonant in the first person singular (сказать → скажу), and verbs with a labial consonant before the ending add -л- (✅ куплю, not ❌ купю). A few common verbs are irregular: дать (to give): дам, дашь, даст, дадим, дадите, дадут; взять (to take): возьму, возьмёшь; съесть (to eat up): съем, съешь. The perfective partners of everyday verbs are listed in Common aspect pairs for everyday verbs.

When to use it

The perfective future is used for:

• a single action that will be completed: Завтра я прочитаю эту книгу. (Tomorrow I will read this book through.)
• an action with a result or a deadline: Она напишет письмо до пятницы. (She will write the letter by Friday.)
• a promise or a decision: Я позвоню тебе. (I will call you.) Я куплю хлеб. (I will buy the bread.)
• a sequence of future actions: Сначала я приготовлю ужин, потом посмотрю фильм. (First I will cook dinner, then I will watch a film.)

Words such as завтра, скоро, через час, потом, обязательно often go with it.

Questions and negatives

A yes/no question keeps the word order and is marked by intonation, and a question word can open it, as in Question words:

• Ты позвонишь? (Will you call?)
• Что ты купишь? (What will you buy?)

The negative puts не before the verb, as in Negation with "не":

• Я не куплю хлеб. (I will not buy bread.)
• Они не скажут. (They will not say.)

Perfective or imperfective future?

The two futures answer different questions, as explained in Russian verbal aspect: imperfective and perfective:

• Завтра я буду читать книгу. (a process: I will be reading)
• Завтра я прочитаю книгу. (a completed result: I will read it through)

The imperfective future, with буду, is in Future tense: imperfective (быть + infinitive). Буду is never used with a perfective verb.

Common mistakes

• ❌ Завтра я буду прочитаю книгу. → ✅ Завтра я прочитаю книгу. or ✅ Завтра я буду читать книгу. (no буду with a perfective verb)
• ❌ Завтра я купю хлеб. → ✅ Завтра я куплю хлеб. (the first person adds -л- after п: куплю)
• ❌ Я скажешь ему. → ✅ Я скажу ему. (я takes -у)
• ❌ Каждый день я напишу письмо. → ✅ Каждый день я буду писать письмо. (a repeated action needs the imperfective)

Quick check

Fill each gap with the perfective future of the verb in brackets.

1. Завтра я ____ хлеб. (купить)
2. Мы ____ ему правду. (сказать)
3. Ты ____ мне вечером? (позвонить)
4. Она ____ эту книгу до пятницы. (прочитать)
5. Они ____ билеты. (взять)

Key takeaways

• The perfective future is one word: a perfective verb with present-tense endings (прочитаю, куплю, скажешь).
• It presents a future action as a single completed one, often with a result, a deadline, a promise or a decision.
• Буду is never used with a perfective verb; for a process or a repeated action, use буду + an imperfective infinitive.
• Watch for the -л- added after a labial consonant (куплю) and for irregular verbs (дам, возьму, съем).