Futur II
Overview
Futur II (also called предбудуће време, the pre-future - Latin futurum exactum) is normally used in future-oriented subordinate clauses in contemporary standard Serbian. It describes a future action that happens before or alongside another future action. It is formed with the auxiliary бити in the forms будем, будеш, буде, будемо, будете, буду plus the familiar радни глаголски придев (l-participle) from the A2 lesson on perfekat.
The main clause normally takes ordinary futur I - or an imperative: „Кад будеш читао, зваћу те.“ (When you're reading, I'll call you.) pairs futur II in the кад-clause with futur I зваћу in the result, and „Ако не будеш имао времена, немој да долазиш.“ pairs it with an imperative. Putting futur I inside the future time or condition clause instead is the single most common error at this level.
Formation
Futur II never fuses into one written word the way futur I sometimes does - будем and the participle always stay two separate words, and the participle still agrees in gender and number with the subject exactly as in perfekat: будем читао (masc.), будем читала (fem.), будемо читали (pl.).
Будем is a full, stressed form of бити, not a clitic like futur I's ћу or the conditional's би. It usually comes early in the clause, often right after the conjunction - кад будеш, ако будем, чим буде - with the participle after it. But clitics and the negation не go in front of it, never after it: кад ти будем писао, ако се будеш враћао, ако не будеш имао времена.
Future-oriented subordinate clauses
In contemporary standard Serbian, Futur II is normally used in subordinate clauses about the future. Common introducers are кад(а) (when), ако or уколико (if), чим (as soon as), док (while/until), and relative words such as ко, што or како: „Ко буде дошао први, добиће најбоље место.“ A standalone main clause normally uses Futur I.
Ако + futur II is a genuine alternative to ако + plain present for a real condition (the default pattern of the conditionals lesson, B1) - both are correct; futur II just makes the future orientation more explicit: „Ако будеш имао времена, помоћи ћу ти.“ next to „Ако имаш времена, помоћи ћу ти.“
The perfective asymmetry - the heart of this lesson
With imperfective verbs, futur II is the regular way to put an ongoing future action into a кад, чим or док-clause: „Кад будеш читао, зваћу те.“ With perfective verbs, Serbian has two correct options: the plain perfective present - „Чим дођем кући, назваћу те.“ - is the usual neutral variant, especially in speech, while futur II - „Чим будем дошао кући, назваћу те.“ - is also grammatical and especially at home in careful, formal or written Serbian and when you want to stress that one future action is over before the other. (As soon as I get home, I'll call you.) The present works because a perfective present-shaped form already refers to one completed event (verb aspect pairs, B1), so the future does not have to be marked a second time.
Futur II with a perfective verb is not wrong: „Кад будем завршио задатак, показаћу ти га.“ is grammatical, but „Кад завршим задатак, показаћу ти га.“ is the usual neutral choice, especially in speech. The present is shorter; futur II makes a little more explicit that the action will be over before the main one, and it sounds at home in careful, formal or written Serbian. The one thing that never goes into a future time or condition clause like this is futur I: чим ћу доћи is wrong, whatever the aspect of the verb.
Tables
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | budem | budemo |
| 2. | budeš | budete |
| 3. | bude | budu |
Examples
Compared with…
English never puts will into a time or conditional clause - when I arrive, not when I will arrive - so the Serbian perfective present чим дођем feels familiar, and futur II чим будем дошао is close to English as soon as I've arrived: both spell out that the action will be complete first. The imperfective side is where English misleads: Serbian really does mark the future inside the clause (кад будеш читао), where English just says when you're reading.
Common mistakes
Tips & exceptions
- Futur II takes the same радни придев as perfekat and the би-conditional (B1) - only the auxiliary changes, to будем/будеш/буде…. Word order differs, though: би is a clitic and будем a full word, so clitics go before будем - кад ти будем писао - but after би - кад бих ти писао.
- With a perfective verb in a кад/ако/чим/док-clause, the plain present (кад завршим) is the usual neutral choice, especially in speech; futur II (кад будем завршио) is also correct and is especially at home in careful, formal or written Serbian. Neither is an error. With an imperfective verb, reach for futur II (after ако the plain present works too).
- Never open a sentence with futur II - if there's no кад/ако/чим/док or another subordinating word (уколико, ко, како…) before it, the sentence needs futur I instead.
- Бити with an adjective or a noun needs no participle: 'when I'm ready' is кад будем спреман, 'as soon as she's free' is чим буде слободна - the perfective present of бити itself fills the futur II slot; the full кад будем био спреман exists but is rarely needed.
- Some speakers use the plain present even with imperfective verbs in casual speech (док студираш for док будеш студирао), but futur II remains the standard, expected form for imperfective verbs in careful speech and writing.