Футур II
Overview
Футур II (also called предбудуће време, exact future) is a second future tense used only in subordinate clauses - it never opens a sentence on its own. Where futur I (future-tense-futur-a2) borrows хтети, futur II reuses бити itself, in its own perfective present-tense form - будем, будеш, буде, будемо, будете, буду - plus the same радни глаголски придев (l-participle) already known from past-tense-perfekat-a2.
The main clause always keeps ordinary futur I: „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. Using futur I inside the subordinate 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.).
The auxiliary sits right after the conjunction that opens the clause - кад будеш, ако будем, чим буде - with the participle following, mirroring how conditionals-b1's би sits right after ако.
Only in subordinate clauses
Futur II appears only after conjunctions that open a temporal or conditional subordinate clause: кад(а) (when), ако (if), чим (as soon as), док (while/until). It cannot be the main verb of an independent sentence - for that, futur I is the only option.
Ако + futur II is a genuine alternative to ако + plain present for a real condition (conditionals-b1's default pattern) - 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 everyday choice. With perfective verbs, colloquial Serbian almost always replaces it with the plain perfective present instead: „Чим дођем кући, назваћу те.“ (As soon as I get home, I'll call you.), not the heavier „*Чим будем дошао кући…“. This mirrors verb-aspect-pairs-b1's rule that a perfective present-shaped form already means once this happens, so adding futur II on top usually feels redundant.
Formal and written registers still allow futur II with a perfective verb - „Кад будем завршио задатак, показаћу ти га.“ is grammatical and occasionally seen in careful writing - but it is the marked, less common option, not the default.
Tables
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | будем | будемо |
| 2. | будеш | будете |
| 3. | буде | буду |
Examples
Compared with…
English never marks the future inside a time or conditional clause at all - when I arrive, not when I will arrive - present stands in for future by rule. This predicts Serbian's perfective behaviour well (plain present дођем instead of a future form), but underestimates the imperfective side, where a genuine, dedicated future-in-subordinate-clause construction (futur II) really exists and is the everyday choice.
Common mistakes
Tips & exceptions
- Futur II is built exactly like conditionals-b1's би-conditional, just with будем/будеш/буде… instead of би - same радни придев, different auxiliary.
- With a perfective verb in a кад/ако/чим/док-clause, default to the plain present - it's the everyday choice; save futur II with perfective verbs for careful, formal writing.
- Never open a sentence with futur II - if there's no кад/ако/чим/док (or similar subordinating word) before it, the sentence needs futur I instead.
- Formal and written registers (news, official rules, contracts) use futur II with perfective verbs too, exactly as shown in the exceptions row of the asymmetry table - it is not wrong, only marked.
- Some speakers extend the everyday present-tense substitution even to certain imperfective verbs in casual speech, but futur II remains the standard, expected form for imperfective verbs in careful speech and writing.
Summary
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