Future Tense in Polish
- Learn Polski
- May 8
- 2 min read
In Polish, unlike in English, German, French, Italian or Spanish, there is only one past tense, but it can have two aspects: perfective and imperfective (the difference between the two is similar to the difference between "Simple Future" and "Future Continuous" in English) - the first one describes single events, the second one is used to talk about events that happened several times in the past.
Future with Imperfective Verbs
The future tense with imperfective verbs is formed by using the verb "będę" (to be) and the infinitive form of the verb. It refers to ongoing, habitual, or repeated actions that will take place in the future.
When to use:
Planned actions
Actions that will be ongoing in the future
Actions that will happen regularly or habitually in the future
Examples:
Będę czytał książkę wieczorem.(I will be reading a book in the evening – ongoing action)
Będę pracował przez całe wakacje.(I will be working through the whole summer – repeated action)
Będziemy jeździli na wakacje co roku.(We will be going on vacation every year – habitual action)
Future with Perfective Verbs
The future tense with perfective verbs is formed by using the future tense of the verb directly, without needing "będę." It refers to completed actions that will happen in the future, often with a clear result or goal.
When to use:
One-time actions that will be completed in the future
Actions that have a clear endpoint
Examples:
Zrobię to jutro.(I will do it tomorrow – completed action)
Przeczytam tę książkę wieczorem.(I will read this book tonight – completed action)
How to conjugate verbs in the future tense in Polish in the imperfective aspect?
"być" in the future | być + infinitive | |
ja | będę | będę czytać |
ty | będziesz | będziesz czytać |
on/ona | będzie | będzie czytać |
my | będziemy | będziemy czytać |
we | będziecie | będziecie czytać |
oni/one | będą | będą czytać |
How to conjugate verbs in the future tense in Polish in the perfective aspect?
To form the perfective future in Polish for the conjugated verb in the present tense, all you need to do is add the perfective prefix (e.g. 'z-', 'prze-', 'na-', 'u-', etc.).
Present Tense | Future Tense | |
ja | piszę | na-piszę |
ty | piszesz | na-piszesz |
on/ona | pisze | na-pisze |
my | piszemy | na-piszemy |
we | piszecie | na-piszecie |
oni/one | piszą | na-piszą |