Future Tense in Serbian

Two ways of building the Serbian future

The future tense uses the short forms ću, ćeš, će, ćemo, ćete, će. With an infinitive ending in -ti, the auxiliary may stand before the infinitive—ja ću pevati—or attach to a shortened stem—pevaću. Verbs ending in -ći keep the full infinitive: ja ću ići, not ićiću. In questions, da li ću… is clear and widely useful.

Serbian has a full form and a short one, and both are correct. Ja ću pevati and Pevaću mean exactly the same thing, but the short form is what you will hear far more often in speech. Notice how the auxiliary attaches to the verb and the final -ti disappears: pevati + ću → pevaću.

Future sentences in Latin and Cyrillic

Word order matters more than learners expect. Sutra ću učiti is natural, but if the sentence starts with the verb you get Učiću sutra — the auxiliary can never begin the sentence. Read both columns and watch where ću lands each time; in Cyrillic the little word ћу is easy to spot.

Talking about your plans

Say five things you will do this week, using the long form each time, then say the same five with the short form. Then add a question — Da li ćeš doći večeras? — and answer it. Switching between the two forms deliberately is what stops you defaulting to one and never using the other.

Future tense exercise

Translate these sentences into Serbian in both alphabets, giving each one in the long form and then in the short form.

1. I will study Serbian tomorrow.
2. I will sing this song again.
3. We will go into town.
4. Will you come tonight?
5. He or she will not forget the promise.

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