LingoflyTomorrow I go: the future and its two spellings
The English future is will plus the bare verb. Serbian builds it the same way, from hteti plus the verb. The helper is short and always the same: ću, ćeš, će, ćemo, ćete, će. For example: “Сутра (sutra) ћу (ću) купити (kupiti) повратну карту” (kartu) — Tomorrow I will buy a return ticket. A rule from the Serbian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
The English future is will plus the bare verb. Serbian builds it the same way, from hteti plus the verb. The helper is short and always the same: ću, ćeš, će, ćemo, ćete, će.
You may write it two ways, both right. Apart: Ja ću putovati sutra. Fused: Putovaću sutra, where the verb drops its final -i and ću glues on. Verbs in -ći never fuse: ići ću, reći ću.
In conversation a Belgrader picks a third way: ću plus da plus the present. Ja ću da platim.
Two rules about place. Ću cannot open a sentence, so Sutra ću doći. To start with the helper, take the full form: Hoću da platim. The negative is fused: neću, nećeš, neće.
Table
| who | written apart | fused | negation |
|---|---|---|---|
| ja | ja ću raditi | radiću | neću raditi |
| ti | ti ćeš raditi | radićeš | nećeš raditi |
| on, ona | on će raditi | radiće | neće raditi |
| mi | mi ćemo raditi | radićemo | nećemo raditi |
| vi | vi ćete raditi | radićete | nećete raditi |
| oni | oni će raditi | radiće | neće raditi |
| verbs in -ći | ja ću ići | no fusing | neću ići |
By example
- Летоваћемо на моруLetovaćemo na moruWe will spend the summer at the sea
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Radiću or ću raditi: which is right?
You may write it two ways, both right. Apart: Ja ću putovati sutra. Fused: Putovaću sutra, where the verb drops its final -i and ću glues on. Verbs in -ći never fuse: ići ću, reći ću.
How the Serbian future is built?
The English future is will plus the bare verb. Serbian builds it the same way, from hteti plus the verb. The helper is short and always the same: ću, ćeš, će, ćemo, ćete, će.
Why neću is one word?
Two rules about place. Ću cannot open a sentence, so Sutra ću doći. To start with the helper, take the full form: Hoću da platim. The negative is fused: neću, nećeš, neće.
How to say tomorrow I will go in Serbian?
The English future is will plus the bare verb. Serbian builds it the same way, from hteti plus the verb. The helper is short and always the same: ću, ćeš, će, ćemo, ćete, će.
What does it look like in a Serbian example sentence?
“Сутра (sutra) ћу (ću) купити (kupiti) повратну карту” (kartu) (Sutra ću kupiti povratnu kartu) — Tomorrow I will buy a return ticket. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.