Colloquial Russian

Unit 9: Festivals 129

Form the future tense of the other Russian verbs you have encountered
by combining the future tense of быть with the infinitive of the verb.

Игра�ть ‘to play’

я бу�ду игра�ть мы бу�дeм игра�ть

ты бу�дешь игра�ть вы бу�дете игра�ть

он/она�/оно� бу�дет игра�ть они� бу�дут игра�ть

This is called the imperfective future. As there are only two types of
future tense in Russian, it is the equivalent of more than one English
form. Бу�дет игра�ть may translate ‘will be playing’ or ‘will play’ – par-
ticularly when the latter refers to an habitual or repeated action.
Note how the future tense of быть is used in the following
constructions:

Бу�дет интере�сно

‘It will be interesting’.

Им на�до бу�дет рабо�тать

‘They will have to work’.

Интере�сно and на�дo are impersonal expressions, so are used with
the third person singular (‘it’) form of быть.

Мне бу�дет два�дцать лет

‘I shall be twenty’.

Бу�дет is used to express age in the future:

Мы должны� бу�дем пра�здновaть Рождество�

‘We will have to celebrate Christmas’.

Я должна� бу�ду жить там

‘I shall have to live there’.

The form of до�лжен changes to agree with the subjects мы and я,
and so does the form of быть:

Нам ну�жны бу�дyт коcтю�мы

‘We will need costumes’.