The Czech future tense can be a bit of a puzzle, but once you understand how it works, it becomes much more manageable.
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Two Types of Future Tense
Czech verbs come in two aspects:
Perfective: Describes completed actions.
Imperfective: Describes ongoing, habitual, or repeated actions.
The type of verb determines how we form the future tense.
Perfective Verbs: Present Forms = Future Meaning
Perfective verbs use present tense forms to express the future.
Example: “psát” (to write – imperfective) vs. “napsat” (to write – perfective)
| Person | psát (present, real present) | napsat (present, future meaning) |
|---|---|---|
| ja | píšu | napíšu |
| ty | píšeš | napíšeš |
| on/ona/ono | píše | napíše |
| my | píšeme | napíšeme |
| vy | píšete | napíšete |
| oni/ony/ona | píšou | napíšou |
Examples:
“Píšu email.” = I am writing an email. (imperfective)
“Napíšu email.” = I will write an email. (perfective)
The same goes for:
platit (to pay – imperfective)
zaplatit (to pay – perfective)
Example:
“On zaplatí.” = He will pay. (perfective)
Imperfective Verbs: Compound Future Tense
When we want to emphasize the duration or repetition of an action, or if the verb doesn’t have a perfective counterpart, we use the compound future tense.
This is formed by the future of “být” + infinitive of the main verb.
Future forms of “být”:
| Person | Future of “být” |
| ja | budu |
| ty | budeš |
| on/ona/ono | bude |
| my | budeme |
| vy | budete |
| oni/ony/ona | budou |
Example with “psát”:
| Person | Compound Future |
| ja | budu psát |
| ty | budeš psát |
| on/ona/ono | bude psát |
| my | budeme psát |
| vy | budete psát |
| oni/ony/ona | budou psát |
Examples:
“Budu psát emaily celý den.” = I will be writing emails all day.
“Budeme volat celou noc.” = We will be calling all night.
Verbs Without Perfective Counterparts
Some imperfective verbs don’t have perfective partners. These always use the compound future.
Examples:
pracovat (to work): budu pracovat, budeš pracovat…
mít (to have): budu mít, budeš mít…
muset (must, have to): budu muset, budeš muset…
Note: “muset” is often used in present even when referring to the future:
“Zítra musíme jít do práce.” = We have to go to work tomorrow.
Special Case: Verbs of Motion
Some motion verbs are imperfective but cannot use “být” in the future. Instead, they form special future-only forms.
“jet” (to go by vehicle):
| Person | Future Form |
| ja | pojedu |
| ty | pojedeš |
| on/ona/ono | pojede |
| my | pojedeme |
| vy | pojedete |
| oni/ony/ona | pojedou |
“jít” (to go on foot):
| Person | Future Form |
| ja | půjdu |
| ty | půjdeš |
| on/ona/ono | půjde |
| my | půjdeme |
| vy | půjdete |
| oni/ony/ona | půjdou |
These behave like perfective verbs in that they express future directly, but are only used in the future.
Summary of Czech Future Tense Rules
Czech has two types of future tense: one for perfective verbs, and one for imperfective verbs.
Perfective verbs express the future using their present tense forms — no auxiliary needed.
Example: napíšu email = I will write an email.Imperfective verbs use the compound future, which means using the future forms of být + infinitive.
Example: budu psát email = I will be writing an email.We use perfective verbs when the focus is on the completion of the action.
We use imperfective verbs when we emphasize the duration, repetition, or process.Some imperfective verbs have no perfective pair — like pracovat, mít, or muset. These always use the compound future.
Motion verbs (jet, jít) are imperfective but have special future-only forms like pojedu or půjdu — you can’t use budu jet, for example.
Negation is made by adding ne- to the full meaning verbs in single-word perfective future, “Nenapíšu ten email” and adding ne- to the auxiliary být in compound imperfective future: “Nebudu psát ten email.“
Questions are formed using intonation only — no word order change needed.
Example: Napíšeš ten email? / Budeš psát ten email?
Test Your Knowledge
Choose the correct future form of the verb. If the subject pronoun is in parentheses, it means that the subject is dropped.