Verbs: Future Tense

01

How It Is Built

Take the infinitive, drop the final -ti, and add the future marker -s- followed by the personal endings:

-siu, -si, -s, -sime, -site, -s

• dirbti → dirbsiu, dirbsi, dirbs, dirbsime, dirbsite, dirbs

• Rytoj dirbsiu.

  Tomorrow I will work.

• Mes paskambinsime vakare.

  We will call in the evening.

The third person, as in the other tenses, is one form for "he", "she" and "they":

• Jis ateis.

  He will come.

• Jie ateis.

  They will come.

02

The Same Pattern for Every Type

The future is built the same way regardless of the present-tense type, because it always starts from the infinitive stem, not the present:

• skaityti → skaitysiu (I will read)
• eiti → eisiu (I will go)
• norėti → norėsiu (I will want)
• matyti → matysiu (I will see)

• Ar tu ateisi?

  Will you come?

• Mes pamatysime.

  We will see.

03

Two Things to Notice in the Third Person

The third person has no personal ending of its own. The stem plus -s is the whole word:

• dirbti → jis dirbs

  he will work.

• važiuoti → jis važiuos

  he will drive.

And when the stem already ends in s, z, š or ž, that consonant and the future -s- merge into a single sound rather than doubling, so the future ends up looking barely different from the stem:

• nešti → jis neš

  he will carry.

• grįžti → jis grįš

  he will come back.

04

Talking About Plans

The future is your tool for intentions, promises and predictions:

• Rytoj pirksiu duonos.

  Tomorrow I will buy bread.

• Aš tau padėsiu.

  I will help you.

• Manau, lis.

  I think it will rain.

05

Negatives and Questions

Negate with ne-, ask with ar, exactly as in the other tenses:

• Nedirbsiu.

  I won't work.

• Ar tu ateisi?

  Will you come?

• Ji nepamirš.

  She won't forget.

06

Future or Conditional?

Keep the plain future ("I will …") apart from the conditional ("I would …"). The future states what is going to happen; the conditional only imagines it:

• Padėsiu tau.

  I will help you. (a promise)

• Padėčiau tau.

  I would help you. (if I could)

07

The Verb "to be" in the Future

būti follows the regular pattern on the stem bū-:

• būsiu, būsi, bus, būsime, būsite, bus

• Rytoj būsiu namie.

  Tomorrow I will be at home.

• Viskas bus gerai.

  Everything will be fine.