Future Tenses in Greek

In Brief

Greek normally forms the future with θα + verb. Use the perfective form for an action viewed as one complete event—θα γράψω, “I will write”—and the imperfective form for an action viewed as ongoing or repeated—θα γράφω, “I will be writing / I will write regularly.” Negation is δεν θα, not μην θα.

Overview

The future in Modern Greek is not a single set of special endings. Its most recognizable marker is the unchanging particle θα, placed before a verb: θα έρθω (“I will come”), θα δουλεύουμε (“we will be working”), θα βρέχει (“it will be raining”). A particle is a short word that does not change form but helps express grammatical meaning.

At B1, the central task is not learning θα itself; it is choosing the right aspect after it. Aspect means the way a speaker presents an action: either as a complete whole (perfective) or from inside it, as ongoing, repeated, or habitual (imperfective). Compare θα διαβάσω το βιβλίο (“I will read the book,” with completion in view) and θα διαβάζω στο τρένο (“I will be reading on the train”).

This system differs from English. English may use “will,” “be going to,” the present continuous, or even the simple present for future time. Greek commonly uses θα across many of those situations and makes the crucial distinction through the verb stem. Greek also has no infinitive in ordinary modern usage: the form after θα changes for person, just as it does after να in the subjunctive (the verb pattern used after να for wanted, possible, necessary, or dependent actions).

How It Works

The two core patterns

Meaning	Structure	Example	Natural English equivalent
Complete or bounded future event	θα + perfective non-past form	θα γράψω	I will write; I will get it written
Ongoing, repeated, or habitual future activity	θα + imperfective non-past form	θα γράφω	I will be writing; I will write regularly

The term non-past form matters because forms such as γράψω do not express future time by themselves. They occur after particles and conjunctions: να γράψω (“to write / that I write”), θα γράψω (“I will write”), αν γράψω (“if I write”). The particle or surrounding structure supplies the meaning.

Learner materials often call θα γράψω the simple future (στιγμιαίος μέλλοντας) and θα γράφω the continuous future (εξακολουθητικός μέλλοντας). Those labels are useful, but “simple” does not literally mean that the action must happen only once, and “continuous” is broader than “in progress.” The contrast is really one of viewpoint.

Building the forms with γράφω

The perfective stem of γράφω is γραψ-, also seen in the aorist έγραψα and the subjunctive να γράψω. The imperfective future keeps the present stem γραφ-.

Person	Perfective future	Imperfective future
εγώ	θα γράψω	θα γράφω
εσύ	θα γράψεις	θα γράφεις
αυτός / αυτή / αυτό	θα γράψει	θα γράφει
εμείς	θα γράψουμε	θα γράφουμε
εσείς	θα γράψετε	θα γράφετε
αυτοί / αυτές / αυτά	θα γράψουν(ε)	θα γράφουν(ε)

Subject pronouns are normally omitted because the ending identifies the person. Thus θα γράψουμε already means “we will write.” Add εμείς only when contrast or emphasis is useful: Εμείς θα γράψουμε, εσείς θα μιλήσετε (“We will write; you will speak”).

How to choose the aspect

Choose the perfective future when you present an action as a whole, often with a result, endpoint, quantity, or single occasion:

• Θα τελειώσω την αναφορά απόψε. — I will finish the report tonight.
• Θα πιω έναν καφέ. — I will have a coffee.
• Θα σου τηλεφωνήσω στις οκτώ. — I will call you at eight.
• Θα μείνουμε τρεις μέρες. — We will stay for three days.

Choose the imperfective future when you focus on duration, an action in progress, repetition, habit, or an open-ended state:

• Αύριο τέτοια ώρα θα ταξιδεύουμε. — At this time tomorrow, we will be travelling.
• Θα πηγαίνω στο γυμναστήριο κάθε Δευτέρα. — I will go to the gym every Monday.
• Όλο το βράδυ θα διαβάζει. — He/She will be studying all evening.
• Θα μένω στην Αθήνα. — I will be living in Athens.

Time expressions are clues, not mechanical rules. Όλη μέρα θα γράφω naturally presents writing as an activity in progress. But a duration can still be bounded: Θα μείνω εκεί όλη μέρα treats the whole stay as one event. Meaning and viewpoint decide the form.

Common perfective–imperfective pairs

Many verbs must be learned as an aspectual pair. The perfective form may change the stem substantially; do not assume that adding σ always works.

Dictionary/present form	Perfective future	Imperfective future	Core contrast
γράφω	θα γράψω	θα γράφω	write to completion / be writing
διαβάζω	θα διαβάσω	θα διαβάζω	read on an occasion / read regularly or be reading
ανοίγω	θα ανοίξω	θα ανοίγω	open / be opening repeatedly
τρώω	θα φάω	θα τρώω	eat on an occasion / be eating or eat habitually
βλέπω	θα δω	θα βλέπω	see once / keep seeing or watch regularly
έρχομαι	θα έρθω	θα έρχομαι	come on an occasion / come regularly
πάω / πηγαίνω	θα πάω	θα πηγαίνω	go on an occasion / go regularly or be on the way
λέω	θα πω	θα λέω	say/tell once / keep saying
παίρνω	θα πάρω	θα παίρνω	take/get once / take regularly
βρίσκω	θα βρω	θα βρίσκω	find / keep finding

The most reliable study method is to learn three linked forms together: γράφω – έγραψα – θα γράψω, βλέπω – είδα – θα δω, τρώω – έφαγα – θα φάω. The aorist usually reveals the perfective stem, although its past augment—such as έ- in έγραψα—normally disappears in the future.

Negatives, questions, and pronouns

Future negation uses δεν:

• Δεν θα έρθω. — I will not come.
• Δεν θα δουλεύουμε αύριο. — We will not be working tomorrow.

A yes/no question keeps the same word order and is signaled by intonation in speech. In Greek writing, the question mark is the semicolon-shaped character ;:

• Θα έρθεις αύριο; — Will you come tomorrow?
• Δεν θα μείνετε; — Won’t you stay?

A weak object pronoun (a short form such as με, “me,” or το, “it,” standing for the person or thing affected) goes between θα and the verb:

• Θα το γράψω αύριο. — I will write it tomorrow.
• Θα σου τηλεφωνώ κάθε εβδομάδα. — I will call you every week.
• Δεν θα τους το πούμε. — We will not tell it to them.

The practical order is δεν + θα + object pronoun(s) + verb. With two pronouns, the indirect object comes before the direct object: θα σου το δώσω (“I will give it to you”).

Examples in Context

Greek	English	Note
Θα γράψω ένα γράμμα.	I will write a letter.	One complete piece of writing
Θα γράφω όλη μέρα.	I will be writing all day.	Activity viewed in progress
Θα έρθεις αύριο;	Will you come tomorrow?	Perfective question about one visit
Θα βρέχει.	It will be raining.	Ongoing weather situation
Μέχρι το βράδυ θα τελειώσω τη δουλειά.	I will finish the work by evening.	Endpoint and expected result
Από τον Σεπτέμβριο θα δουλεύω από το σπίτι.	From September, I will be working from home.	Continuing arrangement
Κάθε Παρασκευή θα τρώμε μαζί.	We will eat together every Friday.	Repeated future habit
Μην ανησυχείς, θα σε βοηθήσω.	Don’t worry, I will help you.	Promise; help viewed as a whole
Αύριο στις δέκα θα πετάμε πάνω από την Ιταλία.	Tomorrow at ten, we will be flying over Italy.	Action in progress at a future time
Δεν θα αγοράσω αυτό το αυτοκίνητο.	I will not buy this car.	Negative perfective future
Θα μου το στείλεις με email;	Will you send it to me by email?	Two object pronouns before the verb
Όταν φτάσεις, θα σου τηλεφωνήσω.	When you arrive, I will call you.	Perfective events in sequence
Αν έχει καλό καιρό, θα πάμε στη θάλασσα.	If the weather is good, we will go to the sea.	Real future possibility
Του χρόνου θα μένουν στη Θεσσαλονίκη.	Next year, they will be living in Thessaloniki.	Future state over a period

Common Mistakes

Using the imperfective form for every English “will”

• Wrong: Θα γράφω το μήνυμα και μετά θα φύγω. (when you mean one completed message)
• Right: Θα γράψω το μήνυμα και μετά θα φύγω.
• Why: The message must be completed before the next event. English “will write” does not tell you which Greek aspect to choose.

Using the perfective form for a repeated routine

• Wrong: Κάθε μέρα θα πάω με τα πόδια στη δουλειά.
• Right: Κάθε μέρα θα πηγαίνω με τα πόδια στη δουλειά.
• Why: κάθε μέρα establishes a repeated future habit, so the imperfective form is natural.

Negating the future with μην

• Wrong: Μην θα έρθω αύριο.
• Right: Δεν θα έρθω αύριο.
• Why: Ordinary future statements take δεν. Μην is used in negative commands and in certain να constructions, not before θα in this pattern.

Putting an object pronoun before θα

• Wrong: Το θα αγοράσω αύριο.
• Right: Θα το αγοράσω αύριο.
• Why: Weak object pronouns stand directly before the verb but after θα. With negation, say δεν θα το αγοράσω.

Keeping the past augment

• Wrong: Θα έγραψα το γράμμα αύριο.
• Right: Θα γράψω το γράμμα αύριο.
• Why: έγραψα is a past-tense form. The future uses the non-past perfective form γράψω, without the past augment έ-.

Assuming every perfective stem is predictable

• Wrong: Θα βλέψω την ταινία.
• Right: Θα δω την ταινία.
• Why: Common verbs often have irregular aspectual pairs. Learn βλέπω – είδα – θα δω as a unit.

Usage Notes

Plans, predictions, promises, and spontaneous decisions

Greek θα covers several meanings for which English chooses different constructions. Depending on context, θα φύγω αύριο can correspond to “I’ll leave tomorrow” or “I’m going to leave tomorrow.” Θα σε βοηθήσω can be a promise or a decision made at that moment. Greek does not need a one-to-one equivalent of English “be going to” for every planned event.

For fixed schedules, Greek can also use the present tense when the future time is clear: Το τρένο φεύγει στις έξι (“The train leaves at six”). Likewise, informal speech often uses the present for a firm personal arrangement: Αύριο πάω Αθήνα (“I’m going to Athens tomorrow”). Using θα remains correct when presenting the event as future.

Aspect is about viewpoint, not objective duration

The same event can be framed differently:

• Θα διαβάσω για δύο ώρες. — I will study for two hours. The two-hour session is treated as one bounded event.
• Στις οκτώ θα διαβάζω. — At eight I will be studying. The listener is placed inside the activity.

Even repeated events may be counted as a bounded set: Θα πάω τρεις φορές (“I will go three times”) commonly uses perfective πάω, because the three visits form a limited total. Compare Θα πηγαίνω τρεις φορές την εβδομάδα (“I will go three times a week”), an ongoing routine.

Stress and pronunciation

θα is normally unstressed and pronounced closely with what follows. In writing it remains a separate word: θα έρθω, not a contraction. In careful learning, keep the spelling separate even if natural speech sounds faster.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

Future perfect

To say that something will already be complete before a later future point, Greek uses θα + έχω + invariant perfect form: θα έχω τελειώσει (“I will have finished”). This is the Future Perfect, a separate tense built on the same future particle.

• Μέχρι τις πέντε θα έχω τελειώσει. — By five, I will have finished.
• Όταν φτάσεις, θα έχουν φύγει. — When you arrive, they will have left.

θα beyond literal future time

In context, θα can express probability or inference rather than future time:

• Θα είναι στο σπίτι τώρα. — He/She is probably at home now.
• Θα έχει περίπου πενήντα κατοίκους. — It probably has about fifty inhabitants.

This use is common and is best understood as “I suppose/probably,” not as a future tense. Context and time words such as τώρα make the intended meaning clear.

Greek also uses θα with past forms in conditional or habitual meanings:

• Θα ήθελα έναν καφέ. — I would like a coffee.
• Όταν ήμασταν παιδιά, θα παίζαμε ώρες στην αυλή. — When we were children, we would play for hours in the yard.
• Αν είχα χρόνο, θα ταξίδευα περισσότερο. — If I had time, I would travel more.

These are not ordinary future forms. They belong to polite requests, past habits, and hypothetical conditions. Notice especially that θα does not always equal English “will”; the tense and aspect of the following verb, together with context, determine the meaning.

Future time in dependent clauses

English often uses a present form after “when” even though the meaning is future: “when you arrive.” Greek commonly uses a perfective non-past form without θα in clauses introduced by expressions such as όταν:

• Όταν φτάσεις, θα με πάρεις τηλέφωνο. — When you arrive, you will call me.

Do not automatically insert θα into every clause that refers to the future. In real conditions, patterns such as αν βρέξει, θα μείνουμε σπίτι (“if it rains, we will stay home”) likewise place θα in the result clause, not necessarily in the αν clause.

Practice Tips

1. Learn aspectual triplets. For each new verb, record its present, aorist, and perfective future: παίρνω – πήρα – θα πάρω. Add one imperfective-future sentence and one perfective-future sentence.
2. Change the time frame, not just the verb. Turn Κάθε μέρα διαβάζω μία ώρα into Από αύριο θα διαβάζω μία ώρα κάθε μέρα, then contrast it with Αύριο θα διαβάσω αυτό το κεφάλαιο. This makes aspect meaningful rather than mechanical.
3. Listen for the words around the verb. In conversation, notice clues such as κάθε, όλη μέρα, στις οκτώ, μέχρι, and τρεις φορές. Predict the aspect before you hear the verb, then check whether the speaker framed the event as ongoing or complete.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Subjunctive Mood — introduces the non-past forms also used after θα.
• Next step: Future Perfect — expresses completion before a later future point.
• Next step: Real Conditional Sentences — combines possible conditions with future results.
• Advanced contrast: Conditional Sentences — shows how θα works with past forms for hypothetical meaning.
• Advanced contrast: Unreal Past Conditional — uses θα for unreal results in the past rather than future time.