Negative Future

Level 2Sounds Like negaciǰa u futuru

The negative future tense (одречни футур I) expresses that an event will not take place. It is formed using the negative auxiliary verb нећу, нећеш, неће, нећемо, нећете, неће paired either with a full infinitive (e.g., нећу радити) or with да + present tense (e.g., нећу да радим).

How It Works

Forming the negative future tense in Serbian requires combining the negative auxiliary forms of the verb хтети with the main verb complement.

1. Forms of the Negative Auxiliary
The negative particle не fuses directly with the auxiliary stem to form a single, fully stressed word:

  • Ја нећу (I will not)
  • Ти нећеш (you will not)
  • Он / Она / Оно неће (he / she / it will not)
  • Ми нећемо (we will not)
  • Ви нећете (you [plural/polite] will not)
  • Они / Оне / Она неће (they will not)

2. Two Complement Options
Serbian allows two constructions to complete the predicate:

  • Full Infinitive: нећу радити, неће доћи. Unlike the affirmative future tense (where verbs ending in -ти clip and fuse, e.g., радићу), negative future verbs always keep their complete infinitive ending (-ти or -ћи). No truncation or fusion occurs.
  • Да + Present: нећу да радим, неће да дође. Both parts inflect for the subject. In conversational Serbian, this pattern is extremely widespread. However, standard Serbian style guides note a nuance: because нећу is also the lexical negative present of 'to want', the да construction frequently conveys refusal or lack of volition ('I don't want to'). In contrast, the infinitive remains the strictly neutral prediction of future events.

3. Word Order and Clitic Placement
Because нећу is orthotonic (stressed), it is not restricted to second position like affirmative enclitics. You can start a sentence directly with it (e.g., Нећу доћи) or place standard sentence elements before it (e.g., Сутра нећемо радити).

When sentences contain clitics (such as the reflexive particle се or short object pronouns like га, ти):

  • Second-Position (Wackernagel) Rule: Clitics always occupy the clause-level second position. If нећу stands at the very beginning of the clause, clitics naturally come right after it: e.g., Нећу се вратити (I will not return); Нећемо га видети (We will not see him). However, if an initial constituent (such as an adverbial or subject pronoun) opens the sentence, the clitics must follow that first element and precede нећу: e.g., Сутра се нећу вратити (not *Сутра нећу се вратити); Ја ти нећу рећи (not *Ја нећу ти рећи); Ми га нећемо видети.
  • With the да + present construction: Clitics follow directly after да inside the subordinate clause: e.g., Нећу да се вратим; Нећемо да га видимо.

Examples (4)

  1. Сутра нећемо радити јер је државни празник.

    Tomorrow we will not work because it is a national holiday.

    Word by Word: Tomorrow not-will-we to-work because is state holiday.

    Shows a neutral, objective statement about future non-occurrence using the infinitive form 'радити'.

  2. Воз сигурно неће стићи на време.

    The train certainly will not arrive on time.

    Word by Word: Train certainly not-will to-arrive on time.

    Demonstrates the negative third-person singular auxiliary 'неће' with an infinitive ending in '-ћи'.

  3. Нећу да потпишем овај документ.

    I will not sign this document / I refuse to sign this document.

    Word by Word: Not-will-I that I-sign this document.

    Illustrates the 'да' + present construction, conveying an emphatic personal refusal.

  4. Они неће путовати ове године.

    They will not travel this year.

    Word by Word: They not-will to-travel this year.

    Uses third-person plural 'неће' alongside an infinitive to state an expected future fact.

Common Mistakes

  • Writing 'не' and the auxiliary verb separately.

    Ја не ћу доћи сутра.
    Ја нећу доћи сутра.

    Although Serbian normally spells 'не' separately from verbs (e.g., 'не знам'), 'нећу' is one of the four key exceptions where 'не' fuses into a single word.

  • Truncating the infinitive ending as if forming an affirmative fused future.

    Ми нећемо радит цео дан.
    Ми нећемо радити цео дан.

    The infinitive ending is never clipped in negative future constructions. Always keep the full ending '-ти' or '-ћи'.

  • Omitting 'да' when using a present-tense main verb.

    Ја нећу идем у школу.
    Ја нећу да идем у школу.

    You cannot pair the auxiliary directly with a finite present-tense verb; the conjunction 'да' is strictly required before the present form.

How It Connects

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Negative FutureLevel 2

Learn This First

To learn the negative future tense, you need to understand basic Future I construction and be familiar with the negative present forms of the auxiliary verb хтети (нећу, нећеш, неће, etc.).

Words in This Pattern

хтети