The σ formative — what will be, what shall be. No augment. Stem + σ + present endings. Consonant changes, contract verb futures, liquid futures (σ disappears), future-middle deponents, and the future as the NT's grammar of promise.
Up to now every tense has been present or past. The future points forward.
Important: the future has no augment. The augment is a past-time marker only. Future, present, and perfect tenses all lack it.
The simplest tense to form. The basic recipe:
No augment (the future is not past). No special endings (it borrows present-system endings). Just stem + σ + ending.
Both the future and the aorist use a σ marker. How do you tell them apart?
| Future | Aorist | |
|---|---|---|
| Augment | NO | YES (ἐ-) |
| Endings | Primary (-ω, -εις...) | Secondary (-α, -ας...) |
| Formative | σ alone | σα |
| Example | λύσω | ἔλυσα |
σ + primary endings + no augment → future.
σ + secondary endings + augment → aorist.
The σ alone cannot tell you which tense. Look at all three signals.
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | λύσω — I will loose | λύσομεν |
| 2nd | λύσεις | λύσετε |
| 3rd | λύσει | λύσουσι(ν) |
Same endings as the present: -ω, -εις, -ει, -ομεν, -ετε, -ουσι(ν). Only the σ between stem and ending tells you it's future.
If you can read present forms confidently, you can read future actives.
| Present | Future | Combination |
|---|---|---|
| βλέπω | βλέψω | π + σ → ψ (labial) |
| γράφω | γράψω | φ + σ → ψ |
| διώκω | διώξω | κ + σ → ξ (velar) |
| ἄγω | ἄξω | γ + σ → ξ |
| πείθω | πείσω | θ drops (dental) |
| βαπτίζω | βαπτίσω | ζ drops |
| σῴζω | σώσω | ζ drops |
Same Square of Stops you learned for the 1st aorist (Lesson 15). Memorize once; use forever.
Contract verbs (ending in -άω, -έω, -όω) cause headaches in the present. In the future, the σ acts as a buffer: the contract vowel lengthens to match the σ, then everything proceeds normally.
Exception: καλέω → καλέσω (ε keeps short, irregular).
Verbs whose stems end in λ, μ, ν, ρ (the "liquid" consonants) form their futures without a visible σ.
Greek phonology disliked σ next to liquids. Where you'd expect μένσω, the σ drops and a contraction with ε occurs, producing μενῶ (with circumflex).
💡 The circumflex accent is your visual giveaway: μενῶ, μενεῖ, μενοῦμεν. Plus context — futures live in promise/prophecy territory.
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | μενῶ — I will remain | μενοῦμεν |
| 2nd | μενεῖς | μενεῖτε |
| 3rd | μενεῖ | μενοῦσι(ν) |
Common liquid futures in NT:
Liquid futures look identical to ε-contract presents. μενεῖ could be future ("he will remain") — or you might think it's a contract present.
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | λύσομαι | λυσόμεθα |
| 2nd | λύσῃ | λύσεσθε |
| 3rd | λύσεται | λύσονται |
Recipe: stem + σ + primary middle endings (-ομαι, -ῃ, -εται, -ομεθα, -εσθε, -ονται).
Same endings as present middle/passive — only the σ tells you it's future.
A peculiar feature of Greek: some otherwise-active verbs flip to middle deponent in the future. They have no future active form.
| Present | Future Middle | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| γινώσκω | γνώσομαι | I will know |
| λαμβάνω | λήμψομαι | I will receive |
| ὁράω / βλέπω | ὄψομαι | I will see (suppletive) |
| ἐσθίω | φάγομαι | I will eat |
| πίνω | πίομαι | I will drink |
| πίπτω | πεσοῦμαι | I will fall |
| ἀκούω | ἀκούσομαι | I will hear |
Memorize as exceptions. The middle form has no special middle meaning — it's just how those verbs form the future.
εἰμί is suppletive in the future, like in other tenses.
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | ἔσομαι | ἐσόμεθα |
| 2nd | ἔσῃ | ἔσεσθε |
| 3rd | ἔσται | ἔσονται |
~191 NT occurrences. The 3sg ἔσται is one of the most theologically loaded futures — used in Jesus's eschatological promises and in angelic announcements.
In ordinary Greek, the future is relatively rare. The NT uses it heavily — almost always for promise.
Pause when you see a future. Ask who the implied agent is (often God, especially in passive futures). Ask what is being promised. The future is the New Testament's grammar of hope.
"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."
"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth." Future active 3pl of κληρονομέω. Note ε-contract lengthens to η before σ.
"Blessed are those hungering... for they will be filled." Future passive (Lesson 17). All three are divine passives or actives — God will act.
"You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
Two futures — both promises. Knowing comes first; freedom follows.
The kingdom of God comes with both presents and futures:
The "already and not yet" tension in NT eschatology maps directly onto the present-future tense alternation. Presents proclaim what has begun; futures proclaim what will be consummated.
"They will drive you out of the synagogue."
διώκω means "pursue" — and in NT contexts, "persecute." A grim future, but Jesus speaks it before it happens, so disciples are forewarned.
In secular Koine, the future is rarer and less weighty. The NT's heavy use of futures for divine promise distinguishes it.
For your reading practice: NT futures are signposts. They almost always mark a promise, a prophecy, or an eschatological certainty.
Pause. Ask who the implied agent is. Ask what is being promised. Read the future as the grammar of hope.
Future = stem + σ + present endings, no augment. Stop-class consonant changes apply. Liquid stems drop σ and contract. A handful of verbs go middle-deponent in the future. εἰμί is suppletive.
The future is the NT's grammar of promise. Pause at every future and ask: what is God committing to do?