Знаймо українську — How to choose the proper future form of verbs?

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Q: How to choose the proper future form of verbs, e.g. “буду писати” vs. “писатиму”?

Ukrainian has two forms of future tense:

1. буду + Infinitive;
2. using suffix -му.

Many people told me that both are equivalent, however I've seen those who would prefer one of these (usually, the second one).

What is the rule of thumb for using the future tense in Ukrainian?

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A:

There are three ways to form future tense in Ukrainian.

1. стану писати - note the use of a modal or auxiliary verb indicating motion - стану, начну, хочу
2. писатиму - this one is a ligature from a historical form писати иму, and you can still see a form with the words swapped in some Western dialects: меш писати can be heard in use instead of писатимеш
3. писав буду - this form can still be encountered in some dialects, along with more widespread construction of the past tense писав був

The first two are the normative ways of forming future tense. There is no semantic difference between the two forms.