Italian Language Blog
Menu
Search

Looking forward to il futuro (semplice) Posted by on May 7, 2021 in Grammar

Ciao, di nuovo! 

We are all looking forward to il futuro so I thought today we would discuss how to form the future tense in italiano.

In English we add an auxiliary verb to form the future: ‘will’. In Italian the endings simply change, similarly to other tenses.

To make the future tense, follow these steps:

For verbs ending in ‘ere‘ and ‘ire‘ – drop the last e, and then add the following endings:

For verbs ending in ‘are‘ the a first must change to an e, remove the last e, then add the following endings:

io – ò,

tu – ai

lui/lei – à

noi – emo

voi – ete

loro – anno

For example, the future of the verb parlare (to talk) is:

io parlerò (I will talk)

tu parlerai (you will talk, informal)

lui/lei parlerà (he/she will talk; you will talk, formal)

noi parleremo (we will talk)

voi parlerete (you will talk, plural)

loro parleranno (they will talk)

The future of the verb leggere (to read) is:

io leggerò (I will read)

tu leggerai (you will read, informal)

lui/lei leggerà (he/she will read; you will read, formal)

noi leggeremo (we will read)

voi leggerete (you will read, plural)

loro leggeranno (they will read)

The future of the verb finire (to finish, to end) is:

io finirò (I will finish)

tu finirai (you will finish, informal)

lui/lei finirà (he/she will finish; you will finish, formal)

noi finiremo (we will finish)

voi finirete (you will finish, plural)

loro finiranno (they will finish)

______________________________________________________________________

The future tense is used:

  • To talk about something that will happen or will become true in the future, per esempio:

Alla fine di settembre partirò per Parigi. – At the end of September I will leave for Paris.

  • Making predictions, per esempio:

Domani ci sarà il sole. – It will be sunny tomorrow.

  • Making promises, per esempio: 

Da domani, studierò di più! – From tomorrow, I will study more

  • To express a doubt or an uncertainty, per esempio:

Che ora sarà? Saranno le cinque. – What time can it be? It is probably five o’clock.

In spoken Italian it is more common to use the present tense to say what you are about to do, or what you will do in the near future, per esempio: 

Ti telefono più tardi – I’ll phone you later

Domani parto per Roma – Tomorrow I will leave for Rome

______________________________________________________________________

Of course, there are irregular verbs! Eccoli:

andare (to go): andrò, andrai, andrà, andremo, andrete, andranno

avere (to have): avrò, avrai, avrà, avremo, avrete, avranno

bere (to drink): berrò, berrai, berrà, berremo, berrete, berranno

cadere (to fall): cadrò, cadrai, cadrà, cadremo, cadrete, cadranno

dovere (to have to): dovrò, dovrai, dovrà, dovremo, dovrete, dovranno

potere (to be able to): potrò, potrai, potrà, potremo, potrete, potranno

sapere (to know): saprò, saprai, saprà, sapremo, saprete, sapranno

vedere (to see): vedrò, vedrai, vedrà, vedremo, vedrete, vedranno

vivere (to live) : vivrò, vivrai, vivrà, vivremo, vivrete, vivranno

essere (to be): sarò, sarai, sarà, saremo, sarete, saranno

rimanere (to remain): rimarrò, rimarrai, rimarrà, rimarremo, rimarrete, rimarranno

tenere (to hold): terrò, terrai, terrà, terremo, terrete, terranno

venire (to come): verrò, verrai, verrà, verremo, verrete, verranno

volere (to want): vorrò, vorrai, vorrà, vorremo, vorrete, vorranno

Photo from Pixabay, CCO. San Galgano, Tuscany.

Keep learning Italian with us!

Build vocabulary, practice pronunciation, and more with Transparent Language Online. Available anytime, anywhere, on any device.

Try it Free Find it at your Library
Share this:
Pin it

About the Author: Bridgette

Just your average Irish-American Italo-Francophone. Client Engagement for Transparent Language.


Comments:

  1. david body:

    I enjoy your approach and read your items with great interest. Would be interested to know who and where you are and what motivates you to provide this service to people that I assume that you do not know. Many thanks and take care,
    David (mid Devon)

    • Bridgette:

      @david body Hi David! My name is Bridgette and I work for Transparent Language on the Engagement team, but I also contribute to our blogs. I’m so happy to hear that you enjoy my blogs! I like to write them to help people while they are learning, and/or to interest them in learning. 🙂

  2. Elliana:

    Ciao Bridgette. I have to say you had huge shoes to fill from Serena and Geoff. The change was hard for me. Of late you have nailed it and found your own voice and I love it. You have more than filled their shoes and I know it was not easy. Thank you!

    • Bridgette:

      @Elliana Elliana, thank you so much for the kind message! I know the change was hard for a lot of people and I have definitely received not so kind messages in the time since, so this is really nice to hear. I’m certainly not perfect, but I’m trying and having fun while doing it. Grazie mille! 🙂


Leave a comment: