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2.8: Indicativo futuro

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    In Italian the Indicativo futuro has two tenses: futuro semplice (simple future) and futuro anteriore (future perfect).

    Futuro semplice

    The futuro semplice is used to express actions that will take place in the future.

    The futuro semplice of regular verbs is formed by:

    • dropping the final –e of the infinitive
    • adding the following endings to verbs of all conjugations

     

    (io) (noi) -emo
    (tu) -ai (voi) -ete
    (lui/lei) (loro) -anno

    Note: in Italian, a verb ending marks it as being set in the future tense; there is no equivalent to the helping verb “will” or the phrase “going to”.

     1. -are verbs change the a in the stem to an e (e.g. arrivare → arriver-). –ere and –ire verbs do not change their stems

     

    Futuro di arrivare (to arrive) Futuro di leggere (to read) Futuro di dormire (to sleep)
    (io) arriverò (io) leggerò (io) dormirò
    (tu) arriverai (tu) leggerai (tu) dormirai
    (lui/lei) arriverà (lui/lei) leggerà (lui/lei) dormirà
    (noi) arriveremo (noi) leggeremo (noi) dormiremo
    (voi) arriverete (voi) leggerete (voi) dormirete
    (loro) arriveranno (loro) leggeranno (loro) dormiranno

    2. -care and -gare verbs insert an “h” before the e.

     

    Futuro di giocare (to play)  
    (io) giocherò (noi) giocheremo
    (tu) giocherai (voi) giocherete
    (lui/lei) giocherà (loro) giocheranno

    3. -ciare and -giare verbs drop the “i” from the stem.

     

    Futuro di mangiare (to eat)  
    (io) mangeò (noi) mangeremo
    (tu) mangerai (voi) mangerete
    (lui/lei) mangerà (loro) mangeranno

    4.Fare, dare, and stare do not change the a to an e: far-ò; dar-ò; star-ò.

     

    Futuro di dare (to give) Futuro di fare (to do, to make) Futuro di stare (to stay)
    (io) darò (io) farò (io) starò
    (tu) darai (tu) farai (tu) starai
    (lui/lei) darà (lui/lei) farà (lui/lei) starà
    (noi) daremo (noi) faremo (noi) staremo
    (voi) darete (voi) farete (voi) starete
    (loro) daranno (loro) faranno (loro) staranno

    5. Some verbs use an irregular stem, but regular endings.

     

    infinito irregular stem
    andare andr-
    avere avr-
    bere berr-
    cadere cadr-
    dovere dovr-
    essere sar-
    potere potr-
    rimanere rimarr-
    sapere sapr-
    tenere terr-
    vedere vedr-
    venire verr-
    vivere vivr-
    volere vorr-

    Futuro anteriore

    The futuro anteriore (future perfect) is used to express an action that will be completed by a specified time, or before something else happens, in the future.

    The futuro anteriore (also called futuro composto) is the compound form of the futuro: it is formed with the future of avere or essere plus the past participle.

     

    Futuro di essere
    Irregular stem: sar-
    Futuro di avere
    Irregular stem: avr-
    (io) sarò (io) avrò
    (tu) sarai (tu) avrai
    (lui/lei) sarà (lui/lei) avrà
    (noi) saremo (noi) avremo
    (voi) sarete (voi) avrete
    (loro) saranno (loro) avranno

     

    uscire studiare
    (io) sarò uscito/a (io) avrò studiato
    (tu) sarai uscito/a (tu) avrai studiato
    (lui) sarà uscito
    (lei) sarà uscita
    (lui/lei) avrà studiato
    (noi) saremo usciti/e (noi) avremo studiato
    (voi) sarete usciti/e (voi) avrete studiato
    (loro) saranno usciti/e (loro) avranno studiato
    Se arriverai tardi, saremo già partiti.
    If you arrive late, we will be already gone. 
    
    
    Farò una vacanza dopo che avrò avuto una promozione.
    I will take a vacation after I get a promotion.
    
    
    Quando avrà compiuto diciotto anni prenderà la patente.
    When he turns eighteen he will get a driver license.
    
    Avremo già finito prima che tu arrivi.
    We’ll be all done by the time you show up.

     

    Risorse

    Per trovare le coniugazioni di tutti i verbi, usa le risorse in APPENDIX

     

    Usi del Futuro

    1. The futuro is used after se, quando, finché, (non) appena. Note that in English the present tense is used in these cases.

     

    Comprerà una casa se guadagnerà abbastanza.
    She will buy a house if she makes enough money.
    
    Quando sarò in pensione avrò molto tempo libero.
    When I am retired, I will have a lot of free time.
    
    

    2. The futuro is also used to make a guess, an assumption about a present or a past event. In the first case the futuro semplice is used; in the second case, the futuro anteriore is used. When used in these cases, it is called futuro di probabilità.

     

    Non è in classe. Dove sarà? Cosa sarà successo?
    She is not in class. Where could she be? What could have happened?
    
    Sarà malata (= Forse è malata / Probabilmente è malata / Deve essere malata).
    Maybe she is sick / She is probably sick / She must be sick.
    
    Non avrà sentito la sveglia.
    She must not have heard the alarm / Maybe she didn’t hear the alarm.

     

    3. The presente, NOT the futuro, is commonly used in the following cases:

    • When it is clear from the context that the action is set in the future
    Finisco l’università fra un anno.
    I’ll finish college in a year.
    
    Vanno in Italia l’estate prossima.
    They’ll go to Italy next summer.
    • To express what is about to happen
    Usciamo domani?
    Are we going out tomorrow?
    
    Prendo un cappuccino.
    I’ll have a cappuccino.
    • To ask for suggestions
    Che facciamo?
    What shall we do?
    
    Dove parcheggio?
    Where shall I park?

     


    This page titled 2.8: Indicativo futuro is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Cinzia Blum and Lucia Gemmani (Iowa State University Digital Press) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.