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1.2: Unità 1 - Grammatica

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    Il futuro semplice

    OBSERVE

    Domani studierò italiano con Giulio.  (Tomorrow I am going to study Italian with Giulio)

    Fra dieci anni sarò un avvocato. (In ten years, I will be a lawyer)

    Che ore sono? – Saranno le dieci del mattino. (What time is it? -It will be 10am)

    REFLECT

    We use the future tense to express actions that will happen in the future, we are planning to do, or to make any kind of prediction.

    warning-300x300.png Unlike in English, the future tense is only one word (studierò = I will study) and there is no going-to idiom in Italian to signify future action (i.e. Tomorrow I’m going to study in the library = domani studierò in biblioteca).

    REMEMBER

    To form the future tense of regular verbs, start from the infinitive root and add the appropriate endings:

    parlare > parler leggere> legger- dormire> dormir-
    io parler-ò legger-ò dormir-ò
    tu parler-ai legger-ai dormir-ai
    lui/lei/ Lei parler-à legger-à dormir-à
    noi parler-emo legger-emo dormir-emo
    voi parler-ete legger-ete dormir-ete
    loro parler-anno legger-anno dormir-anno

    warning-300x300.png IMPORTANT: in the first and third person singular (io – lei/lui/Lei) the last letter is always stressed!

    There are several irregular forms in the future tense:

    • Verbs ending in –care / –gare add an –h– to keep the hard c/g sound. For example:

    giocare > io giocherò, tu giocherai…

    pagare > io pagherò, tu pagherai…

    • Verbs ending in –ciare, –giare drop the ‘i’. For example: mangiare > io mangerò…
    • Fare, Dare, Stare drop the final ‘e’ and add the future endings. For example: io farò, tu darai, lei starà
    • Many verbs (mostly ending in -ere) drop the vowel before the -r-:
        • Andare >andr-
        • Avere > avr-
        • Cadere > cadr-
        • Dovere > dovr-
        • Potere > potr-
        • Sapere > sapr-
        • Vedere > vedr-
        • Vivere > vivr-
    • A handful of verbs have irregular roots connected to their Latin etymology:
        • Essere > sar-
        • Bere > berr-
        • Rimanere > rimarr-
        • Venire > verr-
        • Volere > vorr-

    warning-300x300.png Several common adverbs and expressions are used in sentences with the future tense.

    For example: domani (tomorrow); fra/tra + … giorni/ore/minuti/anni (in …. days / hours/ minutes/ years); presto (soon); in futuro (in the future); .…prossimo/a (next…)

    Pronomi diretti e indiretti

    OBSERVE

    Luca vede un vestito e compra il vestito > Luca vede un vestito e lo compra. (Luca sees a dress and buys the dress > Luca sees a dress and buys it)

    Marta pensa alla sua amica e scrive un messaggio alla sua amica > Marta pensa alla sua amica e le scrive un messaggio. (Marta thinks about her friend and she texts her)

    REFLECT

    We use pronouns to substitute nouns and avoid repetitions. We use direct object pronouns to substitute direct objects (which are not introduced by a preposition). We use indirect object pronouns to substitute indirect objects (which are usually introduced by prepositions a or per).

    REMEMBER
      Direct object Indirect object
    io mi mi = a me
    tu ti ti = a te
    lui/lei lo / la gli = a lui / le = a lei
    noi ci ci =  a noi
    voi vi vi = a voi
    loro li / le gli = a loro

    warning-300x300.png Both direct and indirect pronouns always go before the conjugated verb (i.e.: Marta ci porta una torta; Angelo la mangia tutta)

    However, when there is a verb + infinitive, it can go either before the conjugated verb or be attached to the end of the infinitive after you have dropped the last letter of the infinite. For example:

    Devo comprare un regalo per Natale →       1) Devo comprarlo 

    2) Lo devo comprare

    warning-300x300.png TIPS! To decide which pronoun you need to use, think whether the verb is normally followed by a preposition. Remember that not all the verbs that are followed by a preposition in English behave the same way in Italian!

    Common verbs that are followed by an indirect object pronoun include:

        • chiedere (qualcosa) a qualcuno
        • consigliare (qualcosa) a qualcuno
        • dare (qualcosa) a qualcuno
        • dire (qualcosa) a qualcuno
        • mandare (qualcosa) a qualcuno
        • mostrare (qualcosa) a qualcuno
        • offrire (qualcosa) a qualcuno
        • parlare a qualcuno
        • portare (qualcosa) a qualcuno
        • prestare (qualcosa) a qualcuno
        • regalare (qualcosa) a qualcuno
        • rispondere a qualcuno
        • scrivere (qualcosa) a qualcuno
        • telefonare a qualcuno

    warning-300x300.png IMPORTANT: When the direct object pronouns are used in combination with the passato prossimo with the verb avere, the past particle changes depending on the gender and number of the object.

    For example:

    Ieri ho comprato una casa→  Ieri l’ho comprata. (Yesterday I bought a house → Yesterday I bought it)

    Ieri ho bevuto un caffè→ Ieril’ho bevuto (Yesterday I drank a coffee → Yesterday I drank it)

    Oggi ho fatto le lasagne→ Oggi le ho fatte (Today I made lasagne → Today I made them)

    Stamattina ho visto i miei cugini → Stamattinali ho visti (This morning I saw my cousins → This morning I saw them)

    This page titled 1.2: Unità 1 - Grammatica is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Daria Bozzato and Massimiliano Cirulli via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.