Skip to content

Future tense in Italian: Simple and Perfect

The future tense in Italian has two mods, simple and perfect.

The Future Tense In Italian [Il Futuro Semplice e Anteriore]
Future Tense In Italian: Simple and Perfect

1. The future simple in Italian

To express the future simple in Italian we use some words like:

  • Domani (tomorrow)
  • Domani sera (tomorrow evening)
  • Domani mattina (tomorrow morning)
  • Dopodomani (day after tomorrow)
  • Fra (sei giorni) [in (six days)]
  • La settimana prossima (next week)
  • Il mese prossimo (next month)
  • L’anno prossimo (next year)
  • Fino a (Giugno) [until (June)]

How to form the future simple tense in Italian?

The future tense is formed by changing the endings of the infinitive in this way:

Subj.Pro-are / -ere-ire
io
tu
lui/lei
noi
voi
loro		-erò
-erai
-erà
-eremo
-erete
-eranno		-irò
-irai
-irà
-iremo
-irete
-iranno
Verb conjugation in the future tense in Italian

The conjugation for regular verbs is this:

Lavorare
(to work)		Mettere
(to put)		Dormire
(to sleep)
Lavorerò
(I will work)
Lavorerai
(You will work)
Lavorerà
(He/she will work)
Lavoreremo
(We will work)
Lavorerete
(You will work)
Lavoreranno
(They will work)		Metterò
(I will put)
Metterai
(You will put)
Metterà
(He/she will put)
Metteremo
(We will put)
Metterete
(You will put)
Metteranno
(They will put)		Dormirò
(I will sleep)
Dormirai
(You will sleep)
Dormirà
(He/she will sleep)
Dormiremo
(We will sleep)
Dormirete
(You will sleep)
Dormiranno
(They will sleep)
Verb conjugation in the future tense in Italian
  • L’anno prossimo lavorerò con mio padre.
  • (I will work with my father next year)
  • Domani metterò in ordine la mia stanza.
  • (Tomorrow I will tidy up my room)
  • A Firenza dormirò a casa di amici.
  • (In Florence I will sleep at a friend’s house)

Verbs ending in -care and -gare (first conjugation) add h before the future endings, to keep the “hard” sound of c and g:

Cercare
(To Seek)
(To Search)		Pagare
(To Pay)
Cercherò
(I Will Search)
Cercherai
(You Will Search)
Cercherà
(He/She Will Search)
Cercheremo
(We Will Search)
Cercherete
(You Will Search)
Cercheranno
(They Will Search)		Pagherò
(I Will Pay)
Pagherai
(You Will Pay)
Pagherà
(He/She Will Pay)
Pagheremo
(We Will Pay)
Pagherete
(You Will Pay)
Pagheranno
(They Will Pay)
Verb conjugation in the future tense in Italian
  • Cercheremo un albergo vicino alla stazione.
  • (We will look for a hotel near the station)
  • Signora, pagherà tutto alla consegna.
  • (Madam, you will pay for everything on delivery)

Verbs ending in -ciare and in -giare lose the i in the conjugation of the future expect of [sciare (to ski)]

Cominciare
(To Start)		Lasciare
(To Leave)		Mangiare
(To Eat)
Comincerò
(I will start)
Comincerai
(You will start)
Comincerà
(He/she will start)
Cominceremo
(We will start)
Comincerete
(You will start)
Cominceranno
(They will start)		Lascerò
(I will leave)
Lascerai
(You will leave)
Lascerà
(He/she will leave)
Lasceremo
(We will leave)
Lascerete
(You will leave)
Lasceranno
(They will leave)		Mangerò
(I will eat)
Mangerai
(You will eat)
Mangerà
(He/she will eat)
Mangeremo
(We will eat)
Mangerete
(You will eat)
Mangeranno
(They will eat)
Verb conjugation in the future tense in Italian
  • Lunedì prossimo comincerò le ferie.
  • (Next Monday I’ll start my holidays)
  • Mangeremo solo una pizza.
  • (We will only eat one pizza)
  • Dove lascerete la macchina?
  • (Where will you leave the car?)

Italian future tense irregular verbs

Irregular verbs in the future tense can be divided into three groups:

  • Verbs that are conjugated as (essere)
  • Verbs that are conjugated as (avere)
  • Verbs that are conjugated as (rimanere).

1. The conjugation of essere is characterized by the vowel (a) in the endings (-arò, -arai, etc.)

[Dare, Fare and Stare are conjugated as Essere]

Essere
(to be)		Dare
(to give)		Fare
(to do)		Stare
(to stay)
Sarò
(I will be)
Sarai
(You will be)
Sarà
(He/she will be)
Saremo
(We will be)
Sarete
(You will be)
Saranno
(They will be)		Drò
(I will give)
Darai
(You will give)
Darà
(He/she will give)
Daremo
(We will give)
Darete
(You will give)
Daranno
(They will give)		Farò
(I will do)
Farai
(You will do)
Farà
(He/she will do)
Faremo
(We will do)
Farete
(You will do)
Faranno
(They will do)		Starò
(I will stay)
Starai
(You will stay)
Starà
(He/she will stay)
Staremo
(We will stay)
Starete
(You will stay)
Staranno
(They will stay)
Verb conjugation in the future tense in Italian
  • Se il tempo sarà bello, Faremo una gita.
  • (If the weather is nice, we’ll take a trip)
  • Nicoletta darà una festa per il suo compleanno.
  • (Nicoletta is throwing a party for her birthday)
  • Appena starò bene, comincerò a lavorare.
  • (As Soon as I’m fine , I’ll start working)

2. The conjugation of Avere is characterized, instead, by the lack of the vowel in the endings (-rò, -rai, etc).

[Andare, Cadere, Dovere, Potere, Sapere, Vedere, and Vivere, are conjugated as Avere]

Avere
(to have)		Andare
(to go)		Cadere
(to fall)		Dovere
(To have to)
Avrò
(I will have)
Avrai
(You will have)
Avrà
(He/she will have)
Avremo
(We will have)
Avrete
(You will have)
Avranno
(They will have)		Andrò
(I will go)
Andrai
(You will go)
Andrà
(He/she will go)
Andremo
(We will go)
Andrete
(You will go)
Andranno
(They will go)		Cadrò
(I will fall)
Cadrai
(You will fall)
Cadrà
(He/she will fall)
Cadremo
(We will fall)
Cadrete
(You will fall)
Cadranno
(They will fall)		Dovrò
(I will have to)
Dovrai
(You will have to)
Dovrà
(He/she will have to)
Dovremo
(We will have to)
Dovrete
(You will have to)
Dovranno
(They will have to)
Potere
(to be able to)		Sapere
(to know)		Vedere
(to see)		Vivere
(to live)
Potrò
(I will be able to)
Potrai
(You will be able to)
Potrà
(He/she will be able to)
Potremo
(We will be able to)
Potrete
(You will be able to)
Potranno
(They will be able to)		Saprò
(I will know)
Saprai
(You will know)
Saprà
(He/she will know)
Sapremo
(We will know)
Saprete
(You will know)
Sapranno
(They will know)		Verdrò
(I will see)
Vedrai
(You will see)
Vedrà
(He/she will see)
Vedremo
(We will see)
Vedrete
(You will see)
Vedranno
(They will see)		Vivrò
(I will live)
Vivrai
(You will live)
Vivrà
(He/she will live)
Vivremo
(We will live)
Vivrete
(You will live)
Vivranno
(They will live)
Verb conjugation in the future tense in Italian
  • Vedrò il film alla televisione solo se avrò tempo.
  • (I Will only see the film on television if I have time)
  • A Pasqua andrò al mare.
  • (At Easter I will go to the sea)
  • Credo che domenica dovrò lavorare.
  • (I Think I’ll have to work on Sunday)
  • Marco non sa se potrà venire in vacanza con noi.
  • (Marco does not know if he will be able to come on vacation with us)

3. The conjugation of rimanere is characterized by a double (r) in the endings (-rrò, -rrai, etc).

[Bere, Tenere, Venire and Volere are conjugated as Rimanere]

Rimanere
(to remain)		Bere
(to drink)		Tenere
(to keep)		Venire
(to come)		Volere
(to want)
Rimarrò
(I will remain)
Rimarrai
(You will remain)
Rimarrà
(He/she will remain)
Rimarremo
(We will remain)
Rimarrete
(You will remain)
Rimarrano
(They will remain)		Berrò
(I will drink)
Berrai
(You will drink)
Berrà
(He/she will drink)
Berremo
(We will drink)
Berrete
(You will drink)
Berranno
(They will drink)		Terrò
(I will keep)
Terrai
(You will keep)
Terrà
(He/she will keep)
Terremo
(We will keep)
Terrete
(You will keep)
Terranno
(They will keep)		Verrò
(I will come)
Verrai
(You will come)
Verrà
(He/she will come)
Verremo
(We will come)
Verrete
(You will come)
Verranno
(They will come)		Vorrò
(I will want)
Vorrai
(You will want)
Vorrà
(He/she will want)
Vorremo
(We will want)
Vorrete
(You will want)
Vorranno
(They will want)
Verb conjugation in the future tense in Italian
  • Per quanto tempo rimarrai a Napoli?
  • (How long will you stay in Naples?)
  • Stasera non berrà perchè deve guidare.
  • (He Won’t drink tonight because he has to drive)
  • Verranno anche i tuoi amici?
  • (Will your friends come too?)

4. Verbs ending in -urre follow a pattern similar to the previous one (with endings in -urrò, -urrai, etc).

Tradurre
(to translate)		Produrre
(to produce)
Tradurrò
(I will translate)
Tradurrai
(You will translate)
Tradurrà
(He/she will translate)
Tradurremo
(We will translate)
Tradurrete
(You will translate)
Tradurranno
(They will translate)		Produrrò
(I will produce)
Produrrai
(You will produce)
Produrrà
(He/she will produce)
Produrremo
(We will produce)
Produrrete
(You will produce)
Produrranno
(They will produce)
Verb conjugation in the future tense in Italian
  • Non devi preoccuparti: Lisa tradurrà tutto per te.
  • (You don’t have to worry: Lisa will translate everything for you)
  • Roberto ha trovato chi produrrà il suo film.
  • (Roberto has found who will produce his film)

Uses of the future simple tense in Italian.

1. The future is, of course, used to express events and actions that will take place in the future:

  • Fra due settimane partiremo per il mare.
  • (In two weeks we will leave for the sea)
  • L’anno prossimo Nelson verrà in Italia.
  • (Nelson will come to Italy next year)
  • Teresa lavorerà con noi a tempo pieno.
  • (Teresa will work with us full time)

2. The future is often replaced by the present, especially if you want to express the certainty that something will happen:

  • Fra due settimane partiamo per il mare.
  • (In two weeks we will leave for the sea)
  • L’anno prossimo Nelson viene in Italian.
  • (Nelson will come to Italy next year)
  • Da domani Teresa lavora con noi a tempo pieno.
  • (From Tomorrow Teresa will work with us full time)

3. The future can be used to express hypotheses or probabilities also in the interrogative form:

  • Le finestre sono chiuse: i nostri vicini saranno via [= Forse sono via].
  • (The windows are closed: our neighbors will be away [= Maybe they are away])
  • Da qui alla spiaggia ci vorranno [= probabilmente ci vogliono] 10 minuti.
  • (From here to the beach it will take [= Probably takes] 10 minutes)
  • “Che ore sono?” “Non so, saranno [=Probabilmente sono] le 11.”
  • “What time is it?” ” A don’t know, It will be [= Probably] 11 am”
  • La sala è piena: quante persone ci saranno [=quante persone ci sono, secondo te]?
  • (The hall is full : How many people will be there [ how many people are there, in your opinion]?)
  • Ci sarà ancora neve [= c’è ancora neve, secondo te] in montagna? Si portà sciare [+ si può sciare ,secondo te]?
  • (Will there still be snow [= there is still snow, in your opinion] in the mountains? Is it possible to ski [+ can you ski, in your opinion]?)

2. The future perfect tense in Italian

Sometimes, to emphasize that two actions will take place in succession in the future, the future perfect is used, often with expressions such as:

  • Dopo che (after that)
  • Già (already)
  • Appena (just)

The future perfect is formed with the future simple of the auxiliary Avere or Essere and the past participle of the verb.

[The future simple of Avere or Essere + The past participle of the verb]

Finire
(To Finish)		Arrivare
(To Arrive)
Avrò finito
(I will have finished)
Avrai finito
(You will have finished)
Avrà finito
(He/she will have finished)
Avremo finito
(We will have finished)
Avrete finito
(You will have finished)
Avranno finito
(They will have finished)		Sarò arrivato / arrivata
(I will have Arrived)
Sarai arrivato / arrivata
(You will have Arrived)
Sarà arrivato / arrivata
(He/she will have Arrived)
Saremo arrivati / arrivate
(We will have Arrived)
Sarete arrivati / arrivate
(You will have Arrived)
Saranno arrivati / arrivate
(They will have Arrived)
  • Quando avrò finito questo lavoro, potrò andare in vacanza.
  • (When I will have done with this job, I’ll be able to go on a vacation)
  • Appena sarò arrivato in albergo cercherò Paolo.
  • (As Soon as I will have arrived at the hotel, I will look for Paolo)
  • Ti chiamerò dopo che avrò parlato con l’agenzia.
  • (I’ll call you after I will have spoken to the agency)

The Future Perfect can also be used to express hypotheses or probabilities, sometimes in an interrogative form.

  • “A che ora sei tornato?” “Non so, sarà stata [= Probabilmente era] mezzanotte.
  • (“When did you come back?” I don’t know, it must have been [= It was probably] midnight.
  • Il concerto ha avuto molto successo: Quanto avranno incassato [= secondo te, quanto hanno incassato]?
  • (The concert was very successful: How much will they have earned [= in your opinion, how much did they earn]?)
  • Si sarà ricordato [= secondo te, si è ricordato] di andare in banca?
  • (Will he have remembered [= in your opinion, it has passed] to go to the bank?)