Discover the future: expressing oneself about the future in Italian
Learning to express oneself about future events is essential to mastering the Italian language.
This linguistic aspect not only enriches your daily communication but also allows you to express projects, intentions, and predictions.
FUTURO SEMPLICE in Italian
The most common way to talk about future events in Italian is to use the Futuro Semplice Indicativo of the verb.
For example:
Domani studierò italiano.
La settimana prossima andrò al cinema.
FUTURO SEMPLICE in Italian
The future tense is formed by adding the appropriate endings to the “verb root”.
PRESENTE INDICATIVO used for future actions
Another way to express the future is by using the Presente Indicativo with future time expressions, such as DOMANI ( tomorrow), LA PROSSIMA SETTIMANA (next week), or FRA UN ANNO (in a year).
For example:
Domani parto per Roma.
La settimana prossima inizio il corso di cucina.
Sometimes, as in our dialogue, temporal expressions are not necessary since from the context we already know that we are talking about something that is not happening now but will happen in the future.
The “future in the past” in Italian: use of the FUTURO ANTERIORE
Finally, to talk about future actions that occur before another future event, the Futuro Anteriore Indicativo is used.
The chronological sequence of actions:
The action SARAI TORNATO is in the future relative to when MARCO SPEAKS but precedes the action FAREMO UNA FESTA.
In spoken language, the Futuro Anteriore tense is often not used and is replaced with the Futuro Semplice tense:
The form of the FUTURO ANTERIORE in Italian
Like all compound tenses, it is formed using the auxiliary verbs ESSERE or AVERE (in this case in the future) followed by the past participle of the main verb.
For example:
Quando avrò finito di mangiare, partirò.
Quando sarai arrivato, chiamami.
The FUTURO SEMPLICE used to express probability in Italian
The Futuro Semplice is also used to express doubt, probability, or to make hypotheses.
It is important to note that, in this case, the Futuro Semplice is not used to express actions related to the future but rather hypotheses and probabilities in the present time.
For example:
At the bus stop, the bus in not arriving: Sarà sciopero?
Conclusion
In conclusion, mastering the expression of the future in Italian requires familiarity with a variety of constructs and verb forms.
Continuous practice and exposure to the language will help consolidate these skills and make your communication about future events more fluid.