Das einfache Futur

The futuro semplice is a one-word future: where English adds "will", Italian adds an ending. Parlerò is "I will speak".

To build it, drop the final -e of the infinitive and add the endings. -are verbs also change their a to e: parlare → parler-, comprare → comprer-. Writing *parlarò is the usual slip.

The accents matter: parlerò and parlerà are stressed on the last syllable, and the accent is part of the spelling.

Spelling tweaks

• -care, -gare add an h to keep the hard sound: cercare → cercherò, pagare → pagherò.
• -ciare, -giare drop the i: cominciare → comincerò, mangiare → mangerò.

The most frequent verbs have irregular stems: essere → sarò, avere → avrò, andare → andrò, fare → farò, venire → verrò, potere → potrò, dovere → dovrò, volere → vorrò (see the next topic).

When Italians use it - and when they don't

In speech, a planned near future is usually the plain present with a time word, as in English "I'm going to Rome tomorrow": Domani vado a Roma. Sabato ceniamo da Gino. The future tense is for:

• plans further off or less certain: L'anno prossimo studierò a Bologna. - Next year I'll study in Bologna.
• predictions: Secondo me, domani pioverà. - I think it will rain tomorrow.
• promises: Ti chiamerò. - I'll call you.
• after quando (and often se) about the future, where English uses the present: Quando sarai grande, capirai. - When you're older, you'll understand.

The future of guessing

Italian also uses the future for a guess about the present, where English says "must" or "probably": Che ore sono? - Saranno le otto. - What time is it? - It must be about eight. Marco non risponde: sarà in metro. - Marco isn't answering: he's probably on the underground.