Using the future to make assumptions: Italian grammar lesson 69

Stefano

Italian language tutor, course author. MEng, MBA. Member of the International Association of Hyperpolyglots (HYPIA). After learning 12 languages, I can tell you that we all master languages by listening and mimicking. I couldn’t find an app to recommend to my students, so I made my own one. With my method, you’ll be speaking Italian from Lesson 1.

My best articles

Italian for beginners: top 8 Pains of learning + solutions

Italian for beginners can be a pain to learn. Not with this polyglot's video guide with 8 solutions to get started! The best way to survive and avoid pitfalls.

How to use active recall in language learning (no passive repetition!)

What is active recall? In the last years, there has been so much hype around active recall as it is believed to improve your study results and get you better...

Communication Skills in a Foreign Language: Achieve Fluency by Solving Tasks

Activities to improve communication skills in a foreign language shift the focus of teaching from the language itself to actually doing things in that language.

Spaced repetition | Innovative Method to Learn Italian

Struggling with new words? An Italian polyglot has valuable advice about spaced repetition. A quick guide to memorize vocabulary fast, from pain to joy!

Comprehensible input for the Italian language

Struggling with listening? An Italian polyglot has valuable advice about comprehensible input. A quick guide to master any language fast. From pain to joy!

How long does it take to learn Italian?

Here is the blog post with formatting applied: How Long does it Take to Learn Italian? Learning a language is a complex process that is different for each individual based...

Why people still use bad study methods and language apps

What makes a good method of learning a language? To me, a study method is good if it delivers results. Typically, people want to learn Italian to communicate. Thus, progress...

Language learning for communication: acquisition is best

Language learning is an artificial exercise that occupies time, money, and effort that could be better spent doing language acquisition. Learn to communicate!

Speaking practice: talk to yourself

How to practice speaking alone? For best results, turn virtually any study time (reading, listening, writing) into speaking practice for language immersion!

How to use the future tense in Italian?

How to make assumptions in the present?

How to make assumptions in the past?

Practice with Quizlet

How to make assumptions in the future?

Summary

Unlock the secrets of Italian future tense! 🇮🇹 From making educated guesses about the present to speculating on past events, this guide will show you how to express assumptions across different times with ease.

Present Assumptions: Use the future simple tense to imply uncertainty in the present. Saying “avrà” instead of “is” adds a layer of speculation, like “He is probably thirty.”
Expressing Doubt: The future tense in Italian isn’t just for future events. It’s perfect for when you’re not 100% sure and want to say “I think” or “probably” in English.
Where’s Giovanni? Wondering about someone’s whereabouts? “Sarà uscito” translates to “He probably left,” showing you’re guessing, not confirming.
Using “Stare + Gerundio”: Combine “stare” with a gerund to make an assumption about ongoing actions, like “Starà studiando” for “She’s probably studying.”
Past Assumptions with Futuro Anteriore: To speculate about the past, use “futuro anteriore,” combining future tense auxiliary verbs with a past participle, like “avrà pagato” for “He probably paid.”
Future Speculations: For future assumptions, add phrases like “penso che” or “probabilmente” to convey uncertainty, such as “Forse sarà” for “It might be.”

My thoughts

How to use the future tense in Italian?

In Italian, the future tense cannot only be used to talk about events or actions that will happen in the future but it can also be used to make assumptions and hypotheses.

Let’s have a look at some examples:

Quanti anni ha Giuseppe? Non so, avrà trent’anni…

How old is Giuseppe? I don’t know. He is probably thirty.

Quanto costerà una pizza?

Quick facts

How much do you think a pizza costs?

In the sentences above, the future tense does not indicate a time in the future, but it is used to make an assumption about something we’re not sure of.

How to make assumptions in the present?

As we just saw, the future simple can be used to make assumptions and hypotheses in the present.

pain learning languages checklist preview

Overcome your barriers in 3 minutes

What's holding you back from becoming fluent?
Find out with this free checklist!

FREE DOWNLOAD

In English, this can be translated by adding a probably or I think, as what we are saying is not 100% sure but it is what we assume to be true.

Here are some more examples:

Dov’è Giovanni?
Non so, sarà uscito.

Where is Giovanni?
I do not know. He probably left.

Simply using the future simple form of the verbs adds a degree of uncertainty to the sentence.

Free Guide

How to Learn Languages Fast

This also works with other constructions, such as stare + gerundio.

-Cosa sta facendo Lucia?
–Starà studiando.

-What is Lucia doing?
-I guess she’s studying.

How to make assumptions in the past?

To create the same kind of structure, but talking about the past tense, we can use the futuro anteriore, (future perfect) which is formed by the future of auxiliary verbs essere (to be) or avere (to have), followed by the past participle of the main verb.

Have a look at the following examples:

Quanto ha pagato? Non so, avrà pagato 50€.

How much did he pay? I don’t know, probably 50€.

Dov’è andato Gabriele? Sarà andato in spiaggia.

Where did Gabriele go? I guess he went to the beach.

Practice with Quizlet
Here's a set of flashcards and quizzes to practice this grammar topic.

How to make assumptions in the future?

In the future, on the other hand, if you want to make an assumption, you need to add extra words such as penso che (I think), probabilmente (probably), immagino che (I imagine that), etc.

Dove sarà la festa di Capodanno? Non so, forse sarà a casa di Lucia.

Where will the New Year’s party be? I don’t know. Maybe it will be at Lucia’s house.

FAQs

How to use the future tense in Italian?

In Italian, the future tense is used for talking about events or actions that will happen in the future and also to make assumptions and hypotheses.

How to make assumptions in the present?

It does not indicate a time in the future, but it is used to make an assumption about something we're not sure of. Or using "stare" + gerund. In English can be used adding probably or I think.