While in English the future tense is constructed by putting “will” or “shall” in front of the verb, in Italian, the future tense is made by conjugating the verb (= changing the verb endings).
Let’s talk about the future tense of regular verbs. There’s also a post about the future tense of irregular verbs.
Is the future tense only for the future?
Different peoples use verb tenses in different situations due to different perceptions of time and life. Some languages even lack the future tense!
In Italian, we can also use the present tense to refer to events happening in the near future if the time of the event is specified. For example: Domani vado a scuola (= Tomorrow I will go to school).
However, using the future tense to talk about future events is always acceptable, so if you use the future tense, you can’t go wrong!
Simple future tense: Regular conjugation of verbs ending with –are and -ere
Regular verbs of the first conjugation group (ending in –are) and second conjugation group (ending in –ere) follows the same conjugation:
| First Conjugation Verb: | Second Conjugation Verb: | |
| Verb: | Lavorare (= to work) | Credere (=to believe) |
| io | lavorerò | crederò |
| tu | lavorerai | crederai |
| lui/lei | lavorerà | crederà |
| noi | lavoreremo | crederemo |
| voi | lavorerete | crederete |
| loro | lavoreranno | crederanno |
Simple future tense: Regular conjugation of verbs ending with –ire
Regular verbs of the third conjugation group (ending in –ire) follow this conjugation instead:
| First Conjugation Verb: | |
| Verb: | Capire (= to understand) |
| io | capirò |
| tu | capirai |
| lui/lei | capirà |
| noi | capiremo |
| voi | capirete |
| loro | capiranno |
Learn more about Italian verb conjugation.
Practice with Quizlet
Here's a set of flashcards and quizzes to practice this grammar topic.Regular future tense: How to talk about the future
When can we use the future tense in Italian? Let’s take a look at some examples of regular verbs.
When talking about events that will happen in the future or when talking about future plans:
La prossima settimana inizierò a lavorare in una nuova azienda.
Next week I’ll start working for a new company.
Dal mese prossimo lavorerò solo 3 giorni a settimana.
Starting next month, I’m going to work only 3 days a week.
I miei genitori partiranno mercoledì prossimo.
My parents will leave next Wednesday.
After quando (= when), even though for this kind of sentence, the present tense is used in English:
Quando finirai di studiare, guarderemo un film.
When you finish studying, we’ll watch a movie.
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4 Responses
La prossima settimana ma Dal mese prossimo//mercoledì prossimo.
Sono confusa. Qual ‘e la differenza? Prossimo-a si mette prima o dopo il sostantivo?
Va bene anche “la settimana prossima" o “il prossimo mese".
Dear Stefano,
the conjugation table shows “Loro lavoreranno" instead of “Loro capiranno".
E’ vero. L’ho corretto. Grazie!