The Italian Future and Conditional Tenses
Master the Italian futuro semplice and condizionale presente with conjugation tables, irregular stems, and real-world usage examples.
Two tenses you'll encounter constantly in Italian — whether you're making plans, expressing wishes, or reading a novel — are the futuro semplice (simple future) and the condizionale presente (present conditional). The good news: they share the same irregular stems, so learning one makes the other much easier.
The Future Tense: Futuro Semplice
The futuro semplice expresses what will happen. It works like the English "will + verb": Domani parlerò con il direttore. (Tomorrow I will speak with the director.) It's formed by dropping the final -e of the infinitive and adding a set of endings common to all three verb groups — with one twist for -are verbs: the characteristic -a- changes to -e-.
Regular Future Conjugation
| Person | Parlare (to speak) | Vendere (to sell) | Dormire (to sleep) |
|---|---|---|---|
| io | parlerò | venderò | dormirò |
| tu | parlerai | venderai | dormirai |
| lui/lei | parlerà | venderà | dormirà |
| noi | parleremo | venderemo | dormiremo |
| voi | parlerete | venderete | dormirete |
| loro | parleranno | venderanno | dormiranno |
The endings are the same for all three conjugation groups: -ò, -ai, -à, -emo, -ete, -anno. Only the stem changes slightly for -are verbs (parlare → parler-, not parlar-).
Spelling Changes
A handful of verbs need small spelling adjustments to preserve pronunciation:
- -care / -gare verbs add -h- to keep the hard sound: cercare → cercherò, pagare → pagherò
- -ciare / -giare verbs drop the -i- (it's already in the ending): cominciare → comincerò, viaggiare → viaggerò
Irregular Future Stems
The most common Italian verbs have irregular stems in the future — but the endings are always regular. There are two main patterns:
| Pattern | Verb | Future Stem | Example (io form) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vowel-drop | avere | avr- | avrò |
| Vowel-drop | andare | andr- | andrò |
| Vowel-drop | dovere | dovr- | dovrò |
| Vowel-drop | potere | potr- | potrò |
| Vowel-drop | sapere | sapr- | saprò |
| Vowel-drop | vedere | vedr- | vedrò |
| Vowel-drop | cadere | cadr- | cadrò |
| Vowel-drop | vivere | vivr- | vivrò |
| Double-r | volere | vorr- | vorrò |
| Double-r | venire | verr- | verrò |
| Double-r | tenere | terr- | terrò |
| Double-r | rimanere | rimarr- | rimarrò |
| Double-r | bere | berr- | berrò |
| Special | essere | sar- | sarò |
| Special | fare | far- | farò |
| Special | dare | dar- | darò |
| Special | stare | star- | starò |
The double-r pattern is easy to spot: volere → vorrò, venire → verrò, tenere → terrò, rimanere → rimarrò. If you see a double -rr- in a future or conditional form, the verb is in this group.
When to Use the Future Tense
Italian uses the future tense in a few distinct ways that are worth learning separately:
1. Future Plans and Predictions
The most obvious use — something that will happen:
L'estate prossima andrò in Sicilia.
Next summer I will go to Sicily.
Vedrai, tutto andrà bene.
You'll see, everything will go well.
Italians often use the present tense for near-future plans, just like English speakers do: "Domani parto." (I'm leaving tomorrow.) The future tense tends to be used for more distant or uncertain future events.
2. The Future of Probability
One of the most interesting uses of the Italian future is to express speculation or an educated guess about the present. This is called the futuro di probabilità (future of probability). It has no direct equivalent in English — we'd use "must be" or "probably is":
Dov'è Marco? Sarà in ufficio.
Where's Marco? He must be at the office. / He's probably at the office.
Sarà (future of essere) expresses a present-tense guess, not a future prediction.
Quanti anni avrà? Avrà quarant'anni.
How old is he, do you think? He must be around forty.
Farà freddo fuori — prendi il cappotto.
It must be cold outside — take your coat.
3. After Quando and Other Time Conjunctions
Unlike English, Italian requires the future tense after quando (when), appena (as soon as), finché (until), and similar time conjunctions when referring to the future. English uses the present tense in those clauses, but Italian does not:
Quando arriverò a Roma, ti chiamerò.
When I arrive in Rome, I'll call you.
Italian: arriverò (future). English: "when I arrive" (present). Don't translate "when I arrive" as "quando arrivo" in future contexts.
The Conditional: Condizionale Presente
The condizionale presente corresponds to English "would + verb". It expresses what would happen under certain conditions, or softens requests and statements to make them more polite. The great shortcut: the conditional uses exactly the same stems as the future tense — only the endings differ.
Conditional Endings
| Person | Parlare (to speak) | Vendere (to sell) | Dormire (to sleep) |
|---|---|---|---|
| io | parlerei | venderei | dormirei |
| tu | parleresti | venderesti | dormiresti |
| lui/lei | parlerebbe | venderebbe | dormirebbe |
| noi | parleremmo | venderemmo | dormiremmo |
| voi | parlereste | vendereste | dormireste |
| loro | parlerebbero | venderebbero | dormirebbero |
The endings are: -ei, -esti, -ebbe, -emmo, -este, -ebbero — the same for all verb groups. And because the stem is the same as the future, irregular verbs are easy to handle:
| Verb | Future stem | Conditional io | Conditional lui/lei |
|---|---|---|---|
| essere | sar- | sarei | sarebbe |
| avere | avr- | avrei | avrebbe |
| andare | andr- | andrei | andrebbe |
| fare | far- | farei | farebbe |
| volere | vorr- | vorrei | vorrebbe |
| potere | potr- | potrei | potrebbe |
| dovere | dovr- | dovrei | dovrebbe |
| venire | verr- | verrei | verrebbe |
| sapere | sapr- | saprei | saprebbe |
When to Use the Conditional
1. Hypothetical Situations
The core use of the conditional — what would happen if something were true:
Con più tempo, viaggerei di più.
With more time, I would travel more.
Al tuo posto, non lo farei.
In your position, I wouldn't do it.
2. Polite Requests and Wishes
This is where the conditional becomes truly essential for daily life. Using vorrei, potrebbe, and potrei instead of the present tense makes requests sound much more polite:
Vorrei un caffè, per favore.
I would like a coffee, please.
Vorrei (conditional of volere) is the standard way to order in a café or restaurant — far more natural than "Voglio un caffè."
Potrebbe ripetere, per favore?
Could you repeat that, please?
Potrebbe (conditional of potere, lei form) softens what would otherwise be a blunt command.
Potresti aprire la finestra?
Could you open the window?
3. Advice with Dovere and Potere
The conditional of dovere and potere is the natural way to give advice in Italian:
Dovresti dormire di più.
You should sleep more.
Dovresti (conditional of dovere, tu form) is softer and more natural than the present tense for giving advice.
Potreste studiare un po' prima dell'esame.
You (plural) could study a bit before the exam.
4. Reported Speech and Uncertainty
In reported speech, when the reporting verb is in a past tense, the future shifts to the conditional:
Ha detto che sarebbe arrivato tardi.
He said he would arrive late.
Direct speech: "Arriverò tardi." In reported speech after a past tense, the future becomes the conditional.
Future vs. Conditional at a Glance
| Situation | Tense | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Something that will happen | Future | Andrò a Roma domani. (I will go to Rome tomorrow.) |
| A guess about now | Future | Sarà stanco. (He must be tired.) |
| Something that would happen | Conditional | Andrei a Roma volentieri. (I would gladly go to Rome.) |
| A polite request | Conditional | Vorrei un tavolo per due. (I'd like a table for two.) |
| Advice | Conditional | Dovresti riposare. (You should rest.) |
Common Mistakes
- Using the present after quando in future contexts: "Quando arrivo, ti chiamo" sounds like a habit or general statement. If you mean "when I arrive (in the future), I'll call you," use "Quando arriverò, ti chiamerò."
- Confusing vorrei with voglio: Both mean "I want," but vorrei (conditional) is the polite form. Saying voglio un caffè to a barista isn't wrong, but vorrei un caffè is the natural, courteous choice.
- Forgetting the stem change for -are verbs: The future/conditional stem for parlare is parler-, not parlar-. Saying "parlarò" is a common beginner slip.
- Mixing up double-r irregulars: volere → vorrò (not "volerò"), venire → verrò (not "venirò"). The -rr- is the clue that these verbs are irregular.
Practice With Reading
Both the future and conditional appear constantly in Italian fiction: characters make plans, speculate about others, and soften requests. When you read on LingueLibrary, you can click any verb form to see the full conjugation table and confirm which tense and person you're looking at. Encountering vorrebbe or saprò in context — rather than just in a textbook — is what makes them stick.
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