The Italian Future Tense: When Future doesn't talk about the future

When learning Italian, most students are taught that the future tense (futuro semplice) is used to talk about actions that will happen in the future. 

And while that is certainly true, there is another use of the future tense that often surprises learners: expressing probability, uncertainty, or a guess about the present. 

Did you know that? 

If you’ve ever heard an Italian saying the sentences below, you may have wondered why they are using the future tense when talking about something happening right now. 

• Sarà a casa. (He/She might be home) 

• Avrà trent'anni. (He/She is probably about thirty) 

• Che ore saranno? (What time could it be?) 

In this article, we will look at: 

1. What is the Future Tense in Italian 

2. Another use of the Future Tense 

3. How to recognize it 

4. Futuro Semplice (uncertainty) vs. Presente (certainty) 

Are you ready? Let's dive in!

1. What is the Future Tense in Italian? 

The futuro semplice is the tense used to talk about actions that will happen in the future. e.g.: 

• Domani andrò al mare. (Tomorrow I'll go to the beach.) 

• L’anno prossimo studierò in Italia. (The next year I’ll study in Italy.) • Ti chiamerò più tardi. (I'll call you later.)

In all these sentences, the action has not happened yet. 

However, Italian has a second, less obvious use for this tense. 

2. Another use of the Future Tense 

One of the most interesting features of Italian is that the future tense can be used to express a hypothesis or assumption about the present. 

In this case, the future tense does not indicate a future action. 

Instead, it expresses probability, uncertainty or a guess. 

e.g.: 

• Sarà a casa. → He's probably at home. 

• Saranno le otto. → It's probably around eight o’clock. 

• Avrà fame. → She’s probably hungry. 

Notice that all these situations refer to the present, not the future. The speaker is simply guessing the probability of facts.

I know, you probably have a few questions by now. 

You might be wondering: if the Italian Future Tense can also be used in sentences that do not refer to the future, but instead express probability, uncertainty, or a guess, how can I tell the difference? 

In the next section, I'll show you how to recognize each use. 

3. How to recognize it 

An easy way to determine whether the Italian Future Tense refers to a future action or not is to look at the context. 

It may seem obvious, but the context will almost always give you all the information you need. 

If the sentence contains references to the future, such as time expressions like domani (tomorrow), 

dopodomani (the day after tomorrow), stasera (this evening), più tardi (later), la settimana prossima (next week), l'anno prossimo (next year), tra un'ora (in an hour), or tra due giorni (in two days), then the Future Tense is definitely referring to a future action. 

On the other hand, if the Future Tense is not referring to a future action, it is most likely being used to express one of the following: 

• uncertainty about something 

• a logical deduction 

• an estimate of someone's age, the time, or a quantity, etc. 

e.g.: 

• Marco non risponde al telefono. Sarà al lavoro. → Marco isn't answering his phone. He's probably at work. 

• Avrà circa quarant'anni. → He's probably around forty years old. 

• A: Che ore sono? 

B: Saranno le dieci. → It's probably ten o'clock.

• Dopo dieci ore di viaggio, avranno sonno. → After a ten-hour journey, they're probably tired. 

4. Futuro Semplice (uncertainty) vs. Presente (certainty) 

To better understand this use of the Future Tense, let's compare it with the Present Tense. In many cases, both tenses describe the same situation, but they express different levels of certainty. 

Presente (for certainty): 

• Marco è a casa. → Marco is at home. 

The speaker knows this for a fact. 

Futuro semplice (for probability): 

• Marco sarà a casa. → Marco is probably at home. 

The speaker is making a reasonable assumption. 

As you can see, this small change completely alters the meaning of the sentence: the Present Tense expresses certainty, while the Future Tense expresses probability. 

Italian can also use the Futuro anteriore to make assumptions about the past. e.g.: 

• Avrà dimenticato il telefono. → He probably forgot his phone. 

• Saranno arrivati ormai. → They have probably arrived by now. 

Again, the speaker is not expressing certainty, only probability. 

Remember, the Future Tense is not always about the future. When Italians use the futuro semplice in everyday conversation, they are often expressing what they think is likely to be true rather than stating a fact. 

Once you become familiar with this use, you'll start noticing it everywhere: in conversations, TV shows, films, and books. Understanding this subtle difference will help you sound more natural and make it much easier to understand native speakers.

That is all for today’s lesson!  

I really hope this article helped you find out more about the Future Tense in Italian. Of course, if you have any questions or other topics you would like me to cover, let me know in the comments below. 

Thank you for reading this article! 

If you want to learn more about me, feel free to check out my profile. Ciao! 

Germana