Il futuro semplice
The futuro semplice is Italian's plain future tense: parlerò = I will speak, mangeremo = we'll eat, partiranno = they will leave. It's built directly on the infinitive — drop the final -e, and add the future endings: -ò, -ai, -à, -emo, -ete, -anno. There's also a near-future construction with stare per + infinitive — 'to be about to'. (Italian also uses the simple present for near-future plans, much like English: Domani vado a Roma = tomorrow I'm going to Rome.)
The endings — same for all three groups
Take the infinitive, drop the final -e, and tack on the future endings: -ò, -ai, -à, -emo, -ete, -anno. The accents on -ò and -à are mandatory. Examples: leggere → leggerò, leggerai, leggerà, leggeremo, leggerete, leggeranno = I'll read, you'll read…. partire → partirò, partirai, partirà, partiremo, partirete, partiranno. Just like the imperfetto (lesson 18), there's no agreement with the subject — endings carry the subject information.
-ARE verbs swap A → E
Here's the wrinkle: -are verbs change the a of the stem to e before adding the future endings. parlare → parlerò (NOT parlarò), parlerai, parlerà, parleremo, parlerete, parleranno. mangiare → mangerò. studiare → studierò. lavorare → lavorerò. So the future of the three regular groups all looks vowel-symmetric: -erò for -are, -erò for -ere, -irò for -ire. Two-thirds of Italian verbs end up with -erò.
Common irregulars — short stems
About fifteen common verbs have a contracted stem. The endings are still regular (-ò, -ai, -à…) — only the stem shrinks. essere → sarò, sarai, sarà, saremo, sarete, saranno. avere → avrò, avrai, avrà, avremo, avrete, avranno. andare → andrò, andrai, andrà, andremo, andrete, andranno. fare → farò, farai, farà, faremo, farete, faranno. venire → verrò, verrai, verrà, verremo, verrete, verranno. dare → darò. vedere → vedrò. dovere → dovrò. potere → potrò. volere → vorrò. sapere → saprò. bere → berrò. Memorize the stem; the endings always follow.
When to use it
Use the futuro semplice for things that will happen in the future, especially with a definite time word: Domani parlerò con Marco = tomorrow I'll talk to Marco. L'anno prossimo andremo in Italia = next year we'll go to Italy. The futuro is also used for guesses and probability in the present: Sarà a casa adesso = he must be home now / he's probably home. For events very soon, Italians often just use the present: Domani vado a Milano = I'm going to Milan tomorrow — that's the most common everyday choice for near-future.
STARE PER + infinitive — about to
For something on the verge of happening, use stare (lesson 5) conjugated, + per + INFINITIVE. Sto per uscire = I'm about to go out. Stiamo per partire = we're about to leave. Marco sta per arrivare = Marco's about to arrive. This isn't really 'future' — it's an imminent present, like English 'I'm about to'. Don't combine it with explicit future time markers (no domani sto per…); save it for what's happening RIGHT NOW, in the next breath.
