One stem, two tenses
The future and the conditional grow from the same stem: the infinitive minus its final e, with -are verbs shifting a to e. Parlare gives parler-, and from there parlerò and parlerei.
This shared stem is the best bargain in Italian grammar. Learn one set of irregular stems and you have bought two tenses. If you can say vorrò (I will want), you already own vorrei (I would like).
| Person | Future | Conditional |
|---|---|---|
| io | parlerò | parlerei |
| tu | parlerai | parleresti |
| lui / lei | parlerà | parlerebbe |
| noi | parleremo | parleremmo |
| voi | parlerete | parlereste |
| loro | parleranno | parlerebbero |
The irregular stems worth owning
Spelling guards from the present tense return here: -care and -gare keep an h (cercherò, pagherò), while -ciare and -giare drop the i (mangerò, comincerò).
- sar- (essere): sarò, sarei. avr- (avere): avrò, avrei.
- andr- (andare), dovr- (dovere), potr- (potere), sapr- (sapere), vedr- (vedere), vivr- (vivere).
- Double-r stems: verr- (venire), vorr- (volere), berr- (bere), rimarr- (rimanere), terr- (tenere).
- far- (fare), dar- (dare), star- (stare) keep their a: farò, darei.
| Domani parlerò con il direttore. | Tomorrow I will speak with the director. |
| L'anno prossimo andremo in Sardegna. | Next year we will go to Sardinia. andr-: irregular stem. |
| Verranno alla festa sabato sera. | They will come to the party on Saturday evening. verr-: hold the double r. |
What the future does
The future covers plans and predictions: partiremo alle sei, domani pioverà. For near-certain plans in conversation, Italians often keep the present tense: domani lavoro. The future then adds distance, formality or doubt.
Italian also uses the future to guess about the present. Saranno le sei means 'it must be around six'. Dove sarà Marco? means 'where can Marco be?'. This future of probability is extremely common and has no direct English twin.
| Saranno le sei, il sole sta calando. | It must be around six, the sun is going down. Future of probability: a guess, no time travel involved. |
| Chi suona alla porta? Sarà il corriere. | Who is at the door? It is probably the courier. |
What the conditional does
The conditional softens. Vorrei un cappuccino orders politely where voglio demands. Dovresti riposare gives advice where devi gives orders. Potrebbe piovere hedges a prediction.
It also expresses genuine hypotheticals: Mi piacerebbe vivere a Bologna, I would like to live in Bologna. At B2 you will meet it with se-clauses and the subjunctive; the forms you learn here carry straight into that territory.
| Vorrei un cappuccino, per favore. | I would like a cappuccino, please. The single most useful conditional in the language. |
| Dovresti riposare di più. | You should rest more. dovere in the conditional = should. |
| Mi piacerebbe vivere a Bologna. | I would like to live in Bologna. |
| Potrebbe piovere stasera, prendi l'ombrello. | It might rain tonight, take the umbrella. |
Vorrei, dovresti, potrebbe and mi piacerebbe are worth learning as vocabulary before you finish the full paradigm. They carry most of the conditional's daily workload.
The double-m trap
The noi forms differ by one letter: future parleremo, conditional parleremmo. One m predicts, two m's hypothesise. The same contrast runs through every verb: andremo and andremmo, saremo and saremmo.
Hold the double m audibly in the conditional. Italians hear the difference instantly, and the meaning changes with it.
| Partiremo alle sei, è già deciso. | We will leave at six, it is already decided. One m: firm plan. |
| Partiremmo volentieri, ma non abbiamo la macchina. | We would gladly leave, but we do not have the car. Double m: hypothetical. |
Pronunciation corner
The future stresses its endings, which is rare in Italian. The conditional lives on held double consonants.
| parlerò | /parleˈrɔ/ | par-leh-ROH Stress lands on the final o, marked by the accent. |
| sarà | /saˈra/ | sah-RAH |
| vorrei | /vorˈrɛi/ | vor-RAY Double r, rolled and held. |
| farebbe | /faˈrɛbbe/ | fah-REB-beh Hold the double b. |
| partiremmo | /partiˈremmo/ | par-tee-REM-moh The double m is the only thing separating this from the future partiremo. |
Practice drill
Give the form requested in brackets: future or conditional, for the person shown.
(parlare, io, future) ___ con lei domani.Show answer
parlerò
(essere, lui, future) ___ stanco dopo il volo.Show answer
sarà
(andare, noi, future) ___ al mare in agosto.Show answer
andremo
(volere, io, conditional) ___ un tavolo per due.Show answer
vorrei
(dovere, tu, conditional) ___ dormire di più.Show answer
dovresti
(avere, loro, future) ___ più tempo a settembre.Show answer
avranno
(fare, lei, conditional) Cosa ___ al posto mio?Show answer
farebbe
(venire, loro, future) ___ anche i cugini?Show answer
Verranno
Frequently asked questions
Do the future and conditional really share a stem?
Yes. Both build on the infinitive minus its final e, with -are verbs shifting a to e, and both share the same irregular stems: sar-, avr-, andr-, vorr-, verr-. Only the endings differ.
What is the future of probability?
Italian uses the future tense to guess about the present: Saranno le otto means 'it must be around eight'. Sarà Marco alla porta means 'that is probably Marco at the door'. It expresses inference, never time.
What is the difference between voglio and vorrei?
Voglio states a demand: I want. Vorrei softens it to a polite request: I would like. In shops, bars and restaurants, vorrei is the standard register; voglio can sound abrupt.
How do I keep parleremo and parleremmo apart?
One m is future (we will speak), two m's conditional (we would speak). Hold the double m clearly in speech and listen for it; the length of that consonant carries the whole meaning.