Simple Future (Irregular Stems)
While most Italian verbs use their infinitive as a base for the future tense, a group of common verbs (like andare, avere, and venire) use irregular stems. These stems are then combined with the standard future endings: -ò, -ai, -à, -emo, -ete, -anno.
How It Works
The irregular simple future is essential because it includes the most used verbs in the language. Even though the stems change, the endings remain identical to the regular future tense.
Helpful Tip: Grouping these irregular verbs by their stem changes (like dropped vowels or double consonants) makes them much easier to memorize.
1. Syncopated Stems (Vowel Drop)
These verbs drop the vowel between the root and the 'r':
- Andare → andr- (andrò, andrai...)
- Avere → avr- (avrò, avrai...)
- Cadere → cadr-
- Dovere → dovr-
- Potere → potr-
- Sapere → sapr-
- Vedere → vedr-
- Vivere → vivr-
2. Double-R Stems
In these verbs, the stem consonant transforms into a double 'r' (or, for verbs like porre, trarre, and tradurre that already have a double 'r', they simply drop the final '-e'):
- Bere → berr-
- Porre → porr-
- Rimanere → rimarr-
- Tenere → terr-
- Tradurre (and other -urre verbs) → tradurr-
- Trarre → trarr-
- Valere → varr-
- Venire → verr- (verrò, verrai...)
- Volere → vorr- (vorrò, vorrai...)
3. Short Stems, 'Dire', and 'Essere'
Verbs like fare, stare, and dare do not change their 'a' to 'e' (unlike regular -are verbs). Dire simply drops the final '-e'. Essere is completely unique:
- Fare → far- (farò)
- Stare → star- (starò)
- Dare → dar- (darò)
- Dire → dir- (dirò, dirai...)
- Essere (Unique) → sar- (sarò, sarai...)
4. Spelling Adjustments
Note: These are technically regular verbs that undergo a spelling change to maintain their phonetic sound.
- Verbs ending in -care and -gare add an 'h' to maintain the hard sound (e.g., cercare → cercherò, pagare → pagherò).
- Verbs ending in -ciare, -giare, and -sciare drop the 'i' (e.g., mangiare → mangerò, cominciare → comincerò, lasciare → lascerò).
Usage Note: In modern Italian, the future is often used for probability (Saranno le tre - It's probably three) or promises, while the present tense is frequently used for scheduled near-future events.
Examples (5)
- Domani andrò al mare con i miei amici.
Tomorrow I will go to the seaside with my friends.
Word by Word: Tomorrow I will go to the sea with the my friends.
Uses the syncopated stem 'andr-' from 'andare'.
- Non lo so, saranno le cinque.
I don't know, it's probably five o'clock.
Word by Word: Not it I know, they will be the five.
Demonstrates the 'futuro epistemico' (probability) using the irregular stem 'sar-' from 'essere'.
- Ti vorrò bene per sempre.
I will love you forever.
Word by Word: To you I will want well for always.
Uses the double-R stem 'vorr-' from 'volere'.
- Verranno anche loro alla festa?
Will they also come to the party?
Word by Word: They will come also they to the party?
Uses the double-R stem 'verr-' from 'venire' in the 3rd person plural.
- Fra un'ora sapremo la verità.
In an hour we will know the truth.
Word by Word: In an hour we will know the truth.
Uses the syncopated stem 'sapr-' from 'sapere'.
Common Mistakes
Using the regular stem for irregular verbs (e.g., 'anderò' instead of 'andrò').
Domani anderò a Roma.Domani andrò a Roma.Verbs like 'andare' must drop the internal vowel to form the correct future stem.
Forgetting the mandatory accent on the 1st and 3rd person singular.
Lui sara stanco.Lui sarà stanco.Without the accent on the final vowel (-ò, -à), the word is misspelled and the pronunciation stress is incorrect.
Using the conditional where a future is meant.
Andrei a casa domani.Andrò a casa domani.'Andrei a casa domani' is correct, but it means 'I would go home tomorrow'. For a plain future, 'I will go', use 'andrò'. The stems are the same, but '-ei' is conditional and '-ò' is future.
How It Connects
Learn This First
To learn irregular future stems, you first need to understand the standard future tense endings (-ò, -ai, -à, etc.) which are applied to these contracted stems. Familiarity with the base verbs in the present tense is also helpful as these are the most common verbs in the language.
- Simple Future (Regular)
The irregular future stems follow the same ending patterns as the regular future tense, so understanding the basic conjugation system is essential.
Level 2 - essere (presente)Present Tense of 'Essere'
Many irregular future verbs (like essere, avere, andare, fare) are foundational verbs that learners should already be familiar with in their present tense forms.
Level 1
Related Patterns
- Present Conditional (Irregular Stems)
The irregular stems used in the future tense are identical to those used in the present conditional.
Level 2 - Future of Probability
Irregular verbs like 'essere' and 'avere' are the most common verbs used to express probability in the future.
Level 2 - andare / fare / dare / stareIrregular Presente: Andare, Fare, Dare, Stare
These verbs are also irregular in the present tense, though the patterns of irregularity differ.
Level 1
Sources
Practice Simple Future (Irregular Stems) in Bubblegum
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