How to Talk About the Future in Italian: A Guide to the Futuro Anteriore
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Italian futuro anteriore can describe what will have happened before a future reference point. It also expresses guesses about the past. English has a future perfect too, but the two languages do not always choose matching forms.
It is nothing to fear, though, and its rules are pretty straightforward. In this lesson, we will show you how to form, use and understand the futuro anteriore. Let’s get started!
How to use the futuro anteriore
In standard Italian, the futuro anteriore, also called futuro composto, refers to an action which will have already finished before another action occurs in the future.
For example:
Dopo che avrai finito i compiti, potrai andare a giocare al parco – After you have finished your homework, you will be able to go and play in the park
The park visit is the later future event; finishing the homework comes first. English normally uses a present or present-perfect form after temporal “after,” “when” and “as soon as,” even when the meaning is future.
Here is another example:
Appena avrò guardato questo DVD, te lo presterò volentieri – As soon as I have watched this DVD, I will gladly lend it to you
As you can see, the Italian futuro anteriore refers to an action which will be over before another future event (generally introduced by the futuro semplice) takes place.
The futuro anteriore is also used in ways that might appear a bit stranger to native English-speaking learners. It can be used to:
- express uncertainty or doubt about whether something happened or not:
Avranno capito che stavo scherzando? – Do you think they understood that I was joking? (I am wondering if they understood that I was joking, there is no intent to talk about the future in this sentence)
- make a deduction or hypothesis about something that happened in the past:
Le luci sono accese, Rebecca si sarà dimenticata di spegnerle – The lights are on, Rebecca must have forgotten to turn them off
Melissa non ha passato l’esame di inglese, non avrà studiato abbastanza – Melissa didn’t pass the English test, she probably did not study enough
In these examples the tense expresses a deduction about the past. Depending on context, English can use “must have,” “probably” or “may have.”
The Italian future perfect tense is also to be used to talk about what will have happened by a point in time in the future.
Domani a quest’ora Emma sarà già arrivata a Montego Bay – By this time tomorrow Emma will have already arrived in Montego Bay
How to construct the futuro anteriore
As you saw above, the futuro anteriore is a compound tense, which means that it requires an auxiliary verb.
With essere, the participle agrees with the subject. With avere, it normally stays unchanged with a following noun object, but agrees with preceding direct-object pronouns lo, la, li, le: Le lettere? Le avrà lette (“The letters? They have probably read them”).
The conjugations of the auxiliary verbs “avere” and “essere” are as follows:
Avere (to have)
Io avrò
Tu avrai
Lui/lei avrà
Noi avremo
Voi avrete
Loro avranno
Essere (to be)
Io sarò
Tu sarai
Lui/lei sarà
Noi saremo
Voi sarete
Loro saranno
To make the past participle of regular verbs you just have to remove the infinitive ending -are, -ere or -ire and add the correct ending. Just follow this simple rule:
- the past participle ending of verbs that belong to the -are conjugation is -ato: giocare>giocato, urtare>urtato, sospirare>sospirato;
- the past participle ending of verbs that belong to the -ere conjugation is –uto: credere>creduto, ricevere>ricevuto, temere>temuto;
- the past participle ending of verbs that belong to the -ire conjugation is –ito: percepire>percepito, intuire>intuito, schernire>schernito.
Regular verbs form the future perfect tense as follows:
- First-conjugation verbs
Giocare (to play)
| Io avrò giocato | I will have played |
| Tu avrai giocato | You will have played |
| Lui/lei avrà giocato | He/she/it will have played |
| Noi avremo giocato | We will have played |
| Voi avrete giocato | You (plural) will have played |
| Loro avranno giocato | They will have played |
- Second-conjugation verbs
Credere (to believe)
| Io avrò creduto | I will have believed |
| Tu avrai creduto | You will have believed |
| Lui/lei avrà creduto | He/she/it will have believed |
| Noi avremo creduto | We will have believed |
| Voi avrete creduto | You (plural) will have believed |
| Loro avranno creduto | They will have believed |
- Third-conjugation verbs
Agire (to act)
| Io avrò agito | I will have acted |
| Tu avrai agito | You will have acted |
| Lui/lei avrà agito | He/she/it will have acted |
| Noi avremo agito | We will have acted |
| Voi avrete agito | You (plural) will have acted |
| Loro avranno agito | They will have acted |
There are some irregular verbs in the past participle, which need to be memorized. Here is a list of common irregular past participles:
| Accendere (to turn on) | acceso |
| Aprire (to open) | aperto |
| Bere (to drink) | bevuto |
| Chiedere (to ask) | chiesto |
| Chiudere (to close) | chiuso |
| Correggere (to correct) | corretto |
| Cuocere (to cook) | cotto |
| Dipingere (to paint) | dipinto |
| Dire (to say) | detto |
| Discutere (to discuss) | discusso |
| Dividere (to divide) | diviso |
| Fare (to do) | fatto |
| Leggere (to read) | letto |
| Morire (to die) | morto |
| Perdere (to lose) | perso |
| Permettere (to allow) | permesso |
| Piangere (to cry) | pianto |
| Porre (to put, to set) | posto |
| Prendere (to take) | preso |
| Promettere (to promise) | promesso |
| Rispondere (to reply) | risposto |
| Rompere (to break) | rotto |
| Scegliere (to choose) | scelto |
| Scrivere (to write) | scritto |
| Soffrire (to suffer) | sofferto |
| Succedere (to happen) | successo |
| Tradurre (to translate) | tradotto |
| Vedere (to see) | visto |
| Venire (to come) | venuto |
| Vincere (to win) | vinto |
| Vivere (to live) | vissuto |
| Volgere (to turn) | volto |
How to choose the auxiliary verb?
Choose the same auxiliary verb as you would for the passato prossimo and trapassato prossimo, depending on the verb expressing the meaning of the sentence.
Using auxiliary verb avere
In active constructions, transitive verbs such as mangiare (to eat), usare (to use), provocare (to provoke), vedere (to see) and dire (to say) take avere.
Alessio ti avrà anche provocato, ma non ci sono scusanti per come ti sei comportato – Alessio may have provoked you, but there are no excuses for how you have behaved
Intransitive dormire, rispondere and viaggiare take avere. Intransitive vivere can use either auxiliary, depending on usage and context.
Avrò dormito sì e no tre ore in tutto – I must have slept no more than three hours in all
Using auxiliary verb essere
You have to use the auxiliary verb “essere” with:
- all reflexive verbs, like vestirsi (to get dressed), addormentarsi (to fall asleep), alzarsi (to get up), annoiarsi (to get bored), arrabbiarsi (to get angry), chiamarsi (to be called), chiedersi (to wonder), divertirsi (to enjoy oneself), fermarsi (to stop), perdersi (to get lost), preoccuparsi (to worry), prepararsi (to get ready), ricordarsi (to remember) and svegliarsi (to wake up);
- many intransitive verbs, including andare, arrivare, partire, tornare and uscire. Do not use movement as an automatic test: viaggiare, for example, takes avere;
- verbs that express lack of movement, like restare (to remain) and stare (to stay);
- verbs that refer to a state of being, like essere (to be);
- verbs that refer to processes of change, like nascere (to be born) and morire (to die).
These verbs commonly take essere in their intransitive uses. A verb’s construction matters: crescere takes avere when transitive (avrà cresciuto due figli); durare can take either auxiliary in some uses. Check a dictionary for the construction you need.
| Accadere | to occur |
| Andare | to go |
| Arrivare | to arrive |
| Cadere | to fall, to drop |
| Costare | to cost |
| Crescere | to grow |
| Diventare | to become |
| Durare | to last |
| Entrare | to enter |
| Morire | to die |
| Nascere | to be born |
| Partire | to leave, to depart |
| Restare | to remain |
| Stare | to stay |
| Succedere | to happen |
| Tornare | to come back, to return |
| Uscire | to go out, to exit |
| Venire | to come |
With essere, the participle agrees with the subject. With avere, it normally stays unchanged with a following noun object, but agrees with preceding direct-object pronouns lo, la, li, le: Le lettere? Le avrà lette (“The letters? They have probably read them”).
Tua cugina Arianna sarà stata felicissima quando ha ottenuto la promozione – Your cousin Arianna must have been very happy when she got the promotion
Saranno state le dieci quando Benedetta è tornata – It must have been ten o’clock when Benedetta returned
Which phrases are typically used with the futuro anteriore?
These expressions can occur with futuro anteriore. They do not automatically require it; the intended time relationship or degree of uncertainty determines the tense.
- Appena – As soon as
Partiremo appena Giorgio ci avrà chiamato – We will leave as soon as Giorgio has called us
- Quando – When
Quando avrai compiuto diciotto anni, festeggeremo insieme — “When you turn eighteen, we will celebrate together.” — “When you turn eighteen, we will celebrate together.”
- Entro… – By…
Massimiliano si sarà laureato entro la fine dell’anno – Massimiliano will have graduated by the end of this year
- Tra… – In…
Tra una settimana Vittorio avrà già trovato un’altra ragazza – In a week, Vittorio will already have found another girlfriend
- Probabilmente – Probably
Probabilmente avrai pensato che fossi impazzita – You probably thought I had lost my mind
- Dopo che – After
Dopo che avrò finito gli studi, mi trasferirò negli Stati Uniti – After I have finished my studies, I will move to the United States
- Anche se – Even if
Anche se il bambino avrà già imparato a dormire da solo, avrà comunque bisogno di sentirsi protetto – Even if the child has already learned to sleep alone, they will still need to feel protected
- Chissà – Who knows
Chissà quanto vi sarete divertiti a Las Vegas! – You must have had so much fun in Las Vegas!
How do futuro anteriore and futuro semplice work together?
As mentioned previously, the Italian future perfect tense and the simple future tense are often used together in the same sentence.
In this type of construction, the future event expressed by the futuro anteriore is going to happen before the action you are referring to with the futuro semplice.
Quando avrai finito il risotto, ti porterò il dolce – When you have finished your risotto, I will bring you dessert
Non appena avrò finito di fare le pulizie, verrò a trovarti – As soon as I have finished cleaning, I will come and see you
As you can see, the futuro anteriore describes a future event that is in the past from the perspective of a later future event. In other words, it is a “past future event.”
The futuro anteriore in spoken Italian
In conversation, temporal uses of futuro anteriore can often be expressed with simpler constructions. Its use for a guess about the past remains common. The alternatives below are possible choices, not obligatory replacements.
Common alternatives are:
- “dopo” + past infinitive:
Ti daremo conferma dopo che avremo verificato che c’è ancora disponibilità / Ti daremo conferma dopo aver verificato che c’è ancora disponibilità – We will confirm once we have verified that there is still availability
- “forse” + passato prossimo
Non ho più visto Daniela, probabilmente si sarà trasferita / Non ho più visto Daniela, forse si è trasferita – I haven’t seen Daniela for a while; she has probably moved
To sum up…
- In Italian, the futuro anteriore is used to describe an action that will happen in the future before another future action.
Dopo che avrà finito la scuola, Melania andrà a vivere a Dublino – After Melania has finished school, she will move to Dublin
- It is used to describe actions that are expected to happen before a time of reference in the future.
Domani a quest’ora la sentenza sarà già stata emessa – By this time tomorrow the sentence will have already been pronounced
- It is used to express a hypothesis or a doubt about the past.
Armando non è andato al lavoro ieri, sarà stato malato – Armando didn’t go to work yesterday, he must have been ill
- It is also used to convey probability.
Quella moto sarà costata una fortuna – That motorbike must have cost an arm and a leg
- It is formed by using the appropriate auxiliary verb avere (to have) or essere (to be) in the future simple tense followed by the past participle of the verb describing the action.
Practice as much as you can until you get the hang of it. Practice makes perfect!
