In everyday speech Italians use the **present** for planned future events: *domani vado a Roma*, *stasera ci vediamo*. The future tense proper is for predictions, promises and uncertain things — and above all for guessing about the present: *saranno le tre* means "it must be around three".
The rule the textbooks skip
If the event is planned and certain, spoken Italian uses the present. Domani parto per Milano is more natural than domani partirò, which sounds formal or emphatic.
English does something similar with "I'm leaving tomorrow", but learners tend to over-apply the Italian future — and using it for everything future is one of the ways a book-learned speaker gives themselves away.
The simple future stays for predictions and promises: un giorno andrò in Giappone, ti chiamerò domani, *pioverà nel weekend*.
The future that talks about the present
This is the most frequent use and the least taught. The Italian future is used to suppose: Che ore sono? Saranno le tre isn't about the future at all — it means "it must be about three".
Dov'è Marco? Sarà a casa — he's probably home. Quanto costa? Costerà cinquanta euro — it'll be around fifty.
There's a past version too, with the future perfect: non risponde, avrà già dormito** means "he must be asleep already". It's heard daily in Italy and almost no course explains it outright.
How it's formed, briefly
Take the infinitive and add the ending: parlare → parlerò*, prenderò, dormirò. In -are verbs the a becomes e: parlare → parlerò*, not "parlarò".
The most frequent irregulars shorten the stem: essere → sarò, avere → avrò, andare → andrò, potere → potrò, volere → vorrò, venire → verrò, fare → farò.
They're the same irregular verbs as always — which is the good news: anyone who has learned them in the present recognises the pattern immediately.
Related questions
Is domani andrò wrong instead of domani vado?
No, it's correct, but in everyday speech it sounds formal or emphatic. For a settled plan Italians use the present.
What does saranno le tre mean?
"It must be around three." It's the future tense used to guess about the present — one of the commonest uses of the Italian future.
Updated 2026-07-29