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In everyday spoken Italian, the presente indicativo is frequently used to express future actions, especially when the context makes the time reference clear. This is one of the most natural and common ways Italians talk about the future.
When a time expression or context makes it obvious that you are talking about the future, Italian speakers routinely use the present tense instead of the formal future tense.
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Domani parto per Roma. | Tomorrow I leave for Rome. |
| Stasera mangiamo al ristorante. | Tonight we eat at the restaurant. |
| La settimana prossima comincio il nuovo lavoro. | Next week I start the new job. |
| Quando arrivi? | When do you arrive? |
| Sabato andiamo al cinema. | On Saturday we go to the cinema. |
Tip: This is exactly like English "I leave tomorrow" or "We go on Saturday." The present tense works for future meaning when the context is clear.
These temporal markers signal that the present tense refers to a future event:
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| domani | tomorrow |
| dopodomani | the day after tomorrow |
| stasera | tonight / this evening |
| oggi pomeriggio | this afternoon |
| la settimana prossima | next week |
| il mese prossimo | next month |
| l'anno prossimo | next year |
| fra poco | in a little while |
| fra un'ora | in an hour |
| tra due giorni | in two days |
| presto | soon |
| dopo | afterwards / later |
The present tense is especially natural for events that are scheduled or planned:
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Il treno parte alle 8. | The train leaves at 8. |
| Il film comincia alle 21. | The film starts at 9 PM. |
| La riunione finisce alle 17. | The meeting ends at 5 PM. |
| L'aereo atterra a mezzanotte. | The plane lands at midnight. |
| Il negozio chiude alle 19. | The shop closes at 7 PM. |
Tip: For timetables, schedules, and fixed plans, the present tense is the most natural choice in Italian.
Italian has a special construction for actions that are about to happen: stare per + infinitive. This is equivalent to English "to be about to."
Conjugated form of stare + per + infinitive
| Subject | Stare |
|---|---|
| io | sto |
| tu | stai |
| lui / lei / Lei | sta |
| noi | stiamo |
| voi | state |
| loro | stanno |
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Sto per uscire. | I am about to leave. |
| Il treno sta per partire. | The train is about to depart. |
| Stiamo per mangiare. | We are about to eat. |
| Sta per piovere. | It is about to rain. |
| Stanno per arrivare. | They are about to arrive. |
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Sto per chiamarti. | I am about to call you. |
| Stai per finire? | Are you about to finish? |
| Il film sta per cominciare. | The film is about to start. |
| Stiamo per partire per le vacanze. | We are about to leave for holiday. |
| State per vedere qualcosa di incredibile. | You are about to see something incredible. |
| Stanno per chiudere il negozio. | They are about to close the shop. |
Place non before the conjugated verb:
| Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|
| Domani parto. | Domani non parto. |
| Stasera mangiamo fuori. | Stasera non mangiamo fuori. |
Place non before the conjugated form of stare:
| Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|
| Sto per uscire. | Non sto per uscire. |
| Stiamo per mangiare. | Non stiamo per mangiare. |
Both constructions form questions through intonation (raising the voice at the end) or inversion:
| Construction | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Present tense | General future plan | Domani parto. (Tomorrow I leave.) |
| Stare per + infinitive | Immediate/imminent action | Sto per partire. (I am about to leave.) |
The key difference is immediacy. Stare per implies the action is moments away, while the present-for-future is used for any planned future event.
Translate the following into Italian: