-rai
In Italian, the English concept of "will" as a future tense marker is expressed through specific suffixes added to verb stems. If unsure, use -rai. Wiktionary also lists -rà and -remo.
Meaning: indicating future action (verb)
Ways to say it
| Italian |
|---|
| -rai |
| -rà |
| -remo |
| -rete |
| -ranno |
These forms are used to indicate future action in the Italian future tense. While these specific forms act as suffixes to denote future intent, the related noun volontà is used when referring to the act of choosing to do something or the concept of conscious intent and volition.
Related words
Did you know?
- The future tense is frequently used in Italian to express a 'conjectural' or 'probabilistic' meaning, such as saying 'sarà tardi' to mean 'it is probably late'.
- In many Italian dialects, the formal future tense is entirely replaced by the present tense in daily conversation, making the suffixes like -rai almost exclusively a feature of written or formal speech.
- In formal Italian writing, the future tense is often used to express a command or a strong instruction, rather than just a prediction of what will happen.
Examples in context
- Farò una passeggiata oggi pomeriggio.I'll take a walk this afternoon.
- Domani andrò al mare.Tomorrow, I will go to the sea.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “will” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
