Use of the future and conditional
FUTURO:
Most of the time the future translates as ‘will do’ or ‘going to do’ in English.
Ex.
L’anno prossimo andrò in Italia.
Quando arriverà l’autobus.
Cosa darete al tuo figlio per il suo compleanno?
The future as probability
The future has one special use that does not translate directly. It is used to
express possibility or probability. This can translate into English in a variety
of ways.
Some possibilities are: must, probably, maybe, could
Ex.
Sai dov’è Maria? Non è venuta in classe oggi. Sarà malata.
Do you know where Maria is? She didn’t come to class today.
*She must be sick. She could be sick. She is probably sick. Maybe she is
sick.*
Quell’orologio costerà un occhio della testa.
That watch must cost an arm and a leg. That watch probably costs an arm
and a leg.
CONDIZIONALE:
The conditional normally translates into English as ‘would do.’
It is very common with verbs such as:
piacere-would like
volere-would like
potere-could
dovere-should
Ex.
Mi piacerebbe andare ma non posso.
Vorrebbe qualcosa da bere?
Potresti aiutarmi?
Dovrei studiare stasera.
