In Italian, the future tenses aren't just for talking about tomorrow. They are frequently used to express guesses, probability, or doubts. When you want to say that someone "must be" somewhere or "might be" doing something right now, Italian uses the future tense. This is known as the futuro epistemico.
The Simple Future for Present Guesses
When making a deduction about a present situation, use the simple future. Where English speakers usually say "must be" or "might be," Italian speakers just use the future tense.
To emphasize your doubt, you can pair the future tense with expressions like chissà (who knows).
The Future Perfect for Past Guesses
When making a deduction about something that already happened, step back in time by using the futuro anteriore (future perfect). In English, this translates to "must have" or "might have" followed by a past participle.
Remember that just like the passato prossimo, the futuro anteriore uses either avere or essere as a helping verb depending on the main action.
Modals for Probability
You can also put modal verbs—dovere (must/have to), potere (can/be able to), and volere (to want)—into the future tense to guess about someone's current needs, abilities, or desires.
Adding Probabilmente
To make your guess more explicit, you can add adverbs like probabilmente (probably). As you get comfortable with the futuro epistemico, you can even mix both future tenses in the same sentence if you are guessing about a present state and a past action at the same time.
