Learn Italian: Noi speriamo sempre nel futuro. - We always hope for the future.

Noi speriamo sempre nel futuro.

We always hope for the future.

Breakdown of Noi speriamo sempre nel futuro.

noi

in / made of (material)

Questions & Answers about Noi speriamo sempre nel futuro.

Why does the sentence use nel instead of a word for "for"?

In Italian, the verb sperare (to hope) is usually followed by the preposition in when you are hoping for or having faith in something. Because futuro is a masculine noun that takes the article il, combining in + il gives us the combined word nel.

This lesson is about the future tense, so why is the verb speriamo in the present tense?

Even though the sentence is talking about the future, the actual action of hoping is happening right now. Speriamo is the regular present tense. In this specific sentence, futuro is simply a noun meaning "the future," not a verb tense!

Is it mandatory to include Noi at the beginning?

No, you can easily drop it and just say Speriamo sempre nel futuro. The verb ending -iamo already makes it perfectly clear that the subject is "we." Including Noi just adds a little bit of emphasis, as if to say "As for us, we always hope."

Why is sempre placed where it is?

Adverbs of frequency like sempre (always) and mai (never) usually go directly after the conjugated verb. That is why it is placed right after speriamo and before the rest of the phrase.