French Lesson 8: The Future Tenses – Futur Proche and Futur Simple

In this lesson, we will focus on how to express the future in French using two important tenses: the futur
proche (near future) and the futur simple (simple future). These tenses are essential for talking about
plans, predictions, and future actions.

1. The Futur Proche (Near Future)

The futur proche is used to describe actions that are going to happen in the near future, much like the
English "going to." It is commonly used in spoken French to talk about plans and intentions that are
happening soon.

Formation of the Futur Proche

The futur proche is formed using:

 The present tense of aller (to go) + the infinitive of the main verb.

Conjugation of aller (to go):

 Je vais (I go)

 Tu vas (You go)

 Il/Elle/On va (He/She/One goes)

 Nous allons (We go)

 Vous allez (You go)

 Ils/Elles vont (They go)

Examples:

 Je vais manger à 8 heures. (I’m going to eat at 8 o’clock.)

 Nous allons partir en vacances demain. (We are going to leave for vacation tomorrow.)

 Ils vont regarder un film ce soir. (They are going to watch a movie tonight.)

Negative form of Futur Proche

To make the futur proche negative, place ne before the form of aller and pas after it.

Examples:

 Je ne vais pas travailler ce week-end. (I’m not going to work this weekend.)

 Il ne va pas venir à la fête. (He’s not going to come to the party.)

2. The Futur Simple (Simple Future)

Formation of the Futur Simple

To form the futur simple, you take the infinitive form of the verb and add the following endings:

 Je: -ai

 Tu: -as

 Il/Elle/On: -a

 Nous: -ons

 Vous: -ez

 Ils/Elles: -ont

For -re verbs, drop the final -e before adding the endings.

Examples of regular verbs:

 Parler (to speak): je parlerai, tu parleras, il/elle/on parlera, nous parlerons, vous parlerez,
ils/elles parleront

 Finir (to finish): je finirai, tu finiras, il/elle/on finira, nous finirons, vous finirez, ils/elles finiront

 Vendre (to sell): je vendrai, tu vendras, il/elle/on vendra, nous vendrons, vous vendrez, ils/elles
vendront

Irregular Verbs in the Futur Simple

Some verbs have irregular stems in the futur simple, but the endings remain the same. Here are a few
common irregular stems:

 Avoir (to have) → aur- (j’aurai)

 Être (to be) → ser- (je serai)

 Aller (to go) → ir- (j’irai)

 Faire (to do/make) → fer- (je ferai)

 Venir (to come) → viendr- (je viendrai)

 Voir (to see) → verr- (je verrai)

 Pouvoir (to be able to) → pourr- (je pourrai)

 Devoir (to have to) → devr- (je devrai)

 Savoir (to know) → saur- (je saurai)

 Envoyer (to send) → enverr- (j’enverrai)

 Nous aurons une réunion demain. (We will have a meeting tomorrow.)

 Ils feront un voyage en France. (They will take a trip to France.)

 Je verrai mes amis ce week-end. (I will see my friends this weekend.)

3. Futur Proche vs. Futur Simple

 The futur proche is used to talk about actions that are going to happen soon or are certain to
happen.

 The futur simple is used for actions that will happen in the future, often for predictions or
intentions that are further away in time.

Examples:

 Futur Proche: Je vais étudier demain. (I’m going to study tomorrow.)

 Futur Simple: Je studierai pour l'examen la semaine prochaine. (I will study for the exam next
week.)

4. Expressions of Time Used with the Future Tenses

Certain time expressions can help indicate whether you should use the futur proche or the futur simple.

Expressions commonly used with the futur proche:

 Ce soir (tonight)

 Demain (tomorrow)

 Tout à l’heure (soon)

 Dans quelques minutes (in a few minutes)

Expressions commonly used with the futur simple:

 L’année prochaine (next year)

 Dans un mois (in a month)

 Un jour (one day)

 À l’avenir (in the future)

5. Forming Questions in the Future Tenses

To ask questions in the futur proche or futur simple, you can use the same word order as in the present
tense, but conjugate the verb in the future tense.

Examples:

 Futur Proche:
 o Est-ce que tu vas partir demain ? (Are you going to leave tomorrow?)

o Quand est-ce que vous allez dîner ? (When are you going to have dinner?)

 Futur Simple:

o Que feras-tu ce week-end ? (What will you do this weekend?)

o Quand partirons-nous ? (When will we leave?)

6. The Future with Si and Quand

When you use si (if) or quand (when) to talk about future events, you generally combine the present
tense with the futur simple.

Examples with Si:

 Si tu manges trop, tu seras malade. (If you eat too much, you will be sick.)

 Si nous partons maintenant, nous arriverons à temps. (If we leave now, we will arrive on time.)

Examples with Quand:

 Quand il sera plus vieux, il voyagera partout dans le monde. (When he is older, he will travel all
over the world.)

 Quand nous finirons le travail, nous irons au restaurant. (When we finish the work, we will go to
the restaurant.)

7. Exercises

Exercise 1: Futur Proche or Futur Simple? Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verb in
either the futur proche or futur simple.

1. Je (partir) en vacances demain. (futur proche)

2. Ils (avoir) un examen difficile la semaine prochaine. (futur simple)

3. Nous (aller) au cinéma ce soir. (futur proche)

4. Un jour, je (visiter) Paris. (futur simple)

Exercise 2: Conjugate the Verbs in the Futur Simple Conjugate the following verbs in the futur simple.

1. Je (faire) un gâteau.

2. Nous (voir) un film.

3. Ils (venir) chez nous demain.

4. Tu (être) heureux.

Exercise 3: Translate the Sentences into French Translate the following sentences using the correct
future tense.
1. I’m going to visit my grandparents tomorrow.

2. She will travel to Spain next year.

3. We are going to study tonight.

4. They will finish the project next week.