🇫🇷 Lesson 17: Talking About the Future

🚀 Two Futures, One Easy One First

French offers two ways to talk about what hasn't happened yet. The good news: the one you'll use most is built from a verb you already know.

FormBuilt fromFeels likeExample
Futur prochealler + infinitivenear, planned, spokenJe vais partir.
Futur simpleinfinitive + endingsdistant, formal, writtenJe partirai.

1️⃣ Futur Proche — "Going To"

Conjugate aller, then park an infinitive behind it. That's the whole rule, and it maps perfectly onto English "I'm going to...".

FrenchPronunciationMeaning
Je vais manger.zhuh vay mahn-ZHAYI'm going to eat.
Tu vas adorer ça.tü vah ah-do-RAY sahYou're going to love it.
On va être en retard.ohn vah etr ahn ruh-TARWe're going to be late.
Nous allons visiter Québec.noo-zah-lohn vee-zee-TAYWe're going to visit Québec.
Ils vont partir demain.eel vohn par-TEER duh-MANThey're going to leave tomorrow.

✅ Negatives and Pronouns Wrap the FIRST Verb

Je ne vais pas sortir. — the sandwich goes around vais, not around the infinitive. Reflexive pronouns, though, stay glued to their own infinitive: Je vais me coucher.

2️⃣ Futur Simple — One Set of Endings for Everything

The futur simple is remarkably regular: take the infinitive as your stem and add the endings below. They are the present tense of avoir, which is a useful memory hook.

FrenchPronunciationMeaning
je parleraizhuh par-luh-RAYI will speak
tu parlerastü par-luh-RAHyou will speak
il / elle parleraeel par-luh-RAHhe / she will speak
nous parleronsnoo par-luh-ROHNwe will speak
vous parlerezvoo par-luh-RAYyou will speak
ils / elles parleronteel par-luh-ROHNthey will speak

-ir verbs work the same way: je finirai, nous finirons. -re verbs drop the final -e first: vendre → je vendrai, prendre → je prendrai. Every future form, without exception, has an r sound before the ending — that r is the audible signal that someone is talking about the future.

The Irregular Stems Worth Memorising

VerbFuture stemExample
êtreser-je serai — I will be
avoiraur-j'aurai — I will have
allerir-j'irai — I will go
fairefer-je ferai — I will do
venirviendr-je viendrai — I will come
voirverr-je verrai — I will see
pouvoirpourr-je pourrai — I will be able to
vouloirvoudr-je voudrai — I will want
devoirdevr-je devrai — I will have to
savoirsaur-je saurai — I will know
falloirfaudr-il faudra — it will be necessary
pleuvoirpleuvr-il pleuvra — it will rain

Which One Should You Use?

SituationPreferred formExample
Plans for today or this weekfutur procheJe vais appeler ce soir.
Casual conversationfutur procheOn va voir.
Predictions, promises, distant plansfutur simpleUn jour, j'habiterai à Paris.
Writing, news, schedules, forecastsfutur simpleIl fera beau demain.
After quand, dès que, lorsquefutur simple (required)Quand j'aurai le temps, je viendrai.

🚨 "When I have time, I'll come"

English switches to the present after "when" — French does not. Both verbs stay in the future: Quand j'aurai le temps, je viendrai. Same with dès que (as soon as) and lorsque. This is one of the few places where a tense you might think is over-engineered is actually compulsory.

⏪ The Recent Past: venir de

The mirror image of the near future. Conjugate venir, add de, then an infinitive — and you've said "to have just done something".

FrenchPronunciationMeaning
Je viens de manger.zhuh vee-en duh mahn-ZHAYI've just eaten.
Elle vient d'arriver.el vee-en dah-ree-VAYShe's just arrived.
Nous venons de finir.noo vuh-nohn duh fee-NEERWe've just finished.
Ils viennent de partir.eel vee-en duh par-TEERThey've just left.

💡 Three Time Frames, One Sentence Shape

Je viens de manger. (just past) · Je mange. (now) · Je vais manger. (near future). Three moments in time, all built around the same infinitive — a compact system you can deploy from your first week.

📅 Future Time Markers

FrenchPronunciationMeaning
demainduh-MANtomorrow
après-demainah-pray duh-MANthe day after tomorrow
ce soirsuh SWAHRtonight
la semaine prochainelah suh-men pro-SHENnext week
le mois prochainluh mwah pro-SHANnext month
dans deux joursdahn duh ZHOORin two days
bientôtbee-en-TOHsoon
plus tardplü TARlater
un jouruhn ZHOORone day, someday

⚠️ dans vs en

Dans = after how long from now: Je pars dans une heure (I'm leaving in an hour).
En = how long it takes: Je fais ça en une heure (I do it in / within an hour).
Mixing them up produces a sentence that is grammatical but says the wrong thing.

🇫🇷🇨🇦 Across the Atlantic

🇫🇷 France

Everyday speech leans heavily on the futur proche; the futur simple lives in the news, weather forecasts and written French. On va voir and Je te tiens au courant ("I'll keep you posted") are the conversational defaults.

🇨🇦 Canada

Québec goes even further: the futur proche dominates almost completely in speech, and the futur simple can sound bookish or emphatic. M'a — a contraction of je vais — is extremely common: M'a t'appeler demain (I'll call you tomorrow).

✍️ Practice

Exercise 1 — Futur proche

  1. Je _____ partir à huit heures. (aller) (Answer: vais)
  2. Nous _____ visiter le musée. (aller) (Answer: allons)
  3. Ils _____ arriver bientôt. (aller) (Answer: vont)
  4. Je ne vais _____ sortir ce soir. (the negative) (Answer: pas)

Exercise 2 — Futur simple

  1. Demain, je _____ à mes amis. (parler) (Answer: parlerai)
  2. Elle _____ à Paris l'an prochain. (être) (Answer: sera)
  3. Nous _____ du temps ce week-end. (avoir) (Answer: aurons)
  4. Quand j'_____ le temps, je viendrai. (avoir — both verbs stay in the future!) (Answer: aurai)
  5. Il _____ beau demain. (faire) (Answer: fera)

Exercise 3 — Just done it

  1. Je _____ de manger. (venir — I've just eaten) (Answer: viens)
  2. Elle vient _____ arriver. (before a vowel) (Answer: d')
  3. Nous _____ de finir le travail. (venir) (Answer: venons)

🧠 Check Your Understanding

1. "I'm going to call you tonight" in everyday spoken French is:

2. Which sound appears in EVERY futur simple form?

3. "When I have time, I'll come" is:

4. Elle vient de partir means: