The Ultimate Guide To The French Future Tense

Grammar Rules, Examples & Irregular Verbs

Aller + an infinitive (The near future)

The verb aller with an infinitive can be used to express the near future.

This is the equivalent of saying “be going to” in English.

The future tense

For most verbs, the future tense is created by adding -ai, as, a, ons, ez, ont to the infinitive.

The future endings are added once the last -e of the -re verb is dropped.

As in English, the future tense is used to convey an occurrence or describe a state that will exist in the future.

Please take note that the first person singular and second person plural as well as the first and third person plurals all have similar sounds.

However, the spelling of the forms varies.

If the infinitive stem of a verb ending in -er has two spoken consonants, the e is pronounced. Ex: je parlerai

If the stem ends in one pronounced consonant, the e is not pronounced. Je dinerai

Those verbs whose future stem is the third person singular of the present tense

Infinitive – present tense – future tense (je/nous)

Employer – il emploie – j’emploierai, nous emploierons

Ennuyer – il ennuie – j’ennuierai, nous ennuierons

Essayer – il essaie – j’essaierai – nous essaierons

Essuyer – il essuie – j’essuierai, nous essuierons

Nettoyer – il nettoie – je nettoierai – nous nettoierons

Payer – il paie – je paierai, nous paierons

infinitive verbs ending in -e

Infinitive – present tense – future tense (je/nous)

Acheter – il achète – j’achèterai, nous achèterons

Lever – il lève – je lèverai, nous lèverons

Mener – il mène – je mènerai, nous mènerons

Appeler – il appelle, j’appellerai, nous appellerons

Jeter – il jette – je jetterai, nous jetterons

Verbs with Irregular Future Stems

Many verbs have normal future endings attached to fully irregular future stems.

And to finish off, here is a song that uses the future. Watch the video clip, they will be written. A beautiful melancholic song that will be heard with pleasure.

Here are some exercises to review the near future:

exercise 1

exercise 2

Here are some exercises to review the future tense:

exercise 1

exercise 2

exercise 3

Exercise to review the near future and future tense

exercise 1

The near future is studied at the end of A1.2 at L’école de français and the future will be seen at A2 level.

These grammar points are studied in our general face-to-face and online courses.

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