Future: usage

French has two future tenses -- the futur proche and the futur simple. The futur proche is formed with the auxiliary aller which is followed by an infinitive (Je vais partir. 'I'm going to leave'). The futur simple doesn't have an auxiliary. Instead, the infinitive form becomes the stem to which future endings are added (Je partirai. 'I will leave'). For more details on the formation of these two future tenses, including irregular forms, see the related links: future: regular, future: irregular, and futur proche.

futur proche vs. futur simple

The two tenses are virtually interachangeable in most contexts, especially in spoken French. So what is the difference? In general, the two tenses differ in their level of formality; the future proche is used in more informal contexts and the simple future in more formal contexts. Thus, the futur proche is primarily used in speech and less frequently in writing. According to traditional grammars, the two tenses also differ in their relative distance to the present moment. The future proche, also called the futur immédiat, typically refers to a time very close to the present moment, i.e, the near or immediate future. The futur simple, on the other hand, is often used for events in the more distant future. Because the futur simple is associated with distant future events, it often takes on a detached, objective quality making it the preferred tense for future events that represent general truths.

Qui vivra, verra.	Whoever will live, will see
L'homme sera toujours l'homme.	Man will always be man. (Boys will be boys.)

Differences between French and English

In general, the future tenses in French and in English are used similarly. However, there is one major difference in future tense usage between the two languages. French requires the future tense after certain conjunctions where English usage calls for the present tense.

Joe-Bob: Dès que Tex et Tammy seront en vacances, ils irontà la Nouvelle-Orléans. Joe-Bob: As soon as Tex and Tammy are on vacation, they will go to New Orleans. Corey: Mais ils nous téléphonerontaussitôt qu'ils arriverontà la Nouvelle-Orléans. Corey: But they will call us as soon as they arrive in New Orleans. Joe-Bob: Lorsque Tex et Tammy rentreront, ils passeront quelques jours à Opelousas. Joe-Bob: When Tex and Tammy come back, they will spend a few days in Opelousas. Corey: Et quand ils reviendrontà Austin, on fera la fête! Corey: And when they return to Austin, we'll have a party!

In the French examples above, the subordinate clauses starting with dès que, aussitôt que, lorsque, and quand are in the simple future because the main clauses are in the future. The action in the subordinate clause implies future tense since it will take place at around the same time as the action in the main clause. Note the use of the present tense in the subordinate clause of the English translations.

Futur proche

Formation

There are two future tenses in French, the simple future and the near future (le futur proche). The futur proche is usually translated into English as going + infinitive (e.g., going to eat, going to drink, going to talk). The futur proche is characteristic of spoken French but may be used in informal writing. It is formed with the verb aller (to go) conjugated in the present tense followed by an infinitive.

nager  'to swim' je vais nager, I am going to swim nous allons nager, we are going to swim tu vas nager, you are going to swim vous allez nager, you are going to swim il, elle / on va nager, he, she (it) / one is going to swim ils / elles vont nager, they are going to swim

To negate the futur proche, place ne ... pas around the conjugated form of aller: Je ne vais pas nager. (I am not going to swim).

Corey: Je vais allerà Barton Springs. J'adore l'eau. Je vais nager. Tu viens avec moi, Bette? Corey: I am going to go to Barton Springs. I love water. I am going to swim. Are you coming with me, Bette? Bette: Tu es fou! Il fait trop froid! Je ne vais pas nager! Bette: Are you crazy? It is too cold! I am not going to swim!

Uses

The futur proche is used to refer to most future events in informal conversation. For details on usage see future: usage.

Corey: Tex! Tammy! Nous allons allerà Barton Springs.   Corey: Tex! Tammy! We are going to go to Barton Springs. Bette: Mais il y a de gros nuages gris, il va pleuvoir.   Bette: But there are big gray clouds. It's going to rain. Corey: Chouette! Je vais nager sous la pluie.   Corey: Great! I am going to swim in the rain.

Aller in the imperfect + infinitive

The construction aller + infinitive is also found with the verb aller in the imperfect (l'imparfait) to indicate what someone was going to do. For example:

Les copains allaient partir pour Barton Springs, quand ils ont vu un éclair.   The friends were going to leave for Barton Springs, when they saw lightening. Bette: Corey, tu vas te faire électrocuter! Moi, je vais faire du shopping. Qui va venir avec moi?   Bette: Corey, you are going to get yourself electrocuted! I'm going to do some shopping. Who's going to come with me?

Simple future

Formation

The 'simple' future (le futur) is so-named because it is a one-word tense. In other words, its formation is simple because there is no auxiliary.

The endings for the simple future are: -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont. The future stem for -er and -ir verbs is the infinitive. For regular -re verbs, the stem is the infinitive minus the final e. In all cases, the future stem ends in -r: this sound characterizes the future and the conditional.The French simple future tense is generally translated into English with the modal auxiliary 'will.'

Listen carefully to the future conjugation of regular -er verbs, where the e of the infinitive changes in pronunciation.

nager  'to swim' je nagerai, I will swim nous nagerons, we will swim tu nageras, you will swim vous nagerez, you will swim il, elle / on nagera, he, she (it) / one will swim ils / elles nageront, they will swim

Some -er verbs with spelling changes in the present form their future regularly, that is, their future stem is the infinitive. These include verbs like préférer (je préférerai), manger (je mangerai) and commençer (je commencerai). Other -er verbs with spelling changes in the present (appeler, employer, acheter) have irregular future stems.

réfléchir  'to think' je réfléchirai, I will think nous réfléchirons, we will think tu réfléchiras, you will think vous réfléchirez, you will think il, elle / on réfléchira, he, she (it) / one will think ils / elles réfléchiront, they will think

rendre  'to give back' je rendrai, I will give back nous rendrons, we will give back tu rendras, you will give back vous rendrez, you will give back il, elle / on rendra, he, she (it) / one will give back ils / elles rendront, they will give back

Many verbs which are irregular in the present tense have regular formations in the future. Their future stems are the infinitive or the infinitive minus the final e. Such verbs include sortir (je sortirai), partir (je partirai), dormir (je dormirai), boire (je boirai), dire (je dirai), écrire (j'écrirai), lire (je lirai), mettre (je mettrai), prendre (je prendrai), and suivre (je suivrai).

Uses

The simple future is used to refer to future events, that is, to make predictions. It is more formal than the immediate future, although both tenses may be used in most contexts. For further details, see future: usage.

Tammy imagine sa lune de miel avec Tex. Tammy imagines her honeymoon with Tex. Tammy: Nous prendrons le Concorde à Paris, bien sûr. On restera dans un hôtel trois étoiles et nous mangerons dans des restaurants chics. Nous flânerons au long des Champs-Elysées bras dessus, bras dessous et tu m'offriras du parfum et des fleurs. La nuit nous descendrons la Seine en bateau mouche. Ah, la vie conjugale, un paradis terrestre. Tammy: We will take the Concorde to Paris, of course. We will stay in a three-star hotel and we will eat in chic restaurants. We will stroll along the Champs-Elysées arm in arm and you will give me perfume and flowers. At night we will go down the Seine on a sightseeing boat. Ah, married life, paradise on earth.

Irregular

The 'simple' future is so-named because it is a one-word tense. In other words, its formation is simple because there is no auxiliary. The stem of the simple future always ends with the letterr, which is the characteristic sound of the future and conditional tenses.

For a list of irregular verbs which form their future in the same way as regular verbs do, see future: regular.

Irregular future stems

Some irregular verbs also have irregular future stems. Nevertheless, the future endings are the same for all verbs: -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont. The future stem for the verb être is ser- and the future stem for the verb avoir is aur-.

être  'to be' je serai, I will be nous serons, we will be tu seras, you will be vous serez, you will be il, elle / on sera, he, she (it) / one will be ils / elles seront, they will be

avoir  'to have' j'aurai, I will have nous aurons, we will have tu auras, you will have vous aurez, you will have il, elle / on aura, he, she (it) / one will have ils / elles auront, they will have

Here are the most common verbs that have irregular future stems:

infinitive stem future translation aller ir- j'irai I will go courir courr- je courrai I will run devoir devr- je devrai I will be obliged to envoyer enverr- j'enverrai I will send faire fer- je ferai I will do falloir faudr- il faudra it will be necessary mourir mourr- je mourrai I will die obtenir obtiendr- j'obtiendrai I will obtain pleuvoir pleuvr- il pleuvra it will rain pouvoir pourr- je pourrai I will be able recevoir recevr- je recevrai I will receive savoir saur- je saurai I will know tenir tiendr- je tiendrai I will hold venir viendr- je viendrai I will come voir verr- je verrai I will see vouloir voudr- je voudrai I will want

Verbs with spelling changes

Verbs with spelling changes like appeler, employer, and acheter add -r to the present tense je form to create their future stems:

present tense stem future translation j'appelle appeller- j'appellerai I will call j'emploie emploier- j'emploierai I will use j'achète achèter- j'achèterai I will buy

Other -er verbs verbs with spelling changes including préférer, manger, and commençer have regular future stems.

futur antérieur

Formation

The future perfect (futur antérieur) is formed with the simple future of the auxiliary (either être or avoir), plus the past participle of the main verb. The choice between être and avoir as an auxiliary is the same as in the passé composé.

Future perfect = auxiliary in the future + past participle of main verb

finir  'to finish' j'aurai fini, I will have finished nous aurons fini, we will have finished tu auras fini, you will have finished vous aurez fini, you will have finished il, elle / on aura fini, he, she (it) / one will have finished ils / elles auront fini, they will have finished

partir  'to leave' je serai parti(e), I will have left nous serons parti(e)s, we will have left tu seras parti(e), you will have left vous serez parti(e)(s), you will have left il, elle / on sera parti(e), he, she (it) / one will have left ils / elles seront parti(e)s, they will have left

Note that with the auxiliary être, the past participle agrees in number and gender with the subject.

usage

The futur antérieur is used for an action that precedes, or will be completed before, another action in the future. While the futur is expressed in English by 'will' + main verb (will finish), the futur antérieur is usually translated as 'will have' + past participle of verb (will have finished). For example:

Corey et Joe-Bob n'auront pas appris le futur antérieur avant la fin du semestre. Corey and Joe-Bob will not have learned the future perfect before the end of the semester.

Negation is formed as usual by placing ne/n' ... pas around the conjugated verb, which in this case is the auxiliary:

Corey et Joe-Bob n'auront certainement pas compris le futur antérieur avant la fin du semestre. Corey and Joe-Bob will not have understood the future perfect before the end of the semester.

Conjunctions

The futur antérieur is used similarly in French and English. However, French uses the future perfect after certain conjunctions like quand and lorsque (when) or dès que and aussitôt que (as soon as) where English would use the present tense.

Quand Tammy aura reçu son diplôme,Tex et elle iront en France. When Tammy gets her degree, she and Tex go to France. Dès que Tex et Tammy se seront mariés, ils auront beaucoup de petits tatous. As soon as Tex and Tammy get married, they will have lots of little armadillos.

In the examples above, the subordinate clauses starting with quand and dès que are in the future perfect because the action of the subordinate clause will be performed prior to the action in the main clause.

Listen to the dialogue:

Tex et Tammy sont à une soirée. Ils se disputent. Tex and Tammy are at a party. They are having a quarrel. Tammy: Tex, quand tu auras fini de draguer toutes mes copines, je voudrais te dire deux mots! Tammy: Tex, when you're done hitting on all my girl-friends, I would like to have a word with you! Tex: Tammy, on parlera dès que tu te seras calmée! Tex: Tammy, we'll talk when you've calmed down! Tammy: Tu es insupportable! Je ne partirai que lorsque tu te seras excusé! Tammy: You are unbearable! I will not leave until you've apologized! Tex: Mais je m'amuse bien! On parlera de tout ça quand la soirée sera terminée. Tex: But I am having fun! We'll talk about all this when the party is over. Tammy: Quand tu auras bien bu, ce sera trop tard. Tammy: When you have drunk too much, it will be too late. Tex: Bon, d'accord, je viens. Tex: OK, I am coming.

Future Summary