The simple future: The simple future (le futur simple) is how French says will.
Three uses
- Future plans: l'année prochaine, je voyagerai.
- Predictions: demain, il pleuvra.
- A future after a condition: si tu viens, on s'amusera.
The good news: You build it on the infinitive and add one set of endings. Those endings are the same for every verb.
- le futur simple
- the simple future tense (will + verb)
- l'infinitif
- the infinitive — the whole, unchanged verb (parler, finir, vendre); the future is built on it
- la terminaison
- the ending — for the future it is added to the infinitive (-ai/-as/-a/-ons/-ez/-ont)
- le radical (la racine)
- the stem — the part you add the endings to; usually the infinitive, but a few verbs have an irregular stem (avoir → aur-)
- un verbe irrégulier
- an irregular verb — its future stem is not the plain infinitive (être → ser-, aller → ir-)
- le futur proche
- the near future — aller (in the present) + infinitive (je vais partir)
When you reach for it: If the prompt mentions demain, l'année prochaine, dans le futur, un jour — or asks you to make plans or predictions — it's the future. In speaking and writing tasks it's the natural tense for Que feras-tu après le lycée ?
Free preview
Reading it is one thing — hearing it is another
You're reading the free notes. Aimnova Pro unlocks the full study experience — and you can try it with your first topic free to keep:
- Audio on every wordTap any vocabulary word or example to hear it read aloud in natural French.
- FlashcardsLock in vocabulary and key terms with spaced repetition.
- Practice questionsAnswer exam-style questions and get instant AI marking.
- Mock exams & past-paper vaultSit full mocks and see exactly how examiners award marks.
- Personalised study planA daily plan built around your exam date and weak areas.
Start Studying Free Full access to Aimnova Pro · cancel anytime
Infinitive + one set of endings: To form the future of a regular verb, start from the infinitive and add -ai / -as / -a / -ons / -ez / -ont.
Building the stem
- -er and -ir verbs keep the whole infinitive (parler → parlerai, finir → finirai).
- -re verbs drop the final -e first (vendre → vendr- → vendrai).
- The very same endings work for every verb, so there is only one set to learn.
- Notice that every future stem ends in the letter r.
| Personne | -er (parler) | -ir (finir) | -re (vendre) |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j' | parlerai | finirai | vendrai |
| tu | parleras | finiras | vendras |
| il / elle / on | parlera | finira | vendra |
| nous | parlerons | finirons | vendrons |
| vous | parlerez | finirez | vendrez |
| ils / elles | parleront | finiront | vendront |
| Infinitif | Radical irrégulier | Exemple (je) |
|---|---|---|
| être | ser- | je serai |
| avoir | aur- | j'aurai |
| aller | ir- | j'irai |
| faire | fer- | je ferai |
| venir | viendr- | je viendrai |
| voir | verr- | je verrai |
| pouvoir | pourr- | je pourrai |
| devoir | devr- | je devrai |
| vouloir | voudr- | je voudrai |
| savoir | saur- | je saurai |
Same endings, only the stem can change: Regular verbs add the endings to the infinitive (just drop the final -e of -re verbs). Every future stem — regular or irregular — ends in r, then comes the ending.
Irregular stems, same endings: A short list of common verbs use an irregular stem (être → ser-, avoir → aur-, aller → ir-, faire → fer-). They take exactly the same endings: je serai, tu seras, il sera…
Stop wasting time on topics you know
Our AI identifies your weak areas and focuses your study time where it matters. No more overstudying easy topics.
Try Smart Study FreeYour first topic is free to keep • No credit card required
A few everyday jobs: The future tense does a few different jobs. Here are the three you meet most in the exam — each with a French example. There's also a very common everyday alternative for the near future, shown at the end.
Emplois du futur
- Future plans — L'été prochain, je voyagerai au Canada avec ma famille. (Next summer I will travel to Canada with my family.)
- Predictions — Demain, il fera beau sur toute la côte. (Tomorrow the weather will be good along the whole coast.)
- After si (a condition) — Si tu travailles, tu réussiras. (If you work, you will succeed.) — note: si itself takes the present, the result takes the future.
The near-future alternative: aller + infinitif: For plans that are close or already decided, French very often uses the futur proche = aller (in the present) + infinitive instead: Je vais étudier ce soir (I'm going to study tonight).
Futur proche or futur simple?
- The futur proche means roughly the same as j'étudierai ce soir.
- It's the form you'll hear most in casual speech.
- The simple future sounds a little more formal or distant.
My plans, sentence by sentence: Here's a short paragraph about future plans, built one sentence at a time. Every verb is in the simple future.
How to read it
- Watch for the irregular stems devrai… ferai… serai.
- Read it once for the meaning.
- Then tap Voir la traduction for the English or the audio button to hear it.
Le futur en action
Mes projets, phrase par phrase
- L'année prochaine, je finirai le lycée et je commencerai l'université.
- J'étudierai l'informatique parce que j'aime les ordinateurs et la technologie.
- Je devrai déménager dans une autre ville, donc j'habiterai dans une résidence.
- Mes amis et moi, nous nous verrons pendant les vacances et nous voyagerons ensemble.
- Un jour, je ferai un master à l'étranger et je serai ingénieure.
Steal this for your plans: Notice the pattern: a time marker (l'année prochaine, un jour) + a verb in the future. Swap in your own plans and you have a ready-made answer for Que feras-tu dans le futur ? Remember the irregular stems — je ferai, not je feraierai; je serai, not je êtrerai.
See how examiners mark answers
Answer exam-style questions with model answers. Learn exactly what earns marks and what doesn't.
Try Exam Vault FreeYour first topic is free to keep • No credit card required
The slips anglophone learners make: Three mistakes cost most marks in the French future. Compare the right version with the typical mistake and the fix becomes obvious.
The three slips
- Confusing the future ending -ai with the conditional -ais (je parlerai = I will, je parlerais = I would).
- Putting the future after si (after si the verb stays in the present).
- Regularising an irregular stem (writing je avoirai instead of j'aurai).
Correct
- Demain, je parlerai au professeur.
- Si tu travailles, tu réussiras.
- L'année prochaine, j'aurai dix-huit ans.
Erreur courante
- Demain, je parlerais au professeur.
- Si tu travailleras, tu réussiras.
- L'année prochaine, j'avoirai dix-huit ans.
Check -ai vs -ais, si, and the stem: Before you move on, run three checks: is it will (-ai) and not would (-ais)? Is the verb after si in the present (not the future)? And is the verb one of the irregular-stem ones (être → ser-, avoir → aur-, aller → ir-, faire → fer-)? Those three checks catch nearly every future-tense slip.