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11.6. Le futur simple

Use of the Future Simple

11.6.1. The Main Idea

The futur simple is used to talk about what will happen.

Je voyagerai en France.	I will travel to France.
Tu réussiras.	You will succeed.
Il fera beau demain.	The weather will be nice tomorrow.
Nous étudierons le français.	We will study French.

It is different from aller + infinitive, which means going to do something.

Je vais voyager.	I am going to travel.
Je voyagerai.	I will travel.

11.6.2. Forming the Future Simple

For many verbs, use the infinitive as the stem and add the future endings.

parler	to speak
je parlerai	I will speak
tu parleras	you will speak
il parlera	he will speak
elle parlera	she will speak
nous parlerons	we will speak
vous parlerez	you will speak
ils parleront	they will speak
elles parleront	they will speak

11.6.3. Future Simple Endings

je	-ai
tu	-as
il / elle	-a
nous	-ons
vous	-ez
ils / elles	-ont

These endings look similar to parts of avoir: ai, as, a, ons, ez, ont.

11.6.4. Regular Verb Examples

étudier	to study
j’étudierai	I will study
tu étudieras	you will study
il étudiera	he will study
nous étudierons	we will study
vous étudierez	you will study
ils étudieront	they will study

finir	to finish
je finirai	I will finish
tu finiras	you will finish
il finira	he will finish
nous finirons	we will finish
vous finirez	you will finish
ils finiront	they will finish

vendre	to sell
je vendrai	I will sell
tu vendras	you will sell
il vendra	he will sell
nous vendrons	we will sell
vous vendrez	you will sell
ils vendront	they will sell

For regular -re verbs, remove the final -e before adding the ending.

11.6.5. Common Irregular Stems

Some common verbs have irregular future stems.

aller	ir-
faire	fer-
être	ser-
avoir	aur-
venir	viendr-
voir	verr-
pouvoir	pourr-
vouloir	voudr-
devoir	devr-
savoir	saur-

Examples:

j’irai	I will go
je ferai	I will do / make
je serai	I will be
j’aurai	I will have
je viendrai	I will come
je verrai	I will see
je pourrai	I will be able to
je voudrai	I will want
je devrai	I will have to
je saurai	I will know

11.6.6. Examples with Irregular Stems

Demain, j’irai au café.	Tomorrow, I will go to the café.
Un jour, je serai professeur.	One day, I will be a teacher.
L’année prochaine, j’aurai plus de temps.	Next year, I will have more time.
Ce soir, je ferai mes devoirs.	Tonight, I will do my homework.
Je viendrai demain.	I will come tomorrow.
Je verrai ma famille ce week-end.	I will see my family this weekend.
Je pourrai t’aider demain.	I will be able to help you tomorrow.

11.6.7. Future Time Expressions

demain	tomorrow
demain matin	tomorrow morning
demain soir	tomorrow evening / night
ce soir	this evening / tonight
ce week-end	this weekend
la semaine prochaine	next week
le mois prochain	next month
l’année prochaine	next year
plus tard	later
un jour	one day / someday
dans le futur	in the future

11.6.8. Future Simple vs. Futur Proche

Use aller + infinitive for plans that feel near, concrete, or already decided.

Je vais étudier ce soir.	I am going to study tonight.
Nous allons visiter Paris cet été.	We are going to visit Paris this summer.

Use the futur simple for predictions, promises, formal statements, or future events with a more distant or general feeling.

Je réussirai.	I will succeed.
Un jour, je parlerai français couramment.	One day, I will speak French fluently.
Il fera beau demain.	The weather will be nice tomorrow.
Je t’aiderai.	I will help you.

11.6.9. Negative Sentences

Place ne… pas around the future verb.

Je voyagerai.	I will travel.
Je ne voyagerai pas.	I will not travel.
Tu réussiras.	You will succeed.
Tu ne réussiras pas.	You will not succeed.
Il viendra.	He will come.
Il ne viendra pas.	He will not come.
Nous aurons le temps.	We will have time.
Nous n’aurons pas le temps.	We will not have time.

11.6.10. Questions

Tu voyageras l’année prochaine ?	Will you travel next year?
Tu iras au café demain ?	Will you go to the café tomorrow?
Vous viendrez ce soir ?	Will you come tonight? formal or plural
Qu’est-ce que tu feras plus tard ?	What will you do later?
Où habiteras-tu dans le futur ?	Where will you live in the future? formal

11.6.11. Core Patterns

infinitive + future ending	parlerai, finiras, étudierons
-re verb minus final -e + ending	vendrai, répondras
irregular stem + ending	serai, aurai, irai, ferai
Je ___rai.	I will ___.
Tu ___ras.	You will ___.
Il / Elle ___ra.	He / She will ___.
Nous ___rons.	We will ___.
Vous ___rez.	You will ___.
Ils / Elles ___ront.	They will ___.

11.6.12. Practice

I will study tomorrow. |

You will succeed. informal |

He will sell his house. |

We will finish the homework. |

I will go to Paris one day. |

I will be ready. |

She will have time. |

We will not travel next year. |

What will you do later? |

11.6.13. Answers

I will study tomorrow.	J’étudierai demain.
You will succeed. informal	Tu réussiras.
He will sell his house.	Il vendra sa maison.
We will finish the homework.	Nous finirons les devoirs.
I will go to Paris one day.	J’irai à Paris un jour.
I will be ready.	Je serai prêt. / Je serai prête.
She will have time.	Elle aura le temps.
We will not travel next year.	Nous ne voyagerons pas l’année prochaine.
What will you do later?	Qu’est-ce que tu feras plus tard ?

11.6.14. Short Dialogue

A : Qu’est-ce que tu feras après tes études ?	A: What will you do after your studies?
B : Je chercherai un travail et je voyagerai. Et toi ?	B: I will look for a job and I will travel. And you?
A : Moi, j’irai en France un jour.	A: I will go to France one day.
B : Très bien. Tu parleras français couramment !	B: Very good. You will speak French fluently!

11.6.15. Checkpoint

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to form the futur simple with regular verbs, recognize common irregular stems such as ir-, fer-, ser-, and aur-, use the future simple to talk about what will happen, and distinguish it from aller + infinitive.

11.6.16. Try It Out

Try saying this in French:

What will you do tomorrow?

I will study French.

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Possible answer:

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