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French 2 Unit 7: The Futur Simple

The futur simple says what will happen: Je voyagerai en France. It uses one set of endings on a stem that is usually the infinitive, plus a short list of irregular stems that appear on every test.

Covers: Regular future stems and endings, Irregular future stems, Spelling-change verbs in the future, Futur simple vs. futur proche, Quand, dès que and lorsque + future, Si + present, future

Study guide

To form the futur simple of regular verbs, take the infinitive as the stem and add the endings -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont. Parler → je parlerai, tu parleras, il parlera, nous parlerons, vous parlerez, ils parleront. Finir → je finirai. For -re verbs, drop the final e before adding the endings: vendre → je vendrai, prendre → je prendrai, écrire → j'écrirai. Notice that every future stem ends in r, and the endings look like the present tense of avoir (ai, as, a, ons, ez, ont). This makes the future easy to recognize in reading.

Many common verbs have irregular stems, but they still end in r and use the regular endings. Être → ser-, avoir → aur-, aller → ir-, faire → fer-, venir → viendr- (also devenir, revenir), tenir → tiendr-, voir → verr-, envoyer → enverr-, pouvoir → pourr-, vouloir → voudr-, devoir → devr-, savoir → saur-, recevoir → recevr-, courir → courr-, mourir → mourr-, falloir → il faudra, pleuvoir → il pleuvra. Je serai, tu auras, nous irons, vous ferez, ils viendront, elle verra, on pourra.

Some -er verbs with spelling changes in the present carry them into all future forms. Acheter → j'achèterai, nous achèterons (grave accent). Se lever → je me lèverai. Appeler → j'appellerai and jeter → je jetterai (double consonant). Verbs in -yer such as nettoyer and employer change y to i: je nettoierai. Payer and essayer may keep y or change to i (je paierai or je payerai). Verbs like préférer and espérer keep the é of the infinitive: je préférerai (the 1990 spelling reform also accepts je préfèrerai).

French has two ways to talk about the future. The futur proche, aller + infinitive, is common in speech for near or planned events: Je vais partir dans cinq minutes. The futur simple is used for more distant, formal, or predicted events, and for promises: Un jour, je serai médecin. Il fera beau demain. Je t'appellerai. Time expressions that go with the future include demain, après-demain, la semaine prochaine, l'année prochaine, dans deux jours (in two days), bientôt and un jour.

Two sentence patterns are heavily tested. First, after quand, lorsque (when), dès que and aussitôt que (as soon as), French uses the future when the action is in the future, even though English uses the present: Quand j'aurai dix-huit ans, je voterai (When I am eighteen, I will vote). Dès qu'il arrivera, nous mangerons. Second, in a real condition, si takes the present and the main clause takes the future: Si tu étudies, tu réussiras. Never put the future directly after si in this kind of sentence: *Si tu étudieras is wrong.

Key ideas

• Regular future stems are the infinitive (minus the final e for -re verbs).
• Future endings are -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont for every verb.
• Every future stem ends in r, including irregular ones.
• Key irregular stems: ser-, aur-, ir-, fer-, viendr-, verr-, pourr-, voudr-, devr-, saur-, enverr-.
• Present-tense spelling changes such as è and double consonants carry into the future.
• After quand, lorsque and dès que, French uses the future for future actions.
• Si + present tense is paired with the future in the main clause.

Formulas and rules

Common mistakes

• Keeping the e of -re verbs, as in *je prenderai or *je vendreai.
• Using the infinitive for irregular verbs, as in *j'allerai or *je faireai.
• Using the present after quand for a future action, as in *Quand je suis riche, j'achèterai une maison.
• Using the future after si, as in *Si tu viendras, je serai content.
• Forgetting the accent or double consonant, as in *j'acheterai or *j'appelerai.

Before the test, make sure you can

• Form the futur simple of regular -er, -ir and -re verbs.
• Recall the irregular future stems of about 15 common verbs.
• Spell future forms of acheter, appeler, jeter and -yer verbs correctly.
• Choose between the futur simple and the futur proche.
• Use the future after quand, lorsque and dès que for future actions.
• Build si + present, future sentences correctly.
• Translate future time expressions such as dans deux jours and l'année prochaine.

Words to know

demain

tomorrow

après-demain

the day after tomorrow

la semaine prochaine

next week

l'année prochaine

next year

bientôt

soon

un jour

someday

dans dix ans

in ten years

l'avenir

the future

le projet

plan, project

obtenir son diplôme

to graduate

trouver un emploi

to find a job

se marier

to get married

déménager

to move (house)

quand

when

lorsque

when

dès que

as soon as

aussitôt que

as soon as

si

if

Sample practice questions

30 more questions like these, from level 1 to 5, are in the practice set.