Introduction to the future tense in French
You have read how to say something is happening now (with the present tense), how to say something has happened (imperfect tense), now we learn how to say something will happen in the future.
The futur simple, also known as the simple future tense, is used in French to describe actions or events that will occur in the future. Often it refers to the more distant future, while the future proche refers to actions in the more immediate future. It’s one of the most straightforward future tenses in French. Here’s a breakdown of its formation, usage, and some examples.
The futur simple tense is primarily used in written language or formal speech. It’s often accompanied by time expressions that indicate future timing, such as demain (tomorrow), la semaine prochaine (next week).
When to use the future tense (futur simple) in French
- Expressing Future Actions: The primary use of the futur simple is to express actions or events that will occur in the future.
- Demain, je partirai en vacances.
- Tomorrow, I will leave for vacation
- Making Predictions: It can also be used to make predictions or express certainty about future outcomes.
- Il fera beau demain.
- The weather will be nice tomorrow
- Expressing Intentions or Plans: The futur simple can convey intentions or plans for the future.
- Nous visiterons Paris l’année prochaine.
- We will visit Paris next year
- Polite Requests or Offers: In formal contexts, the futur simple can be used to make polite requests or offers.
- Voudrez-vous m’aider, s’il vous plaît ?
- Will you help me, please?
Conjugating the future simple tense
Watch out for how you have to start conjugating the future simple. For -er and -ir verbs you start with the infinitive, but for -re verbs you remove the last e from the infinitive. Check out the tables below.
Conjugating -er verbs in the future simple tense
The futur simple tense for -er verbs is formed by adding specific endings to the infinitive form of the verb. So where you learned with the present tense and the imperfect tense that you remove the -er ending from the infinitive, in this case they stay on. The suffix is put on the infinitive.
| Suffix | Manger (To eat) | Aimer (To love) | Parler (To speak) | |
| Je | -ai | mangerai | aimerai | parlerai |
| Tu | -as | mangeras | aimeras | parleras |
| Il/Elle/On | -a | mangera | aimera | parlera |
| Nous | -ons | mangerons | aimerons | parlerons |
| Vous | -ez | mangerez | aimerez | parlerez |
| Ils/Elles | -ont | mangeront | aimeront | parleront |
Conjugating -ir verbs in the future simple tense
Also for -ir verbs, the suffix is attached to the infinitive which leads to a similar conjugation as for the -er verbs.
| Suffix | Finir (To finish) | Choisir (To choose) | Établir (To establish) | |
| Je | -ai | finirai | choisirai | établirai |
| Tu | -as | finiras | choisiras | établiras |
| Il/Elle/On | -a | finira | choisira | établira |
| Nous | -ons | finirons | choisirons | établirons |
| Vous | -ez | finirez | choisirez | établirez |
| Ils/Elles | -ont | finiront | choisiront | établiront |
Conjugating -re verbs in the future simple tense
So this is one to watch out for. With -re verbs in the futur simple tense, you take the infinitive and remove the last e and then attach the suffix.
| Suffix | Répondre (to answer) | Vendre (to sell) | Attendre (to wait) | |
| Je | -rai | répondrai | vendrai | attendrai |
| Tu | -ras | répondras | vendras | attendras |
| Il/Elle/On | -ra | répondra | vendra | attendra |
| Nous | -rons | répondrons | vendrons | attendrons |
| Vous | -rez | répondrez | vendrez | attendrez |
| Ils/Elles | -ront | répondront | vendront | attendront |