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Simple Future: je parlerai

8 min

The futur simple adds ‑ai, ‑as, ‑a, ‑ons, ‑ez, ‑ont to the infinitive for predictions and promises. The endings join the whole infinitive, minus the e of ‑re verbs: Je parlerai avec elle. Nous prendrons le train.

Summary

Nothing in this section is at or below. It starts at A2.

PointRuleExampleEnglishLevel
Formthe infinitive + ‑ai / ‑as / ‑a / ‑ons / ‑ez / ‑ontJe parlerai demain.I'll speak tomorrow.
Form‑re verbs lose their eNous prendrons le train.We'll take the train.
Irregular stemsêtre ser-, avoir aur-, aller ir-, faire fer-J’irai à Paris.I'll go to Paris.
Irregular stemspouvoir pourr-, vouloir voudr-, venir viendr-, voir verr-Il viendra samedi.He'll come on Saturday.
Usea prediction, a promiseDemain, il fera beau.Tomorrow the weather will be fine.
Usethe more distant future, a written textUn jour, j’habiterai à Paris.One day I'll live in Paris.
Conditionsi + present, then the futureSi tu viens, je serai content.If you come, I'll be happy.
Conditionquand + future, when the sentence is about the futureQuand j’arriverai, je t’appellerai.When I arrive, I'll call you.
Trapnever a future right after siSi je suis libre, je viendrai.If I'm free, I'll come.
Trappourr- takes two rJe pourrai venir.I'll be able to come.

Overview

Nothing in this section is at or below. It starts at A2.

  • The futur simple is a single word: the infinitive and an ending. Je chanterai. / Ils finiront demain.I'll sing. / They'll finish tomorrow.
  • It serves for predictions, promises and the more distant future. Demain, il fera beau. / Je t’aiderai.Tomorrow the weather will be fine. / I'll help you.
  • For a near plan, everyday speech prefers the futur proche: Near Future: je vais manger.
  • The present forms of these verbs: Present Tense: Irregular Verbs.

Form: regular verbs

Nothing in this section is at or below. It starts at A2.

PersonparlerfinirprendreLevel
jeparleraifiniraiprendrai
tuparlerasfinirasprendras
il / elle / onparlerafiniraprendra
nousparleronsfinironsprendrons
vousparlerezfinirezprendrez
ils / ellesparlerontfinirontprendront
  • Verbs in ‑er, ‑ir and ‑re take the same endings. Tu aimeras Lyon. / Vous choisirez un plat.You'll like Lyon. / You'll choose a dish.
  • Verbs in ‑re lose their final e. Elle attendra ici. / Je répondrai demain.She'll wait here. / I'll answer tomorrow.
  • The r before the ending is always heard: je parlerai /ʒə paʁləʁe/. Tu diras oui. / Il partira tôt.You'll say yes. / He'll leave early.

Form: irregular stems

Nothing in this section is at or below. It starts at A2.

VerbStemExampleEnglishLevel
êtreser-Demain, je serai chez moi.Tomorrow I'll be at home.
avoiraur-Nous aurons du temps.We'll have time.
allerir-Un jour, j’irai à Tokyo.One day I'll go to Tokyo.
fairefer-Qu’est-ce que tu feras demain ?What will you do tomorrow?
pouvoirpourr-Je ne pourrai pas venir.I won't be able to come.
vouloirvoudr-Elle voudra un café.She'll want a coffee.
venirviendr-Mes amis viendront samedi.My friends will come on Saturday.
voirverr-On verra demain.We'll see tomorrow.
savoirsaur-Tu sauras la réponse demain.You'll know the answer tomorrow.
devoirdevr-Nous devrons partir tôt.We'll have to leave early.
falloirfaudr-Demain, il faudra se lever tôt.Tomorrow we'll have to get up early.
pleuvoirpleuvr-Samedi, il pleuvra.It will rain on Saturday.
  • An irregular stem takes the regular endings, in every person. Vous serez là. / Elles iront aussi.You'll be there. / They'll go too.
  • A verb built on an irregular verb keeps its stem: revenir → reviendr-. Je reviendrai lundi. / Il deviendra médecin.I'll come back on Monday. / He'll become a doctor.

Spelling: verbs with a change

Nothing in this section is at or below. It starts at A2.

InfinitiveFuture (je)ExampleEnglishLevel
nettoyernettoieraiJe nettoierai la cuisine.I'll clean the kitchen.
acheterachèteraiJ’achèterai du pain.I'll buy some bread.
appelerappelleraiJe t’appellerai ce soir.I'll call you tonight.
jeterjetteraiIl jettera ce papier.He'll throw this paper away.

Use

Nothing in this section is at or below. It starts at A2.

UseExampleEnglishLevel
A predictionDemain, il fera beau.Tomorrow the weather will be fine.
A promiseJe te téléphonerai ce soir.I'll phone you tonight.
An announcementLe train arrivera à huit heures.The train will arrive at eight o'clock.
The more distant futureUn jour, j’habiterai à Paris.One day I'll live in Paris.
A decision left for laterJe ne sais pas, on verra.I don't know, we'll see.

The future with si and quand

Nothing in this section is at or below. It starts at A2.

  • After si comes the present; the future is in the other part of the sentence. Si tu viens, je serai content. / S’il pleut, nous resterons ici.If you come, I'll be happy. / If it rains, we'll stay here.
  • Si contracts before il and ils: s’il, s’ils. S’il fait beau, nous sortirons.If the weather is fine, we'll go out.
  • After quand, a future fact takes the future, as in the main clause. Quand j’arriverai, je t’appellerai. / Quand tu auras faim, tu mangeras.When I arrive, I'll call you. / When you're hungry, you'll eat.
  • The other words that link sentences: Linking Words.

Typical errors

Nothing in this section is at or below. It starts at A2.

WrongRightRuleLevel
Je prendrerai le train.Je prendrai le train.‑re verbs lose their e: prendr-
J’allerai à Paris.J’irai à Paris.aller has the stem ir- in the future
Je pourai venir.Je pourrai venir.pouvoir has the stem pourr-, with two r
Si je serai libre, je viendrai.Si je suis libre, je viendrai.after si, the present: the future is in the other part
Quand j’arrive, je t’appellerai.Quand j’arriverai, je t’appellerai.quand takes the future for a future fact, unlike English “when I arrive”

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