Futur simple vs futur proche
The short answer
The futur proche is aller plus an infinitive and covers what is about to happen or already decided. The futur simple is a single conjugated form and covers what is further off, less certain, or more formal. In speech the futur proche does most of the work; in writing the futur simple does.
Or skip ahead and practise it now: futur simple, free, no signup.
At a glance
Futur proche or Futur simple?
| Compare | Futur prochealler + infinitive. Near, decided, spoken. | Futur simpleOne word. Distant, formal, written. |
|---|---|---|
| How it is built | aller in the present + infinitive | infinitive + -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont |
| Distance in time | Soon, or already under way | Further off, or unspecified |
| Certainty | Decided, planned, visibly coming | Predicted, promised, or hypothetical |
| Register | Everyday speech | Writing, news, formal speech |
| After quand and si | Not used | Required after quand; never after si |
| Example | Je vais l’appeler tout de suite. | Un jour, je lui expliquerai. |
How to choose
Ask these, in order
- 1
Is it imminent, or already decided?
Futur proche. This is the default in conversation and it is very hard to overuse.
Attention, tu vas tomber !
Careful, you’re going to fall!
NBThe futur simple here would be strange, the falling is happening now.
- 2
Is it a prediction, a promise or something distant?
Futur simple.
Il fera plus chaud la semaine prochaine.
It’ll be warmer next week.
- 3
Are you writing rather than speaking?
Futur simple, unless you are deliberately writing dialogue. News, reports and formal correspondence use it almost exclusively.
Le président s’adressera à la nation demain soir.
The president will address the nation tomorrow evening.
- 4
Is there a quand or a si?
After quand, the futur simple, where English uses a present. After si, never a future: use the present.
Quand j’aurai le temps, je t’appellerai.
When I have time, I’ll call you.
NBEnglish says “when I have”; French puts both halves in the future.
Side by side
Each one, in full
The futur proche
aller + infinitive. Near, decided, spoken.
Aller in the present plus an infinitive: je vais partir, on va voir. There is nothing to conjugate beyond aller, which makes it the first future worth learning and the one that will carry almost all of your speech.
Its meaning is nearness and decidedness rather than strict time. Je vais déménager l’année prochaine is fine even though a year is not soon, because the decision has been made. That is the real distinction, not distance, but whether the thing is settled.
On va manger dans dix minutes.
We’re going to eat in ten minutes.
Je vais te rappeler ce soir.
I’ll call you back tonight.
Ça va aller.
It’ll be fine.
NBA fixed everyday phrase, and one of the most common uses of the construction.
The futur simple
One word. Distant, formal, written.
The endings attach to the infinitive itself: parler gives je parlerai, finir gives je finirai. Verbs ending in -re drop the e: prendre gives je prendrai. About twenty verbs have irregular stems: être (ser-), avoir (aur-), aller (ir-), faire (fer-), pouvoir (pourr-), voir (verr-), venir (viendr-), and those are the ones worth learning by heart.
It is the tense of prediction, promise and formal statement, and it is required after quand, lorsque and dès que when the action is genuinely future. That last rule catches English speakers, because English keeps the present there.
Nous serons prêts avant midi.
We’ll be ready before noon.
Dès qu’il arrivera, on commencera.
As soon as he arrives, we’ll start.
Si tu viens, on ira ensemble.
If you come, we’ll go together.
NBPresent after si, future in the other half. Si tu viendras is never correct.
Mistakes to avoid
What learners actually get wrong
Quand j’ai le temps, je t’appellerai.
Quand j’aurai le temps, je t’appellerai.
After quand, French uses the future for a future action, where English uses the present. This is one of the few places the two languages diverge outright, and it is worth learning as a pattern rather than reasoning about.
Si tu viendras, on ira ensemble.
Si tu viens, on ira ensemble.
Si never takes the future in French. The condition goes in the present and the result goes in the future, the opposite of the quand rule, which is why the two get confused.
Quand tu vas arriver, appelle-moi.
Quand tu arriveras, appelle-moi.
The futur proche cannot follow quand. That slot takes the futur simple, whatever the register, so this is one of the few places where the conversational form is not just informal but wrong.
Nous allons partirons demain.
Nous allons partir demain.
The two futures cannot be combined. Aller takes a bare infinitive, and the futur simple stands on its own, so nous partirons demain is equally correct. Mixing them produces a form that belongs to neither.
Now use it
Futur simple
Regular stems and the irregular ones you actually meet. Reading a rule and being able to apply it are different skills, and only one of them shows up when you speak.
- 20 questions
- Instant feedback
- No ads, no signup
Questions
Asked and answered
- Is the futur simple disappearing from speech?
- It is receding, not disappearing. French speakers reach for the futur proche far more often than textbooks suggest, but the futur simple remains standard for predictions and after quand, and it is universal in writing. Treat the futur proche as the default in conversation and learn the futur simple properly for everything else.
- Is there a difference in meaning, or just in register?
- Both. Je vais partir suggests the departure is settled or imminent; je partirai is more distant or more of an intention. The difference is real but soft, and in most sentences either would be understood, the register difference is the more reliable guide.
- What is the futur antérieur for?
- It marks something completed before another future point: quand j’aurai fini, je t’appellerai, when I’ve finished, I’ll call. It is built like the passé composé with the auxiliary in the futur simple, so once you have both of those it needs no new learning.