The futur simple
The short answer
The futur simple adds -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont to the infinitive: je parlerai, tu finiras. About twenty verbs have irregular stems and they are the common ones. French also requires the future after quand where English uses a present: quand j’aurai le temps.
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The rule
The futur simple is built on the infinitive itself rather than on a stem taken from another tense. Add -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont, dropping the final -e of -re verbs first. Around twenty verbs replace the infinitive with an irregular stem, and those same stems are reused by the conditionnel, so learning them once serves both tenses. French requires the future after quand, lorsque, dès que and une fois que when the action is genuinely future: a place where English keeps the present.
| Form | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -er and -ir verbs | infinitiveendings | je parlerai, tu finiras |
| -re verbs | drop the -ethen add endings | prendre → je prendrai |
| Endings | -ai-as-a-ons-ez-ont | il partira, nous partirons |
| Common irregulars | new stemsame endings | être → ser-, avoir → aur-, aller → ir- |
| After quand | future in both halves | Quand j’arriverai, je t’appellerai. |
| After si | present in the si half | Si j’arrive tôt, je t’appellerai. |
Part 1 of 3
Building it
The endings are the present tense of avoir, which is a useful way to remember them: -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont. They attach straight onto the infinitive, so the -r before them is audible in every form and is what makes the tense recognisable by ear.
The irregular stems are worth learning as a block because the conditionnel reuses every one: ser- (être), aur- (avoir), ir- (aller), fer- (faire), pourr- (pouvoir), verr- (voir), viendr- (venir), devr- (devoir), saur- (savoir), voudr- (vouloir), faudr- (falloir), enverr- (envoyer), tiendr- (tenir), recevr- (recevoir), courr- (courir), mourr- (mourir).
Nous partirons vers sept heures.
We’ll leave around seven.
Tu prendras le train de midi ?
Will you take the midday train?
Il faudra réserver à l’avance.
We’ll need to book in advance.
NBFalloir → faudr-, one of the irregulars you will meet constantly.
Part 2 of 3
The quand rule
After quand, lorsque, dès que, aussitôt que and une fois que, French puts a genuinely future action into the future. English keeps the present there, so this construction has to be learned as a pattern rather than translated.
Si works the opposite way: the condition stays in the present and only the result takes the future. Si tu viens, on ira ensemble. Because quand and si sit in the same slot in a sentence, the two rules are best learned together and contrasted.
Quand j’aurai fini, je t’enverrai le fichier.
When I’ve finished, I’ll send you the file.
Dès qu’il arrivera, on commencera.
As soon as he arrives, we’ll start.
Si tu as le temps, passe me voir.
If you have time, come and see me.
NBSi takes the present, the opposite of quand.
Part 3 of 3
Futur simple or futur proche?
The futur proche: aller plus an infinitive: dominates speech and covers anything imminent or already decided. The futur simple carries predictions, promises, and anything at a distance, and it is the standard form in writing.
In an email, a report or an exam essay, the futur simple is what the register expects. In conversation you can use the futur proche for most things and nobody will notice, but the quand rule still requires the futur simple regardless of register.
Le président prononcera un discours demain.
The president will give a speech tomorrow.
Je te promets que je le ferai.
I promise I’ll do it.
On verra bien.
We’ll see.
NBA fixed phrase, and one of the most-used futur simple forms there is.
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, a future action takes the future. English uses a present here and the transfer is almost automatic, which makes this one of the most reliable markers of an English-speaking learner.
Si tu viendras, on ira ensemble.
Si tu viens, on ira ensemble.
Si never takes the future in French. Since quand requires it and si forbids it, the two rules interfere with each other and are worth practising side by side rather than separately.
Je prendrerai le bus.
Je prendrai le bus.
Verbs in -re drop the final -e before the endings. Adding a second -re produces a form that does not exist, and it happens because the -er pattern is learned first and over-applied.
Je serai content de vous voir.
Je serais content de vous voir.
If you mean I would be glad, the conditionnel takes an -s. The je forms of the two tenses differ by that single letter, and in writing it matters: one asserts a future fact, the other makes a polite offer.
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.
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Questions
Asked and answered
- Do I really need the futur simple if the futur proche covers most speech?
- Yes, for three reasons: it is required after quand and its relatives, it is the standard form in all writing, and it is the base for the conditionnel, which you need for ordinary politeness. The futur proche will get you through conversation but not much beyond it.
- Why do the endings look like avoir?
- Because historically they are. The Romance future came from an infinitive plus the present of habere, parler + ai. That is also why the endings attach to the infinitive rather than to a separate stem, and knowing it makes the forms much easier to remember.
- What is the futur antérieur?
- It marks something completed before a future point: quand j’aurai fini, je partirai. It is the auxiliary in the futur simple plus a past participle, so if you know the passé composé and this tense, it needs no new learning at all.