Simple Future in French

Futur Simple

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In Brief

The French futur simple is a one-word future tense: je parlerai means “I will speak.” Add -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont to the infinitive for most verbs; regular -re verbs first lose their final e. Frequent verbs have special stems, such as être → ser-, avoir → aur-, aller → ir-, faire → fer-, and venir → viendr-.

Overview

The futur simple describes an action or state located in the future. It is a tense (a verb form that places something in time), not a construction with a separate equivalent of English “will”: French puts the future stem and ending together in one word. Thus, nous partirons is “we will leave,” and elle sera prête is “she will be ready.”

At B1, this tense expands the future language you already have from the futur proche, the pattern aller + infinitive: je vais partir (“I am going to leave”). The futur simple is useful for predictions, promises, future facts, schedules, consequences, and events that are presented as less immediate. It is common in both speech and writing, although everyday conversation often favors the futur proche for an intention already taking shape.

For an English-speaking learner, formation is mostly systematic: every verb takes the same six endings. The main challenges are choosing the correct stem, resisting the temptation to translate every use of English “will” literally, and remembering that French uses a future form in some time clauses where English uses the present.

How It Works

The basic formula

A stem is the stable part of a verb to which an ending is added. The formula is:

future stem + -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont

The endings resemble forms of the present tense of avoir: ai, as, a, avons, avez, ont. This resemblance is a useful memory aid, but the ending is attached directly to the stem. Write tu finiras, never tu finir as.

Subject	Ending	parler (to speak)	finir (to finish)	vendre (to sell)
je	-ai	je parlerai	je finirai	je vendrai
tu	-as	tu parleras	tu finiras	tu vendras
il / elle / on	-a	il parlera	elle finira	on vendra
nous	-ons	nous parlerons	nous finirons	nous vendrons
vous	-ez	vous parlerez	vous finirez	vous vendrez
ils / elles	-ont	ils parleront	elles finiront	ils vendront

For most verbs ending in -er or -ir, the infinitive (the dictionary form, such as parler or finir) is the future stem. For a regular verb ending in -re, remove only the final e: attendre → attendr-, prendre → prendr-, dire → dir-.

Essential irregular stems

An irregular verb changes its future stem, but it still takes the regular endings. Learn the stem rather than treating every person as a separate exception.

Infinitive	Future stem	Sample form	Meaning
être	ser-	nous serons	we will be
avoir	aur-	j'aurai	I will have
aller	ir-	vous irez	you will go
faire	fer-	ils feront	they will do/make
venir	viendr-	elle viendra	she will come
tenir	tiendr-	tu tiendras	you will hold/keep
voir	verr-	on verra	we/one will see
envoyer	enverr-	j'enverrai	I will send
pouvoir	pourr-	vous pourrez	you will be able to
vouloir	voudr-	je voudrai	I will want
devoir	devr-	il devra	he will have to
savoir	saur-	tu sauras	you will know
recevoir	recevr-	nous recevrons	we will receive
courir	courr-	elle courra	she will run
mourir	mourr-	ils mourront	they will die
falloir	faudr-	il faudra	it will be necessary
pleuvoir	pleuvr-	il pleuvra	it will rain

Related verbs generally keep the same irregularity. For example, revenir gives reviendr-, and maintenir gives maintiendr-. This helps turn a memorized stem into a reusable pattern.

Spelling changes in common verbs

Some verbs keep a regular future ending but adjust the stem spelling. The change preserves a familiar sound or follows the verb's wider conjugation pattern.

Infinitive	Future stem	Example
appeler	appeller-	j'appellerai
jeter	jetter-	nous jetterons
acheter	achèter-	tu achèteras
lever	lèver-	elle lèvera
employer	emploier-	vous emploierez

Do not try to derive every spelling change from pronunciation while speaking. Memorize frequent forms in a short phrase, such as je t'appellerai and j'achèterai les billets.

Negatives, questions, and reflexive verbs

Negation surrounds the conjugated future verb in the usual way:

Je ne partirai pas demain. — I will not leave tomorrow.
Nous ne serons jamais d'accord. — We will never agree.

Questions also follow familiar French patterns:

Tu viendras avec nous ? — Will you come with us?
Est-ce qu'elle pourra participer ? — Will she be able to take part?
Quand arriverez-vous ? — When will you arrive?

With a reflexive verb (a verb whose action refers back to its subject, marked by me, te, se, nous, or vous), the pronoun remains before the future verb: je me lèverai, ils se souviendront. In a negative, it stays inside ne ... pas: Je ne me coucherai pas tard.

Futur simple and futur proche

Both forms can refer to the same future event. The distinction is a tendency, not a rigid distance rule.

Form	Construction	Common perspective	Example
futur proche	present of aller + infinitive	imminent event, present intention, visible evidence	Attention, tu vas tomber !
futur simple	one conjugated verb	prediction, promise, future fact, consequence, more detached plan	Je te répondrai demain.

Je vais appeler Léa ce soir presents the call as a current plan. J'appellerai Léa ce soir may sound like a promise, a settled future action, or simply a neutral statement. Context and speaker preference matter more than an exact measure of how far away the event is.

Future events after time expressions

English normally uses a present form after “when” in “When I arrive, I will call.” French usually marks both future events with the future tense:

Quand j'arriverai, je t'appellerai.
Dès que nous aurons les résultats, nous vous écrirons.
Lorsqu'elle sera disponible, elle reprendra le dossier.

This pattern occurs after quand (when), lorsque (when), dès que (as soon as), and similar expressions when they introduce a genuinely future event.

Do not apply that pattern after conditional si (“if”). For a realistic future condition, French normally uses the present after si and the future in the result:

S'il pleut, nous resterons chez nous. — If it rains, we will stay home.
Not: S'il pleuvra...

Examples in Context

French	English	Note
Je parlerai français avec tes parents.	I will speak French with your parents.	Regular -er verb
Tu seras content du résultat.	You will be happy with the result.	être → ser-
Nous irons à Paris au printemps.	We will go to Paris in the spring.	aller → ir-
Ils feront le travail demain matin.	They will do the work tomorrow morning.	faire → fer-
Elle finira ses études l'année prochaine.	She will finish her studies next year.	Regular -ir verb
Vous répondrez avant vendredi.	You will reply before Friday.	-re verb without final e
J'aurai davantage de temps en août.	I will have more time in August.	avoir → aur-
On verra ce que le médecin dira.	We'll see what the doctor says.	Conversational on; two future verbs
Je ne vous oublierai pas.	I will not forget you.	Negative promise
Est-ce que tu pourras venir samedi ?	Will you be able to come on Saturday?	Question with pouvoir → pourr-
Nous nous lèverons tôt pour prendre le train.	We will get up early to catch the train.	Reflexive verb
Quand tu arriveras, le dîner sera prêt.	When you arrive, dinner will be ready.	Future after quand
Dès qu'il recevra le document, il nous l'enverra.	As soon as he receives the document, he will send it to us.	Future after dès que
S'il fait beau, nous déjeunerons dehors.	If the weather is nice, we will have lunch outside.	Present after si, future result
Il faudra réserver plusieurs semaines à l'avance.	It will be necessary to book several weeks ahead.	Impersonal falloir

Common Mistakes

Adding future endings to the full -re infinitive

Wrong: Je attendreai ici.
Right: J'attendrai ici.
Why: Drop the final e of a regular -re verb, then add the ending: attendre → attendr- → attendrai. Elision also changes je to j' before a vowel.

Inventing regular stems for irregular verbs

Wrong: Nous allerons en Bretagne.
Right: Nous irons en Bretagne.
Why: High-frequency verbs often have special stems. The endings remain regular, but aller uses ir-.

Combining two future constructions

Wrong: Elle va partira lundi.
Right: Elle va partir lundi. / Elle partira lundi.
Why: The futur proche needs aller + infinitive. The futur simple needs one future-tense verb. Do not attach a future ending to the infinitive after aller.

Copying English tense choice after quand

Wrong: Quand il arrive demain, nous commencerons.
Right: Quand il arrivera demain, nous commencerons.
Why: For a future event after quand, French normally uses the future even though English uses “arrives.”

Using the future directly after conditional si

Wrong: Si tu viendras, je préparerai le dîner.
Right: Si tu viens, je préparerai le dîner.
Why: A realistic condition uses the present after si. The future belongs in the result clause.

Confusing future and conditional spellings

Wrong: Je pourrais vous aider demain if you mean a firm “I will be able to help you.”
Right: Je pourrai vous aider demain.
Why: Je pourrai is future (“I will be able to”); je pourrais is conditional (“I could”). The extra s changes the grammar, even where pronunciation does not clearly distinguish the forms.

Usage Notes

The futur simple is fully natural in conversation, but its distribution differs from English “will.” Speakers frequently choose the futur proche for personal plans and immediate developments: Je vais rentrer or Ça va commencer. The simple future remains especially natural for promises (Je reviendrai), reassuring predictions (Tout ira bien), warnings (Tu regretteras ça), and less immediate projections (Dans vingt ans, la ville sera différente).

Announcements, journalism, forecasts, and formal information often use it because these contexts present future events as facts: Le train arrivera voie 4; Les inscriptions fermeront le 30 juin. Instructions can also use the future to sound official or authoritative: Vous remettrez le formulaire à l'accueil. In context, that can mean “You are to hand in the form at reception,” not merely a prediction.

In everyday French, on often replaces nous: On ira demain is a very common way to say “We'll go tomorrow.” It takes a third-person singular form, so use on ira, not on irons. In careful or formal writing, nous irons remains standard.

English “will” can indicate willingness, repeated behavior, or an offer as well as future time. French may choose another construction for those meanings. To offer to open a window, J'ouvre la fenêtre ? or Tu veux que j'ouvre la fenêtre ? is more idiomatic than mechanically translating “Shall I open the window?” with a future tense.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

The future stem reappears in the present conditional, but with imperfect-style endings: je parlerai (“I will speak”) versus je parlerais (“I would speak”), and nous viendrons (“we will come”) versus nous viendrions (“we would come”). Learning ser-, aur-, ir-, fer-, and the other future stems therefore prepares you for a second major tense.

The futur simple can act like a softened or formal command. Vous attendrez ici may be translated as “You will wait here” or “Please wait here,” depending on tone. Conversely, a forceful Tu me laisseras tranquille ! expresses an order rather than a neutral forecast. The grammar is future, but the communicative purpose comes from context.

Narrative writing sometimes uses the future while recounting past events to look ahead in a person's life: En 1910, elle quitte Lyon. Elle deviendra ensuite une artiste reconnue. Literally the second sentence is future in form, but natural English is “She would later become a recognized artist.” This historical future gives a biography or summary a forward-moving perspective.

A later tense, the futur antérieur, locates one completed action before another future point: Quand tu arriveras, j'aurai fini (“When you arrive, I will have finished”). It uses the futur simple of avoir or être plus a past participle (a form such as fini or parti used in compound tenses). Knowing j'aurai and je serai is therefore essential beyond the simple future itself.

Finally, tense choice can express viewpoint rather than objective distance. A train leaving in five minutes may be announced with the futur simple, while a holiday next year may be discussed with the futur proche if it is already planned. “Near” and “simple” are grammatical labels, not strict clocks.

Practice Tips

Learn stems in useful first-person phrases. Rehearse je serai, j'aurai, j'irai, je ferai, je viendrai, and je pourrai, then swap in nous and ils. This separates the stem problem from the ending problem.
Write paired mini-scenarios. Contrast immediate evidence with a prediction: Regarde ces nuages : il va pleuvoir versus D'après la météo, il pleuvra demain. Do the same for current intentions and promises.
Drill connectors aloud. Complete five sentence frames with quand, dès que, and si: Quand je rentrerai..., Dès que nous saurons..., Si j'ai le temps.... Check that future time clauses use the future, while a condition after si uses the present.

Related Concepts

Prerequisite: Near Future — use aller + infinitive for an immediate or currently intended future.
Next step: Present Conditional — reuse the same stems with different endings to express “would,” hypotheses, and polite requests.
Later: Future Perfect — describe an action that will be complete before another future point.