French grammar · Intermediate
Vouloir in the Future Tense: Voudrai, Voudras, Voudra and How to Use Them
Vouloir has the irregular future stem voudr-, giving je voudrai, tu voudras, il voudra, nous voudrons, vous voudrez, ils voudront. The same stem produces the conditional je voudrais, which differs by a single silent letter and means something quite different: I would like rather than I will want.
Viens quand tu voudras.
Come whenever you like.
What it is
The future tense in French is built on the infinitive, but about twenty verbs replace it with an irregular stem. Vouloir is one of them: the whole infinitive is compressed to voudr-, and the ordinary future endings -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont attach to it. Because that stem is shared with the conditional, the two forms sit dangerously close together.
Je voudrai, tu voudras, il voudra, nous voudrons, vous voudrez, ils voudront.
How to spot it
Look for voudr- followed by an ending with no -s or -t in front of it. Voudrai and voudra are future; voudrais and voudrait are conditional.
- Tu voudras sûrement te reposer après le voyage. — You'll certainly want to rest after the journey.
- Ils ne voudront jamais payer ça. — They'll never be willing to pay that.
- On verra ce qu'elle voudra faire. — We'll see what she'll want to do.
- Appelle-moi quand tu voudras. — Call me whenever you like.
In the singular, the future and the conditional are pronounced almost identically, so context carries the distinction in speech and the written -s carries it on the page.
Vouloir in the Future Tense Quick Reference
Vouloir across the future and its neighbours
| Form | je | tu | il / elle | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Futur simple | voudrai | voudras | voudra | will want |
| Conditionnel présent | voudrais | voudrais | voudrait | would like |
| Futur proche | vais vouloir | vas vouloir | va vouloir | is going to want |
| Futur antérieur | aurai voulu | auras voulu | aura voulu | will have wanted |
| Présent | veux | veux | veut | want |
| Passé composé | ai voulu | as voulu | a voulu | wanted, tried to |
Common Vouloir in the Future Tense Examples in French
Where the future of vouloir actually appears:
Predicting What Someone Will Want
- Les enfants voudront du dessert.
- The children will want dessert.
- Il voudra tout savoir, comme d'habitude.
- He'll want to know everything, as usual.
- Personne ne voudra sortir sous cette pluie.
- Nobody will want to go out in this rain.
- Tu voudras peut-être relire le contrat.
- You may want to read the contract again.
This is the plainest use: a genuine statement about a future desire or willingness.
After Quand, Dès Que, and Lorsque
- Nous partirons quand tu voudras.
- We'll leave whenever you want.
- Dès qu'elle voudra en parler, je serai là.
- As soon as she wants to talk about it, I'll be there.
- Tu me le rendras lorsque tu voudras.
- You can give it back to me whenever you like.
- On commencera dès que vous voudrez.
- We'll start as soon as you're ready.
This is where the future of vouloir is unavoidable, because French requires a future tense after quand for a future event.
Willingness and Refusal
- La voiture ne voudra pas démarrer par ce froid.
- The car won't start in this cold.
- Ils ne voudront pas nous recevoir.
- They won't be willing to see us.
- Elle ne voudra rien entendre.
- She won't hear a word of it.
Vouloir in the negative future often expresses refusal rather than desire, including for objects that will not cooperate.
The Compound Future
- D'ici là, il aura voulu changer d'avis dix fois.
- By then he'll have wanted to change his mind ten times.
- Elle aura voulu bien faire.
- She must have meant well.
The futur antérieur of vouloir is rare, and its most common use is the idiomatic one: a guess about someone's intentions.
How the Future of Vouloir Is Formed
One irregular stem, one regular set of endings, and one spelling difference that changes the meaning entirely.
The Stem Is Voudr-
Vouloir does not keep its infinitive in the future. It contracts to voudr-, which still ends in r like every French future stem, and the endings attach directly to it.
Nous voudrons une table près de la fenêtre.
We'll want a table by the window.
vouloir → voudr-.
The Endings Are Completely Regular
-ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont, exactly as for parler. The irregularity is entirely in the stem, so once you have voudr- there is nothing left to memorise.
Vous voudrez peut-être réserver à l'avance.
You might want to book in advance.
Irregular stem, regular endings.
The Conditional Shares the Stem
Je voudrais is the same stem with imperfect endings. That gives the polite formula je voudrais un café, and it is not a future at all, which is why the written -s matters so much.
Je voudrais un renseignement, s'il vous plaît.
I'd like some information, please.
voudrai future, voudrais conditional.
It Takes an Infinitive or a Noun
Vouloir is followed directly by an infinitive with no preposition, or by a noun, or by que plus the subjunctive when the wanting is about someone else.
Il voudra que tu viennes avec nous.
He'll want you to come with us.
vouloir + infinitive, or que + subjunctive.
The Present Is Often Enough
French, like English, tends to use the present for current desires even about future events: je veux partir demain. The future of vouloir appears mainly when the wanting itself lies ahead, or when quand forces it.
Je veux partir demain, mais je ne sais pas si je voudrai encore la semaine prochaine.
I want to leave tomorrow, but I don't know whether I'll still want to next week.
Future the wanting, not the doing.
Common Mistakes with Vouloir in the Future Tense
Incorrect: Je voudrai un café, s'il vous plaît. — I'd like a coffee, please.
Correct: Je voudrais un café, s'il vous plaît. — I'd like a coffee, please.
Ordering something takes the conditional, not the future. Je voudrai announces a desire you expect to have later, which is not what a waiter is waiting to hear.
Incorrect: Nous partirons quand tu veux. — We'll leave whenever you want.
Correct: Nous partirons quand tu voudras. — We'll leave whenever you want.
After quand, a future event takes a future verb in French. Quand tu veux exists but means at the moment you want, treating the wanting as already the case.
Incorrect: Il voudra que tu viens. — He'll want you to come.
Correct: Il voudra que tu viennes. — He'll want you to come.
Vouloir que always triggers the subjunctive, in every tense. The future of vouloir changes nothing about the clause that follows it.
Incorrect: Elle voulira nous accompagner. — She'll want to come with us.
Correct: Elle voudra nous accompagner. — She'll want to come with us.
Vouloir is one of the verbs that does not keep its infinitive in the future. The stem contracts to voudr-, so there is no -oul- and no -i- in the form.
Vouloir in the Future and Around It
The future, the conditional, and the two compound futures, plus a comparison with the other verbs that share this stem pattern.
Futur Simple and Conditionnel Présent
Identical stems, different endings. The nous and vous forms are the two places where the difference is clearly audible.
| Pronoun | futur simple | conditionnel présent |
|---|---|---|
| je | voudrai | voudrais |
| tu | voudras | voudrais |
| il / elle / on | voudra | voudrait |
| nous | voudrons | voudrions |
| vous | voudrez | voudriez |
| ils / elles | voudront | voudraient |
Voudrons and voudrions differ by one syllable, which makes the nous form the easiest place to hear which one a speaker used.
The Compound Futures
Vouloir takes avoir, and its participle is voulu, so both compound futures are entirely predictable.
| Pronoun | futur proche | futur antérieur | conditionnel passé |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j' | vais vouloir | aurai voulu | aurais voulu |
| tu | vas vouloir | auras voulu | aurais voulu |
| il / elle / on | va vouloir | aura voulu | aurait voulu |
| nous | allons vouloir | aurons voulu | aurions voulu |
| vous | allez vouloir | aurez voulu | auriez voulu |
| ils / elles | vont vouloir | auront voulu | auraient voulu |
J'aurais voulu is the standard way of expressing a regret about something you wanted: j'aurais voulu être là.
The Other Modal Verbs in the Future
Pouvoir, devoir, and savoir contract their stems in the same way, so learning one pattern gives you the set.
| Pronoun | vouloir (voudr-) | pouvoir (pourr-) | devoir (devr-) | savoir (saur-) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| je | voudrai | pourrai | devrai | saurai |
| tu | voudras | pourras | devras | sauras |
| il / elle / on | voudra | pourra | devra | saura |
| nous | voudrons | pourrons | devrons | saurons |
| vous | voudrez | pourrez | devrez | saurez |
| ils / elles | voudront | pourront | devront | sauront |
All four end in -r plus the ending, and all four keep that stem in the conditional as well.
Set Phrases Built on Voudras and Voudrez
Some of the most frequent uses of the future of vouloir are fixed expressions where the future has drifted away from its literal meaning.
Quand tu voudras, comme tu voudras
These mean whenever you like and however you like. They are among the most common polite formulas in spoken French, and the future is obligatory in both.
- On y va quand tu voudras.
- We'll go whenever you're ready.
- Fais comme tu voudras.
- Do as you like.
- Prends ce que tu voudras.
- Take whatever you want.
- Passez quand vous voudrez.
- Drop in whenever you like.
The English translations use a present tense, which is exactly why learners reach for si tu veux instead.
Tu voudras bien, vous voudrez bien
Adding bien turns the future into a softened request, close to English would you mind. In writing it is a standard formula for polite instructions.
- Tu voudras bien me prévenir avant de partir.
- Do let me know before you leave.
- Vous voudrez bien excuser ce retard.
- Please forgive the delay.
- Vous voudrez bien nous retourner le formulaire signé.
- Kindly return the signed form to us.
Veuillez, the imperative of vouloir, does the same job and is even more formal: veuillez nous excuser.
Ne voudra pas for things that refuse
With an inanimate subject, the negative future of vouloir describes something that will not work, in the same way English uses won't.
- La porte ne voudra pas se fermer.
- The door won't shut.
- Ce fichier ne voudra pas s'ouvrir sur ton ordinateur.
- That file won't open on your computer.
The subject is not being stubborn in any literal sense; this is the same metaphor English uses.
Vouloir in the Future Tense FAQs
- How do you conjugate vouloir in the future tense?
- Use the stem voudr- with the regular future endings: je voudrai, tu voudras, il voudra, nous voudrons, vous voudrez, ils voudront. The infinitive vouloir is never used unchanged in the future.
- What is the difference between je voudrai and je voudrais?
- One letter and one mood. Je voudrai is the future, I will want. Je voudrais is the conditional, I would like, and it is the polite form you use to ask for something: je voudrais réserver une table.
- Why is it quand tu voudras and not quand tu veux?
- Because French puts a future verb after quand when the event lies in the future. Quand tu voudras means whenever you get round to wanting it; quand tu veux would place the wanting in the present.
- Does vouloir keep the subjunctive in the future?
- Yes. Vouloir que takes the subjunctive regardless of the tense of vouloir itself: je veux qu'il vienne, je voudrai qu'il vienne, j'ai voulu qu'il vienne. The trigger is the verb, not its tense.
- Which other verbs share the voudr- pattern?
- The other modals contract in the same way: pouvoir gives pourr-, devoir gives devr-, savoir gives saur-, and falloir gives faudr-. All of them keep those stems in the conditional as well, so each one is worth learning twice over.