French grammar · Intermediate
The French Future Tense: Endings, Irregulars, and When to Use It
The French future tense (le futur simple) says what will happen. You build it by adding the endings -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont to the infinitive itself, so parler becomes je parlerai. Those endings are the present tense of avoir, which is why they're easier to remember than they look.
Je partirai demain matin.
I'll leave tomorrow morning.
What it is
Le futur simple is the one French tense where you don't remove the infinitive ending, you build on top of it. Take parler, add -ai, and you have je parlerai. The six endings never change, for any verb, in the entire language.
parler → je parlerai, tu parleras, il parlera, nous parlerons, vous parlerez, ils parleront.
How to spot it
Look for the letter r immediately before the ending. Every future form in French has one, because the infinitive is still sitting there underneath.
- Je finirai ce soir. — I'll finish this evening.
- Nous vendrons la maison. — We'll sell the house.
- Tu seras content. — You'll be happy. (irregular stem ser-)
- Il fera beau demain. — The weather will be nice tomorrow. (fer-)
Verbs ending in -re drop the final e before the endings: vendre becomes je vendrai, not *je vendreai.
Future Tense Quick Reference
The future endings, identical for every French verb
| Subject | Ending | parler | finir | vendre |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| je | -ai | parlerai | finirai | vendrai |
| tu | -as | parleras | finiras | vendras |
| il / elle / on | -a | parlera | finira | vendra |
| nous | -ons | parlerons | finirons | vendrons |
| vous | -ez | parlerez | finirez | vendrez |
| ils / elles | -ont | parleront | finiront | vendront |
Common Future Tense Examples in French
The future tense in real sentences:
Plans and Intentions
- Je partirai lundi.
- I'll leave on Monday.
- Nous dînerons à huit heures.
- We'll have dinner at eight.
- Elle arrivera en retard.
- She'll arrive late.
- Ils déménageront en juin.
- They'll move house in June.
For plans this concrete, spoken French often prefers the futur proche: je vais partir lundi.
Predictions
- Il pleuvra demain.
- It'll rain tomorrow.
- Tu comprendras un jour.
- You'll understand one day.
- Ça coûtera cher.
- That'll be expensive.
- Le train aura du retard.
- The train will be delayed.
The futur simple is the natural tense for forecasts, horoscopes, and anything the speaker can't control.
Promises and Commitments
- Je t'appellerai ce soir.
- I'll call you tonight.
- On se reverra.
- We'll see each other again.
- Je ne l'oublierai jamais.
- I'll never forget it.
- Nous ferons de notre mieux.
- We'll do our best.
Promises are where the futur simple still wins in speech: it sounds more committed than je vais t'appeler.
After Quand and Dès Que
- Quand j'aurai le temps, je viendrai.
- When I have time, I'll come.
- Dès qu'il arrivera, on partira.
- As soon as he arrives, we'll leave.
- Je te dirai quand je saurai.
- I'll tell you when I know.
- On mangera lorsqu'elle rentrera.
- We'll eat when she gets back.
This is the big divergence from English, which uses the present after when. French uses the future on both sides.
How the French Future Tense Is Built
One set of endings, one predictable stem, and a short list of irregular stems that you'll reuse constantly.
The Stem Is the Infinitive
For -er and -ir verbs, the future stem is the complete infinitive. Nothing is removed. Parler gives parler-, finir gives finir-, and the endings attach directly.
Je travaillerai tout le week-end.
I'll work all weekend.
Infinitive + ending.
-re Verbs Drop the Final E
Verbs whose infinitive ends in -re lose that e so the stem still ends in r. Vendre becomes vendr-, prendre becomes prendr-, écrire becomes écrir-.
Nous prendrons le train de sept heures.
We'll take the seven o'clock train.
vendre → vendr- → je vendrai.
The Endings Are Avoir
The six endings -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont are the present tense of avoir with the av- stripped off. This isn't a coincidence: the future tense grew out of a Latin construction meaning I have to speak.
Je parlerai = parler + ai.
I will speak = to speak + I have.
ai, as, a, ons, ez, ont.
Irregular Stems Still Take Regular Endings
About twenty common verbs have an unpredictable future stem, but every one of them still ends in r and still takes the same six endings. Learn the stem once and the whole conjugation follows.
J'irai en France, tu verras, il faudra partir.
I'll go to France, you'll see, we'll have to leave.
Irregular stem, regular endings.
Stem Changes Carry Over From the Present
Verbs that change their stem in the present often keep that change throughout the future. Acheter becomes j'achèterai, appeler becomes j'appellerai, and the accent or doubled consonant appears in every person, not just some.
J'achèterai du pain en rentrant.
I'll buy bread on the way home.
The whole future keeps the stem change.
Common Mistakes with Future Tense
Incorrect: Quand j'ai le temps, je t'appellerai. — When I have time, I'll call you.
Correct: Quand j'aurai le temps, je t'appellerai. — When I have time, I'll call you.
After quand, French requires the future if the action is in the future. English uses the present here, which is exactly why this error is so persistent.
Incorrect: Si j'aurai le temps, je viendrai. — If I have time, I'll come.
Correct: Si j'ai le temps, je viendrai. — If I have time, I'll come.
The mirror image of the quand rule. After si meaning if, French uses the present, never the future. Learners who fix the quand error often overcorrect into this one.
Incorrect: Je vendreai la voiture. — I'll sell the car.
Correct: Je vendrai la voiture. — I'll sell the car.
Verbs in -re drop the final e before the future endings. The stem has to end in r, not re.
Incorrect: Je serai aller en France. — I'll go to France.
Correct: J'irai en France. — I'll go to France.
French doesn't build the future with an auxiliary the way English uses will. There's no helper verb at all: the future lives in the ending.
The Irregular Future Stems Worth Knowing
These are the verbs whose future stem you can't predict from the infinitive. They're also among the most frequent verbs in French, so they repay memorization quickly.
The Four Essentials
Être, avoir, aller, and faire appear in almost every conversation, and all four have irregular future stems.
| Pronoun | être (ser-) | avoir (aur-) | aller (ir-) | faire (fer-) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| je / j' | serai | aurai | irai | ferai |
| tu | seras | auras | iras | feras |
| il / elle / on | sera | aura | ira | fera |
| nous | serons | aurons | irons | ferons |
| vous | serez | aurez | irez | ferez |
| ils / elles | seront | auront | iront | feront |
Aller has the shortest future stem in the language: ir-. J'irai is just two syllables.
The Modal Verbs
Pouvoir, vouloir, devoir, and savoir all take a doubled or shortened stem in the future.
| Pronoun | pouvoir (pourr-) | vouloir (voudr-) | devoir (devr-) | savoir (saur-) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| je | pourrai | voudrai | devrai | saurai |
| tu | pourras | voudras | devras | sauras |
| il / elle / on | pourra | voudra | devra | saura |
| nous | pourrons | voudrons | devrons | saurons |
| vous | pourrez | voudrez | devrez | saurez |
| ils / elles | pourront | voudront | devront | sauront |
The double r in pourrai is pronounced, and it's the main thing distinguishing it from the conditional pourrais in careful speech.
Other Common Irregulars
Venir, voir, envoyer, and the impersonal falloir round out the list you'll meet most often.
| Pronoun | venir (viendr-) | voir (verr-) | envoyer (enverr-) | falloir (faudr-) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| je / j' | viendrai | verrai | enverrai | — |
| tu | viendras | verras | enverras | — |
| il / elle / on | viendra | verra | enverra | faudra |
| nous | viendrons | verrons | enverrons | — |
| vous | viendrez | verrez | enverrez | — |
| ils / elles | viendront | verront | enverront | — |
Falloir only exists in the third person singular: il faudra partir, we'll have to leave.
Where French Uses the Future and English Doesn't
Two constructions catch out almost every English speaker, and both come down to French being stricter about time than English is.
After quand, lorsque, dès que, and aussitôt que
English says when I have time, I'll call, using the present after when. French insists both halves refer to the future, so both verbs go in the future tense.
- Quand j'aurai le temps, je t'appellerai.
- When I have time, I'll call you.
- Dès que tu arriveras, préviens-moi.
- As soon as you arrive, let me know.
- Lorsqu'il finira, on partira.
- When he finishes, we'll leave.
Using the present here (*quand j'ai le temps, je t'appellerai) is one of the most recognisable English-speaker errors in French.
But never after si meaning if
Si is the exception that catches people going the other way. After si in a conditional sentence, French uses the present, and the future goes in the other clause only.
- Si j'ai le temps, je viendrai.
- If I have time, I'll come.
- S'il pleut, on restera à la maison.
- If it rains, we'll stay home.
- Si tu veux, je t'aiderai.
- If you want, I'll help you.
Quand takes the future, si takes the present. It's the one pair worth drilling until it's automatic.
Softening an order
The future can replace an imperative to make an instruction sound less blunt, in the same way English uses you'll want to rather than do this.
- Vous prendrez ce médicament deux fois par jour.
- You'll take this medicine twice a day.
- Tu me diras ce que tu en penses.
- You'll tell me what you think.
This is common from doctors, teachers, and anyone giving instructions politely.
Future Tense FAQs
- How do you form the future tense in French?
- Add the endings -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont to the infinitive. Parler gives je parlerai, finir gives je finirai. Verbs ending in -re drop the final e first, so vendre gives je vendrai. The endings are identical for every verb in the language.
- What's the difference between futur simple and futur proche?
- Futur proche is aller plus an infinitive (je vais partir) and dominates casual speech, especially for imminent or arranged events. Futur simple (je partirai) is more formal and more distant, and it's the standard choice in writing, in promises, and for predictions.
- Which French verbs have irregular future stems?
- About twenty, including être (ser-), avoir (aur-), aller (ir-), faire (fer-), pouvoir (pourr-), vouloir (voudr-), devoir (devr-), savoir (saur-), venir (viendr-), voir (verr-), and falloir (faudr-). All of them still take the regular endings.
- Why does French use the future after quand?
- Because French marks the time of each verb independently, while English lets when carry the future meaning for both clauses. Quand j'aurai le temps is literally when I will have time, which is what you actually mean.
- How do I tell the future apart from the conditional when listening?
- The endings differ: the future has -ai and -as, the conditional has -ais and -ait. In practice je parlerai and je parlerais sound nearly identical in fast speech, and native speakers rely on context, so don't worry if you can't always hear it.