The futur simple is the French simple future tense, used to describe actions or events that will occur. It is formed by adding specific endings to the verb stem, providing a straightforward way to talk about the future.
- Communicates future actions or events
- Used for predictions, promises, and intentions
- Regular endings: -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont
When to Use the Futur Simple
The futur simple is employed for statements about the future, including forecasts, intentions, and conditions.
- Describing what will happen
- Making predictions or assumptions
- Expressing intentions or promises
- Used in main clauses, not just in conditional sentences
Use futur simple for future events, predictions, and promises.
Yes, futur simple can express polite assumptions about the present.
Conjugation Pattern
Regular Verbs
For -er and -ir verbs, use the full infinitive as the stem. For -re verbs, drop the final "e" from the infinitive.
| Subject | Ending | Example: Parler (to speak) | Example: Finir (to finish) | Example: Vendre (to sell) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Je | -ai | parlerai | finirai | vendrai |
| Tu | -as | parleras | finiras | vendras |
| Il/Elle | -a | parlera | finira | vendra |
| Nous | -ons | parlerons | finirons | vendrons |
| Vous | -ez | parlerez | finirez | vendrez |
| Ils/Elles | -ont | parleront | finiront | vendront |
- -er and -ir use full infinitive
- -re drops the final "e" before adding endings
Example Conjugations
- Parler: parlerai, parleras, parlera, parlerons, parlerez, parleront
- Finir: finirai, finiras, finira, finirons, finirez, finiront
- Vendre: vendrai, vendras, vendra, vendrons, vendrez, vendront
For vendre (a -re verb), drop the 'e' and use 'vendr-' as the stem.
The endings are -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont.
Irregular Stems
Some verbs have irregular stems but use normal endings:
| Infinitive | Stem | Example: "Je" |
|---|---|---|
| Aller | ir | j’irai |
| Avoir | aur | j’aurai |
| Être | ser | je serai |
| Faire | fer | je ferai |
| Venir | viendr | je viendrai |
| Pouvoir | pourr | je pourrai |
| Vouloir | voudr | je voudrai |
| Savoir | saur | je saurai |
| Voir | verr | je verrai |
| Recevoir | recevr | je recevrai |
- Only the stem changes; endings remain -ai, -as, etc.
The stem for 'avoir' is 'aur-'.
Être (ser-), Avoir (aur-), and Aller (ir-) are some verbs with irregular stems.
Examples
- Demain, je travaillerai à la maison. (Tomorrow, I will work at home.)
- Nous finirons le projet la semaine prochaine. (We will finish the project next week.)
- Si tu veux, je te vendrai ma voiture. (If you want, I will sell you my car.)
'Je parlerai', 'Nous finirons', 'Ils vendront' are all futur simple forms.
'Ils vendront...' is the correct futur simple form for 'They will sell...'
Yes, futur simple applies to regular conjugation patterns and irregular stems.
Conclusion
The futur simple is a versatile tense for expressing anything related to the future, from straightforward statements to promises and predictions.
- Use the infinitive (or its modified form) + endings to conjugate regular verbs.
- Learn the irregular stems for common verbs to expand your future vocabulary.
- Recognize futur simple in context: it signals events or ideas about what will be, not what is or was.