French Grammar Guide for non-francophones

Future simple (e.g.: je parlerai)

In this section: Description, Questions, Exercises

Description

An Overview of the Futur Simple

The simple future is used to describe an action that will take place in the future, e.g.: je partirai demain ("I will leave tomorrow"). It can be used for actions that will happen soon or far in the future. 

How to form the futur simple

The futur simple is formed by attaching an ending to end of the   infinitive. For the singular forms, the ending is identical to the present of avoir (-ai, -as, -a); for the plurals, it is -ons, -ez, and -ont. This is illustrated in the following table:

futur simple Translation
je parlerai
"I will speak"
tu parleras
"you will speak"
il,elle, on parlera
"he, she, one will speak"
nous parlerons
"we will speak"
vous parlerez "you will speak"
ils/elles parleront
"they will speak"

A small number of common verbs form their future with an irregular root:

avoir, e.g.: il aura

être, e.g.: il sera

faire, e.g.: il fera

voir, e.g.: il verra

aller, e.g.: il ira

savoir, e.g.: il saura

venir, e.g.: il viendra

devoir, e.g.: il devra

Futur simple or Futur Proche?

These can both be used to describe future events. Some grammarians have suggested that the future proche is preferred for events that are more certain or likely to occur in the near future. However, both kinds of future can be used with such events. The main difference is that the future simple is more formal and more frequent when writing.

Tags: verbs futur proche infinitive conditional
In this section: Description, Questions, Exercises
Verb conjugation:

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