FlexiLingoIn one line
aller+ infinitive for near, definite plans; the simple future for further off and more formal; the conditional for wishes.
Phrases
Definite plans
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
Je vais partir demain. | /ʒə vɛ paʁ.tiʁ də.mɛ̃/ | I'm leaving tomorrow |
On va déménager en juin. | /ɔ̃ va de.me.na.ʒe ɑ̃ ʒɥɛ̃/ | we're moving in June |
J'ai prévu de… | /ʒe pʁe.vy də/ | I've planned to |
Je compte… | /ʒə kɔ̃t/ | I intend to |
J'ai l'intention de… | /ʒe lɛ̃.tɑ̃.sjɔ̃ də/ | I intend to |
Je dois… | /ʒə dwa/ | I have to |
C'est déjà décidé. | /sɛ de.ʒa de.si.de/ | it's already decided |
C'est prévu pour septembre. | /sɛ pʁe.vy puʁ sɛp.tɑ̃bʁ/ | it's planned for September |
Possible plans
| French | English | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
J'espère… | I hope to | /ʒɛs.pɛʁ/ |
Je pense… | I'm thinking of | /ʒə pɑ̃s/ |
Peut-être que je… | maybe I'll | /pø.tɛtʁ kə ʒə/ |
Il est possible que je… + subjunctive | I might | /il ɛ pɔ.sibl kə ʒə/ |
Ça dépendra de… | it'll depend on | /sa de.pɑ̃.dʁa də/ |
On verra. | we'll see | /ɔ̃ vɛ.ʁa/ |
Si tout va bien, … | if all goes well | /si tu va bjɛ̃/ |
Wishes and dreams
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
J'aimerais… | /ʒɛm.ʁɛ/ | I'd like to |
Je voudrais… | /ʒə vu.dʁɛ/ | I'd like to |
Mon rêve, c'est de… | /mɔ̃ ʁɛv sɛ də/ | my dream is to |
Si je pouvais, je… | /si ʒə pu.vɛ ʒə/ | if I could, I'd |
Un jour, j'espère… | /œ̃ ʒuʁ ʒɛs.pɛʁ/ | one day I hope to |
Ce serait bien de… | /sə sə.ʁɛ bjɛ̃ də/ | it would be good to |
Long-term goals
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
Dans cinq ans, je me vois… | /dɑ̃ sɛ̃k ɑ̃ ʒə mə vwa/ | in five years I see myself |
Mon objectif, c'est de… | /mɔ̃n ɔb.ʒɛk.tif sɛ də/ | my goal is to |
Je travaille pour… | /ʒə tʁa.vaj puʁ/ | I'm working towards |
À long terme, je souhaite… | /a lɔ̃ tɛʁm ʒə su.ɛt/ | in the long term I hope to |
Mon projet, c'est… | /mɔ̃ pʁo.ʒɛ sɛ/ | my plan is |
Three futures, three uses
| Structure | When | Example | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
aller + infinitive | near, definite, spoken | Je vais partir. | /ʒə vɛ paʁ.tiʁ/ |
| simple future | further off, more formal, written | Je partirai. | /ʒə paʁ.ti.ʁe/ |
| conditional | wishes, hypotheses | Je partirais si… | /ʒə paʁ.ti.ʁɛ si/ |
In everyday speech aller + infinitive dominates — even for the distant future:
L'année prochaine, on va déménager.— entirely natural
English splits the same way — "I'm going to move" versus "I will move" — so the choice will feel familiar. The one thing that differs is which situations force the simple future, below.
The simple future is compulsory in these three places:
| Situation | Example |
|---|---|
after si /si/ + present | Si tu viens, on ira au ciné. /si ty vjɛ̃ ɔ̃.n‿i.ʁa o si.ne/ |
after quand /kɑ̃/ about the future | Quand j'aurai fini, je partirai. /kɑ̃ ʒo.ʁe fi.ni ʒə paʁ.ti.ʁe/ |
| in formal writing | L'entreprise ouvrira en 2027. /lɑ̃.tʁə.pʁi.z‿u.vʁi.ʁa ɑ̃ dø mil vɛ̃t.sɛt/ |
The tense after quand — the main trap
| ❌ | ✅ |
|---|---|
Quand je suis grand, je serai médecin. | Quand je serai grand, je serai médecin. |
Quand tu arrives, appelle-moi. (future) | Quand tu arriveras, appelle-moi. |
French uses the future after
quand, unlike English. Seetemps-subordonnee.
Traps
| Trap | Explanation |
|---|---|
The future follows quand | Not the present. The commonest error here. |
The future never follows si | Si tu viens, not viendras. |
Unless si means "whether" | Then the future is allowed: Je ne sais pas s'il viendra. See question-indirecte. |
espérer takes the indicative | J'espère qu'il viendra, not vienne. |
compter + bare infinitive | Je compte partir. |
avoir l'intention de | That de is compulsory. |
prévoir de + infinitive | J'ai prévu de partir. |
On verra is a non-answer | In French it usually means "no" or "later". |
Two opposite rules that get confused
`si` and `quand` — one takes the future, the other does not
These two conjunctions look similar and behave in exactly opposite ways:
| Conjunction | Tense after it | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
si | present — never the future | /si/ |
quand | future — when the meaning is future | /kɑ̃/ |
Si tu viens, on ira au ciné. /si ty vjɛ̃ ɔ̃.n‿i.ʁa o si.ne/ | present after si /si/ |
Quand tu viendras, on ira au ciné. /kɑ̃ ty vjɛ̃.dʁa ɔ̃.n‿i.ʁa o si.ne/ | future after quand /kɑ̃/ |
The logic is sound:
| Meaning | Pronunciation | |
|---|---|---|
si | a condition — I don't know whether you're coming | /si/ |
quand | a time — I know you're coming, the question is when | /kɑ̃/ |
And because si is a condition, it sets up a hypothesis — and hypotheses in French are expressed in the present, not the future.
quand refers to an event in the future, so it takes the future.
English uses the present after both — "if you come…", "when you come…" — so exactly half of this rule matches your instinct and half contradicts it. That is what makes it hard: the si half feels right and reinforces the habit, which then produces the wrong form after quand.
A mnemonic French speakers use:
"
sinever likes-rai."
And for quand, the reverse: if the meaning is future, put the -rai in.