FlexiLingoIn one line
The infinitive itself + endings. And those endings are the conjugation of
avoir.
The table
How it is built
| Step | Example | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| take the infinitive | parler | /paʁ.le/ |
| add the ending | parler + ai = je parlerai | /paʁ.le/ · /e/ · /ʒə paʁ.lə.ʁe/ |
je | tu | il | nous | vous | ils |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
-ai | -as | -a | -ons | -ez | -ont |
These are exactly the forms of avoir: ai · as · a · [av]ons · [av]ez · ont.
parler | finir | prendre | |
|---|---|---|---|
je /ʒə/ | parlerai /paʁ.lə.ʁe/ | finirai /fi.ni.ʁe/ | prendrai /pʁɑ̃.dʁe/ |
tu /ty/ | parleras /paʁ.lə.ʁa/ | finiras /fi.ni.ʁa/ | prendras /pʁɑ̃.dʁa/ |
il /il/ | parlera /paʁ.lə.ʁa/ | finira /fi.ni.ʁa/ | prendra /pʁɑ̃.dʁa/ |
nous /nu/ | parlerons /paʁ.lə.ʁɔ̃/ | finirons /fi.ni.ʁɔ̃/ | prendrons /pʁɑ̃.dʁɔ̃/ |
vous /vu/ | parlerez /paʁ.lə.ʁe/ | finirez /fi.ni.ʁe/ | prendrez /pʁɑ̃.dʁe/ |
ils /il/ | parleront /paʁ.lə.ʁɔ̃/ | finiront /fi.ni.ʁɔ̃/ | prendront /pʁɑ̃.dʁɔ̃/ |
-re verbs drop the final e: prendre → prendr.
English has no future tense, and that is the thing to absorb. "I will speak" is a helper verb plus an infinitive; the verb speak itself never changes. French folds the future into the word:
parleraiis one word carrying tense, person and meaning together. There is nothing to translate "will" into — it is already in the ending.
The irregular stems
| Infinitive | Stem | Infinitive | Stem | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
être /ɛtʁ/ | ser- /sɛʁ/ | voir /vwaʁ/ | verr- /vɛʁ/ | |
avoir /a.vwaʁ/ | aur- /oʁ/ | venir /və.niʁ/ | viendr- /vjɛ̃dʁ/ | |
aller /a.le/ | ir- /iʁ/ | devoir /də.vwaʁ/ | devr- /dəvʁ/ | |
faire /fɛʁ/ | fer- /fɛʁ/ | savoir /sa.vwaʁ/ | saur- /soʁ/ | |
pouvoir /pu.vwaʁ/ | pourr- /puʁ/ | falloir /fa.lwaʁ/ | faudr- /fodʁ/ | |
vouloir /vu.lwaʁ/ | voudr- /vu.dʁ/ | envoyer /ɑ̃.vwa.je/ | enverr- /ɑ̃.vɛʁ/ |
Every one of them ends in r — that is the mark of a future stem, always.
Exceptions
| Exception | What happens |
|---|---|
Forbidden after a conditional si /si/ | Si tu viens /si ty vjɛ̃/, not viendras /vjɛ̃.dʁa/ |
But compulsory after quand /kɑ̃/ | Quand tu viendras, je serai là. /kɑ̃ ty vjɛ̃.dʁa ʒə sə.ʁe la/ |
-yer turns the y /i.ɡʁɛk/ into i /i/ | payer /pe.je/ → je paierai /ʒə pɛ.ʁe/ |
-eler · -eter double their consonant | appeler /a.pə.le/ → j'appellerai /ʒa.pɛl.ʁe/ |
In speech, futur proche /fy.tyʁ pʁɔʃ/ dominates | je vais partir /ʒə vɛ paʁ.tiʁ/ is heard far more than je partirai /ʒə paʁ.ti.ʁe/ |
The
sirule will feel natural; thequandrule will not. English also says "if you come" and never "if you will come" — soSi tu viensneeds no thought. But English says "when you come, I'll be there" with a present tense too, and French insists on the future:Quand tu viendras, je serai là.Both verbs are in the future, which looks wrong to an English eye and is correct. The same goes fordès queandlorsque.
Examples
| English | French | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| I'll come tomorrow | Je viendrai demain. | /ʒə vjɛ̃.dʁe də.mɛ̃/ |
| We'll finish the work | Nous finirons le travail. | /nu fi.ni.ʁɔ̃ lə tʁa.vaj/ |
| If I have time, I'll come | Si j'ai le temps, je viendrai. | /si ʒe lə tɑ̃ ʒə vjɛ̃.dʁe/ |
| When you come, I'll be there | Quand tu viendras, je serai là. | /kɑ̃ ty vjɛ̃.dʁa ʒə sə.ʁe la/ |
| It will rain | Il pleuvra. | /il plø.vʁa/ |
Common mistakes
| ❌ | ✅ | Why |
|---|---|---|
Si tu viendras | Si tu viens | The future is forbidden after a conditional si |
Quand tu viens, je serai là. | Quand tu viendras, … | The future is compulsory after quand |
je prenderai | je prendrai | -re drops its e |
je serai meaning "I would be" | je serais | One s apart, two meanings |
Simple future versus near future
both mean "I'm coming" — and the difference is subtle
| Example | Feel | |
|---|---|---|
futur proche /fy.tyʁ pʁɔʃ/ | Je vais partir. /ʒə vɛ paʁ.tiʁ/ | near, certain, planned · speech |
futur simple /fy.tyʁ sɛ̃pl/ | Je partirai. /ʒə paʁ.ti.ʁe/ | further off, more formal, less certain · writing |
In everyday conversation futur proche has taken over almost completely. French speakers say je vais manger, not je mangerai.
English has precisely the same pair and splits it the same way: "I'm going to eat" versus "I will eat". Going-to for the planned and imminent, will for the distant and the formal. aller + infinitive is "going to"; futur simple is "will". The mapping holds almost perfectly, including the fact that the going-to form dominates in speech.
But in writing and in exams, futur simple is required — and after quand, dès que and lorsque it is compulsory.
Quand j'aurai le temps, je t'appellerai.— both verbs in the future