Futur Proche and Futur Simple: Forms, Uses and Common Mistakes

French has two common ways to talk about the future. The futur proche (aller + infinitive) is used for plans, intentions and things that are about to happen. The futur simple (one-word forms like je partirai) is used for predictions, promises, more distant or formal future, and after quand when the action is in the future.

The futur proche

Form: aller + infinitive

Conjugate aller in the present tense and add the infinitive of the main verb. The infinitive never changes.

Subject	aller	Example
je	vais	Je vais manger. – I’m going to eat.
tu	vas	Tu vas sortir ce soir. – You’re going to go out tonight.
il / elle / on	va	Il va pleuvoir. – It’s going to rain.
nous	allons	Nous allons partir. – We’re going to leave.
vous	allez	Vous allez voir. – You’ll see.
ils / elles	vont	Elles vont arriver. – They’re going to arrive.

If the forms of aller are still shaky, revise them in our guide to the present tense of irregular verbs.

Je vais aller is perfectly correct French: Je vais aller au cinéma. – I’m going to go to the cinema.

Negative and questions

Type	Rule	Example
Negative	ne … pas goes around aller	Je ne vais pas travailler demain. – I’m not going to work tomorrow.
Question (intonation)	rising voice at the end	Tu vas venir ? – Are you going to come?
Question (est-ce que)	est-ce que + statement	Est-ce que vous allez rester ? – Are you going to stay?
Question (inversion)	aller + subject + infinitive	Va-t-elle accepter ? – Is she going to accept?

Object pronouns and reflexive pronouns go before the infinitive, not before aller:

• Je vais le faire. – I’m going to do it.
• Nous allons nous lever tôt. – We’re going to get up early.
• Tu ne vas pas y aller ? – Aren’t you going to go there?

For more on where ne … pas goes, see our guide to negation (ne … pas).

When to use the futur proche

1. Plans and intentions already decided

Ce week-end, je vais repeindre ma chambre. – This weekend I’m going to repaint my room.

2. Something about to happen, or something you can see coming

Attention, le bus va partir. – Careful, the bus is about to leave.

Regarde ces nuages : il va pleuvoir. – Look at those clouds: it’s going to rain.

3. Everyday conversation

In spoken French, the futur proche is the default for many speakers, even for events that are not very close.

On va manger une pizza ce soir ? – Shall we have pizza tonight?

The futur simple

Form of regular verbs

Take the infinitive as the stem (for -re verbs, drop the final -e) and add the endings. The endings are the same for every verb in French.

Subject	Ending	parler	finir	prendre
je	-ai	parlerai	finirai	prendrai
tu	-as	parleras	finiras	prendras
il / elle / on	-a	parlera	finira	prendra
nous	-ons	parlerons	finirons	prendrons
vous	-ez	parlerez	finirez	prendrez
ils / elles	-ont	parleront	finiront	prendront

Two memory tips: the endings look like the present of avoir (ai, as, a, (av)ons, (av)ez, ont), and every futur simple form has an r just before the ending.

• Je te téléphonerai ce soir. – I’ll phone you tonight.
• Ils finiront le projet en juin. – They will finish the project in June.

Spelling changes in -er verbs

Some -er verbs change their spelling in the same way as the je form of the present, and keep that change in all persons.

Infinitive	Futur simple	Translation
acheter	j’achèterai	I will buy
se lever	je me lèverai	I will get up
appeler	j’appellerai	I will call
jeter	je jetterai	I will throw
payer	je paierai (or je payerai)	I will pay
nettoyer	je nettoierai	I will clean

Verbs like préférer traditionally keep é: je préférerai (préfèrerai is also accepted).

Irregular stems

The endings never change, but some common verbs have an irregular stem. Learn these as a list.

Infinitive	Stem	Example
être	ser-	Je serai prêt à huit heures. – I’ll be ready at eight.
avoir	aur-	Tu auras le temps ? – Will you have time?
aller	ir-	Nous irons à la plage. – We’ll go to the beach.
faire	fer-	Il fera beau demain. – The weather will be nice tomorrow.
venir	viendr-	Elle viendra avec nous. – She’ll come with us.
voir	verr-	On verra. – We’ll see.
pouvoir	pourr-	Vous pourrez entrer. – You’ll be able to come in.
vouloir	voudr-	Ils voudront rester. – They’ll want to stay.
devoir	devr-	Tu devras attendre. – You’ll have to wait.
savoir	saur-	Je saurai demain. – I’ll know tomorrow.
envoyer	enverr-	J’enverrai le message. – I’ll send the message.
falloir	faudr-	Il faudra partir tôt. – We’ll have to leave early.
pleuvoir	pleuvr-	Il pleuvra ce week-end. – It will rain this weekend.

Also useful: tenir → tiendr-, recevoir → recevr-, courir → courr-, mourir → mourr-.

Pronunciation notes

• In -er verbs, the e before -rai is often dropped in everyday speech: je parlerai sounds like je parl’rai.
• The je ending -ai is pronounced like é. The conditional je parlerais ends in -ais. Many speakers pronounce them almost the same, so be careful in writing.

Negative and questions

Type	Example
Negative	Je ne viendrai pas. – I won’t come.
Intonation	Tu viendras ? – Will you come?
Est-ce que	Est-ce que vous serez là ? – Will you be there?
Inversion	Viendra-t-il ? – Will he come?

In inversion, add -t- when the verb ends in a vowel and the pronoun starts with one: Parlera-t-elle ? Pronouns go before the verb: Je ne le ferai pas. – I won’t do it.

When to use the futur simple

1. Predictions and forecasts

Demain, il fera 25 degrés dans le sud. – Tomorrow it will be 25 degrees in the south.

2. Promises and firm statements

Je ne recommencerai pas, promis. – I won’t do it again, I promise.

3. A more distant or less certain future

Un jour, j’habiterai à Montréal. – One day I’ll live in Montreal.

4. Formal and written French

Le magasin sera fermé le 1er mai. – The shop will be closed on 1 May.

5. After quand, lorsque and dès que when the action is in the future

Quand tu arriveras, appelle-moi. – When you arrive, call me.

English uses the present after when; French uses the future. This is one of the most common mistakes for English speakers.

6. In the main clause after si + present

S’il pleut, nous resterons à la maison. – If it rains, we’ll stay at home.

Never put the future directly after si. Our guide to si clauses explains the full pattern.

Signal words

Often with futur proche	Often with futur simple
tout de suite, dans cinq minutes, tout à l’heure, ce soir, bientôt	un jour, plus tard, à l’avenir, dans dix ans, quand…, si… + present

Many time expressions work with both: demain, la semaine prochaine, l’année prochaine. The choice then depends on tone and meaning, not on the time word.

Futur proche or futur simple?

Often both are correct:

• Demain, je vais voir Paul. – Tomorrow I’m going to see Paul.
• Demain, je verrai Paul. – Tomorrow I’ll see Paul.

The difference is mainly style and how connected the event feels to the present.

Futur proche	Futur simple
Very common in speech	Common in writing and formal speech, also used in conversation
Plans and intentions	Predictions and promises
Imminent events, visible signs	Distant or uncertain events
Feels linked to now	Feels more detached
—	Standard choice after quand, dès que

Some situations clearly prefer one form:

• Attention, tu vas tomber. – Careful, you’re going to fall. (immediate danger: futur proche)
• Je te rendrai ton livre lundi. – I’ll give you your book back on Monday. (promise: futur simple sounds natural)

Common mistakes

• ✗ Je vais à manger. → ✓ Je vais manger. Aller is followed directly by the infinitive, with no preposition.
• ✗ Je vais mange. → ✓ Je vais manger. The second verb stays in the infinitive.
• ✗ Je ne vais manger pas. → ✓ Je ne vais pas manger. Ne … pas goes around aller, the conjugated verb.
• ✗ Je le vais faire. → ✓ Je vais le faire. The pronoun goes before the infinitive.
• ✗ J’allerai à Paris. → ✓ J’irai à Paris. Aller has the irregular stem ir-.
• ✗ Je prendreai le train. → ✓ Je prendrai le train. Drop the final -e of -re verbs.
• ✗ Quand je suis à Rome, je visiterai le Colisée. → ✓ Quand je serai à Rome, je visiterai le Colisée. Use the future after quand for a future action.
• ✗ S’il pleuvra, on restera ici. → ✓ S’il pleut, on restera ici. No future directly after si.
• ✗ Demain, je serais à la maison. → ✓ Demain, je serai à la maison. -ais is the conditional; see our conditionnel guide.

Quick check

1. Regarde le ciel : il ______ (pleuvoir – futur proche).
2. Quand j’______ (avoir) 18 ans, je passerai mon permis.
3. L’été prochain, nous ______ (aller – futur simple) en Bretagne.
4. Correct the sentence: Je ne vais regarder pas le film.
5. S’il fait beau samedi, on ______ (faire – futur simple) un pique-nique.

Answers

1. va pleuvoir – Look at the sky: it’s going to rain.
2. aurai – When I’m 18, I’ll take my driving test.
3. irons – Next summer we’ll go to Brittany.
4. Je ne vais pas regarder le film. – I’m not going to watch the film.
5. fera – If the weather is nice on Saturday, we’ll have a picnic.

Next step

Now put both tenses into practice: test yourself with our A2 Futur Proche and Futur Simple test and check that you can choose the right form and spell the irregular stems without hesitating. If you score well, move on to the other French A2 tests to review the future alongside the passé composé and the imparfait.