The futur simple has a reputation for being a pain to memorize. It isn't — it's one of the most predictable tenses in French, and there's a trick that makes the endings impossible to forget once you see it.
The endings are not new. They're avoir.
Part of the series French Conjugation Memory Tricks.
The trick
Here are the futur simple endings:
-ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont
Now here's the present tense of avoir:
j'ai, tu as, il a, nous avons, vous avez, ils ont
Line them up:
| Person | Futur ending | avoir present |
|---|---|---|
| je | -ai | ai |
| tu | -as | as |
| il/elle | -a | a |
| nous | -ons | (av)ons |
| vous | -ez | (av)ez |
| ils/elles | -ont | ont |
They're the same. The French future tense is, almost literally, "the thing + I have / you have / he has." That's not a coincidence — historically the Romance future came from "infinitive + to have" (parler ai → parlerai, "I have [it] to speak"). You're not memorizing a new ending set; you're reusing a verb you already know cold.
The stem is even easier: the whole infinitive
Most tenses make you chop the verb and find a stem. The future doesn't. The stem is the full infinitive. Just glue the avoir endings on:
- parler → je parlerai, tu parleras, il parlera, nous parlerons, vous parlerez, ils parleront
- finir → je finirai, tu finiras, …
- prendre → drop the final -e first → je prendrai, tu prendras, …
That last point is the only fiddly bit: -re verbs drop their final e so you don't get a double vowel (prendreai → prendrai). Everything else keeps the infinitive whole.
Two tenses for the price of one
The infinitive stem isn't just for the future — the conditionnel uses the exact same stem. The only thing that changes is the endings:
- Futur = infinitive + avoir endings (-ai, -as, -a…) → je parlerai ("I will speak")
- Conditionnel = infinitive + imparfait endings (-ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient) → je parlerais ("I would speak")
So once you can find the future stem, you've also found the conditional stem. Learn the stem once; swap the ending set to switch tenses. (For the full decision of which to use, see futur simple vs conditionnel.)
Watch the je form: je parlerai (futur, "I will") vs je parlerais (conditionnel, "I would") differ by a single silent -s. They sound nearly identical out loud; the spelling is what tells them apart.
The irregular stems (the only thing to actually memorize)
The endings are free and the stem is usually the infinitive, so the only memory work left is a short list of verbs with irregular future stems. The good news: the endings stay 100% regular even on these — only the stem is odd.
| Verb | Future stem | Example |
|---|---|---|
| être | ser- | je serai |
| avoir | aur- | j'aurai |
| aller | ir- | j'irai |
| faire | fer- | je ferai |
| pouvoir | pourr- | je pourrai |
| vouloir | voudr- | je voudrai |
| venir | viendr- | je viendrai |
| voir | verr- | je verrai |
| devoir | devr- | je devrai |
| falloir | faudr- | il faudra |
These are the same high-frequency verbs from the survival 4 and their families, so you're already meeting them everywhere. Drill just the stems — the avoir endings never change.
How to lock it in
- Recite the avoir present until it's instant. That single verb is your future endings.
- Default to "infinitive + avoir" for any regular verb. Don't overthink it.
- Memorize only the ~10 irregular stems as a short flashcard set — stem only.
- Type the -ai vs -ais distinction deliberately so you don't blur future and conditional.
The futur simple goes from "another table" to "a verb I already know, stuck on the end of the infinitive." That's the whole tense.
FAQ
What is the trick for French future tense endings?
The futur simple endings (-ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont) are the present tense of avoir (ai, as, a, avons, avez, ont). You already know avoir, so you already know the future endings. Just add them to the full infinitive: parler → je parlerai.
What are the French futur simple endings?
-ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont, added to the whole infinitive. Parler → je parlerai, tu parleras, il parlera, nous parlerons, vous parlerez, ils parleront. For -re verbs, drop the final e first: prendre → je prendrai.
How are the futur and conditionnel related?
They use the same stem, the full infinitive, but different endings. Futur uses the avoir endings (-ai, -as, -a...), while conditionnel uses the imparfait endings (-ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient). Same stem, two ending sets, both tenses solved at once.
