French tense

French futur simple

The 'real' future tense. Used for predictions, plans, promises, and the consequence half of conditional sentences (si + present, futur simple).

When to use Futur simple

Prediction or promise

Use it for what you expect or commit to happening.

Je t'appellerai ce soir.
I will call you tonight.

Definitive plan

It often sounds more committed, distant, or written than futur proche.

Nous partirons en juillet.
We will leave in July.

Future clause

French uses the future after quand and dès que when the event is future.

Quand tu arriveras, je t'appellerai.
When you arrive, I will call you.

How to form Futur simple

Add -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont to the infinitive, to -re minus final e, or to an irregular future stem.

Patterns and conjugation examples

Regular -er infinitive stem

Regular. Regular -er verbs keep the full infinitive.

parler , to speak

jeparlerai
tuparleras
ilparlera
nousparlerons
vousparlerez
ilsparleront

Regular -ir infinitive stem

Regular. Regular -ir verbs keep the full infinitive.

finir , to finish

jefinirai
tufiniras
ilfinira
nousfinirons
vousfinirez
ilsfiniront

Regular -re stem

Regular. Regular -re verbs drop the final e before future endings.

attendre , to wait

jeattendrai
tuattendras
ilattendra
nousattendrons
vousattendrez
ilsattendront

e / é → è

Transformation. Spelling-change families preserve pronunciation with stems such as achèter-.

acheter , to buy

jeachèterai
tuachèteras
ilachètera
nousachèterons
vousachèterez
ilsachèteront

-enir → -iendr-

Transformation. Venir, tenir, and their prefixed families use -iendr-.

venir , to come

jeviendrai
tuviendras
ilviendra
nousviendrons
vousviendrez
ilsviendront

y → i

Transformation. Many verbs in -yer change y to i in the future stem.

essayer , to try

jeessaierai
tuessaieras
ilessaiera
nousessaierons
vousessaierez
ilsessaieront

Double l or t

Transformation. Some -eler and -eter families double l or t in the future stem.

appeler , to call

jeappellerai
tuappelleras
ilappellera
nousappellerons
vousappellerez
ilsappelleront

-faire → -fer-

Transformation. Faire and its prefixed family use a stem in -fer-.

faire , to do

jeferai
tuferas
ilfera
nousferons
vousferez
ilsferont

-cevoir → -cevr-

Transformation. The -cevoir family uses a future stem in -cevr-.

recevoir , to receive

jerecevrai
turecevras
ilrecevra
nousrecevrons
vousrecevrez
ilsrecevront

-courir → -courr-

Transformation. Courir and its prefixed family double r in the future stem.

courir , to run

jecourrai
tucourras
ilcourra
nouscourrons
vouscourrez
ilscourront

-cueillir → -cueiller-

Transformation. Cueillir and its prefixed family use a stem in -cueiller-.

cueillir , to pick

jecueillerai
tucueilleras
ilcueillera
nouscueillerons
vouscueillerez
ilscueilleront

-quérir → -querr-

Transformation. The productive -quérir family uses a stem in -querr-.

acquérir , to acquire

jeacquerrai
tuacquerras
ilacquerra
nousacquerrons
vousacquerrez
ilsacquerront

-voir → -verr-

Transformation. Voir and its productive family use a stem in -verr-.

voir , to see

jeverrai
tuverras
ilverra
nousverrons
vousverrez
ilsverront

envoyer → enverr-

Transformation. Envoyer and renvoyer use the future stem enverr- or renverr-.

envoyer , to send

jeenverrai
tuenverras
ilenverra
nousenverrons
vousenverrez
ilsenverront

-asseoir → -assiér-

Transformation. The productive asseoir family uses a future stem in -assiér-.

asseoir , to sit down

jeassiérai
tuassiéras
ilassiéra
nousassiérons
vousassiérez
ilsassiéront

-mouvoir → -mouvr-

Transformation. The mouvoir family uses a future stem in -mouvr-.

mouvoir , to move

jemouvrai
tumouvras
ilmouvra
nousmouvrons
vousmouvrez
ilsmouvront

Highly irregular verbs

  • être → serai · serons · seront
  • avoir → aurai · aurons · auront
  • aller → irai · irons · iront
  • savoir → saurai · saurons · sauront
  • pouvoir → pourrai · pourrons · pourront
  • vouloir → voudrai · voudrons · voudront
  • devoir → devrai · devrons · devront
  • mourir → mourrai · mourrons · mourront
  • falloir → faudra
  • pleuvoir → pleuvra
  • valoir → vaudrai · vaudrons · vaudront

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