The ‘simple’ future | Le futur simple
Use
The simple future is used to talk about projects or to make forecasts. It’s used to talk about things that are not certain.
Formation
The ‘simple’ future (le futur simple) is so-named because it is a one-word tense. In other words, its formation is simple because there is no auxiliary.
The French simple future tense is generally translated into English with the modal auxiliary ‘will.’
The future stem ends in -r: this sound characterizes the future (and the conditional).
The endings for the simple future are: -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont.
The future stem for ‘-er’ and ‘-ir’ verbs is the infinitive.
Visiter => visiter + endings: je visiterai / tu visiteras / il visitera / nous visiterons / vous visiterez / ils visiteront
Finir => finir + endings: je finirai / tu finiras / il finira / nous finirons / vous finirez / ils finiront
For regular ‘-re’ verbs, the stem is the infinitive minus the final ‘e’.
Prendre => prendr + endings: je prendrai / tu prendras / il prendra / nous prendrons / vous prendrez / ils prendront
Irregular future stems
Some irregular verbs have irregular future stems.
Nevertheless, the future endings are the same for all verbs: -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont.
The future stem for ‘être’ is ‘ser-‘ and for ‘avoir’ is ‘aur-‘.
- être ‘to be’
je serai, I will be
tu seras, you will be
il, elle / on sera, he, she (it) / one will be
nous serons, we will be
vous serez, you will be
ils / elles seront, they will be
- avoir ‘to have’
j’aurai, I will have
tu auras, you will have
il, elle / on aura, he, she (it) / one will have
nous aurons, we will have
vous aurez, you will have
ils / elles auront, they will have
Conjugate and check by clicking on ‘C’.
Here are the most common verbs that have irregular future stems:
| infinitive | stem | future | translation |
| aller | ir- | j’irai | I will go |
| courir | courr- | je courrai | I will run |
| devoir | devr- | je devrai | I will be obliged to |
| envoyer | enverr- | j’enverrai | I will send |
| faire | fer- | je ferai | I will do |
| falloir | faudr- | il faudra | it will be necessary |
| mourir | mourr- | je mourrai | I will die |
| obtenir | obtiendr- | j’obtiendrai | I will obtain |
| pleuvoir | pleuvr- | il pleuvra | it will rain |
| pouvoir | pourr- | je pourrai | I will be able |
| recevoir | recevr- | je recevrai | I will receive |
| savoir | saur- | je saurai | I will know |
| tenir | tiendr- | je tiendrai | I will hold |
| venir | viendr- | je viendrai | I will come |
| voir | verr- | je verrai | I will see |
| vouloir | voudr- | je voudrai | I will want |
Listen & repeat
https://www.lepointdufle.net/ressources_fle/conjugaison_futur.htm
Et maintenant on pratique 🙂
Musique
Here are some songs with simple future tense to make it easier to remember 🙂
- Francis Cabrel, “Octobre” : http://platea.pntic.mec.es/cvera/hotpot/cabrel2.htm
- Claude Nougaro, “Tu verras” : http://platea.pntic.mec.es/cvera/hotpot/nougaro.htm
- Albin de la Simone et Jeanne Cherhal
“Ces mots stupides” : http://platea.pntic.mec.es/cvera/hotpot/ces_mots_stupides.htm
puis http://platea.pntic.mec.es/cvera/hotpot/ces_mots_stupidesb.htm
- Clarika, “Ne me demande pas” : http://platea.pntic.mec.es/cvera/hotpot/clarika_ne_me_demande_pasb.htm
- Jacques Brel, “Ne me quitte pas” : http://platea.pntic.mec.es/cvera/hotpot/nemequittepas_futur.htm
- Grégoire, “Rue des étoiles” : http://platea.pntic.mec.es/cvera/hotpot/gregoire_rue_des_etoilesc.htm
- Zaz, “On ira” : http://platea.pntic.mec.es/cvera/hotpot/zaz_on_irac.htm
Activités
Write
- Select the correct ending from the list
Exercise 1
Exercise 2
Exercise 3 - Turn the present into the future simple. (learningapps.org)
- Conjugate the verbs. (restena.lu)
- Give the ‘futur simple’ of the verb indicated in parentheses. => bottom of the page (utexas.edu)
- Complete the sentences by conjugating the verbs in the future simple.. (lingolia)
- Exercises on the future simple tense: (tsedryck.ca)
Futur simple (exercice 1)
Futur Simple (exercice 2)
Futur Simple (exercice 3)
Futur Simple (exercice 4)
Futur Simple (exercice 5)
Futur Simple (exercice 6)
Trouvez une forme correcte du futur
Listen & Write
- Listen and write the verb. (learningapps.org)
- Choose the correct verb for each sentence and listen to the audio file. (appuifle.net)
- Listen and write the verb. If you don’t understand, there is a hint under the question mark. (lepointdufle.net)
- Listen and write the verb (appuifle.net)
- Exercice 1
Exercice 2
Exercice 3 - They speak at native speed! Listen and fill in the blanks. When the exercise is finished, listen to the audio file several times and concentrate on the pronunciation. (appuifle)
- Turn the future tense into the future simple tense. (utexas.edu)
Say something about the future tense with “quand” (when) et “lorsque” (when, formal register)
- Conjugate verbs. (mheducation.com)
- Conjugate verbs. (maret.at)
- Conjugate verbs. (learningapps.com)
Write
- Production 1: the weather report
On the Météo France website, look at the forecast for Montpellier: http://www.meteofrance.com/previsions-meteo-france/montpellier/34000
Write a text to present the weather for the next 7 days in Montpellier (weather, temperature, and wind).
- Production 2: astrological forecasts
Choose 3 astrological signs and write their horoscopes for tomorrow (serious, optimistic, pessimistic, parodic… as you like!)
- Production 3: the vision of the future
What will the world be like in the future? Geography, nature, cities, technology, food, politics, economy, societies, health… Imagine our world in 2050. Work with your own ideas or these images. Write a text about it.
- Production 4: me in 10 years
How do you see yourself in 10 years? Write about it (real or fictional, as you like).