How to talk about the future in French

Knowing how to talk about the future is essential for when it comes to discussing the weather, making plans and a million other things besides. There are a few different ways you can talk about the future in French, and each of them are vital for being able to communicate effectively in conversations. Let’s take a look at them.

‘Le futur proche’ means ‘the near future’. We use it when referring to something that is about to happen, or will happen very soon. Just as in English we can say ‘I am going to’ or ‘I’m about to’, so in French we can say ‘je vais’ - so long as the action being referred to isn’t in the distant future.

To form the futur proche, we use ‘aller’ in the present tense, followed by an infinitive. Let’s take a look at the different conjugations for ‘aller’ in the present.

ALLER - PRÉSENT

• je vais - I go/I am going
• tu vas - you go/you are going
• il va - he goes/he is going
• elle va - she goes/she is going
• on va - we go/we are going or one goes/one is going
• nous allons - we go/we are going
• vous allez - you go/you are going
• ils vont - they go/they are going
• elles vont - they go/they are going

Examples

Il va pleuvoir - It is going to rain

Je vais rentrer à la maison maintenant, si ça te va - I am going to go home now, if that’s okay

You can also use the expression ‘être sur le point de'. For more on how and when to use this expression, see Lesson 20 of The Complete French Course.

The futur simple - ‘simple future’ in English - can be used to refer to something that takes place at any point in the future. Below you will find the conjugations for the first two verb groups.

1st group

Parler - to speak

• je parlerai - I will speak
• tu parleras - you will speak
• il parlera - he will speak
• elle parlera - she will speak
• on parlera - one/we will speak
• nous parlerons - we will speak
• vous parlerez - you will speak
• ils parleront - they will speak
• elles parleront - they will speak

2nd group

Obéir - to obey

• j'obéirai - I will obey
• tu obéiras - you will obey
• il obéira - he will obey
• elle obéira - she will obey
• on obéira - one/we will obey
• nous obéirons - we will obey
• vous obéirez - you will obey
• ils obéiront - they will obey
• elles obéiront - they will obey

Examples

Nous mangerons avec mes parents la semaine prochaine - We will eat with my parents next week

Ils agiront dès que possible - They will act as soon as possible

To see how the futur simple is conjugated in the 3rd group, see Lesson 21 of the Complete French Course.

To understand how reflexive verbs conjugate in the future, check out Lesson 22 of the Complete French Course.

To understand how the futur antérieur is used, please see Lesson 35 of the Complete French Course.