The future simple is a verb tense used to talk about an action that will take place later, in the future. The formation of the future simple in French is relatively simple and regular for most verbs.
Formation rules
To conjugate a verb in the future simple, add the endings -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont to the infinitive of the verb. For the majority of verbs, the complete infinitive serves as the stem. However, some verbs use an irregular stem.
Regular verbs
- Parler : je parlerai, tu parleras, il/elle parlera, nous parlerons, vous parlerez, ils/elles parleront
- Finir : je finirai, tu finiras, il/elle finira, nous finirons, vous finirez, ils/elles finiront
- Prendre, connaître, boire : je prendrai, je connaîtrai, je boirai
Irregular verbs
Some very common verbs have irregular stems in the future simple:
- Être : je serai
- Avoir : j'aurai
- Aller : j'irai
- Faire : je ferai
- Savoir : je saurai
- Voir : je verrai
- Pouvoir : je pourrai
- Devoir : je devrai
- Vouloir : je voudrai
- Falloir : il faudra
- Pleuvoir : il pleuvra
Usage of the future simple
The future simple is used to express:
- An action that will happen in the future: Demain, il fera beau. (Tomorrow, it will be nice.)
- A promise or a prediction: Je te promets que je serai là. (I promise you that I will be there.)
- A supposition about the present: Il sera déjà arrivé. (He will have already arrived.)
This tense is essential for talking about future events, expressing intentions, or making predictions in French.