The future tense
When to use it: to describe what will or shall happen at a certain time in the future.
How to form it: there are two parts - (i) the future stem and (ii) the future endings.
Forming the stemFor regular -er and -ir verbs use the infinitive as the stem and just addthe appropriate ending depending on what is doing the verb:
e.g. je regarderai, nous écouterons, ils finiront.
For regular -re verbs drop the -e from the end of -re to form a stem:
e.g. il vendra.
Future endingsThe endings of future tense verbs always follow the same pattern:
je ... -ai
tu ... -as
il/elle ... -a
nous ... -ons
vous ... -ez
ils/elles ... -ont
Handy tip: notice that the endings are the same as the present tense of the verb avoir, except for nous and vous forms.
For irregular verbs you only need to learn the stem as the endings are the same as for regular verbs.
Once you have learnt the je form of the stem and the endings, you will know the whole verb!
Here is a list of common irregular future tense verbs
aller ... j'irai
avoir ... j'aurai
boire ... je boirai
envoyer ... j'enverrai
croire ... je croirai
devoir ... je devrai
dire ... je dirai
écrire ... j‘écrirai
être ... je serai
faire ... je ferai
falloir ... il faudra
lire ... je lirai
mettre ... je mettrai
pleuvoir ... il pleuvra
pouvoir ... je pourrai
prendre ... je prendrai
revevoir ... je recevrai
rire ... je ririai
savoir ... je saurai
tenir ... je tiendrai
venir ... je viendrai
voir ... je verrai
vouloir ... je voudrai
How to form it: there are two parts - (i) the future stem and (ii) the future endings.
Forming the stemFor regular -er and -ir verbs use the infinitive as the stem and just addthe appropriate ending depending on what is doing the verb:
e.g. je regarderai, nous écouterons, ils finiront.
For regular -re verbs drop the -e from the end of -re to form a stem:
e.g. il vendra.
Future endingsThe endings of future tense verbs always follow the same pattern:
je ... -ai
tu ... -as
il/elle ... -a
nous ... -ons
vous ... -ez
ils/elles ... -ont
Handy tip: notice that the endings are the same as the present tense of the verb avoir, except for nous and vous forms.
For irregular verbs you only need to learn the stem as the endings are the same as for regular verbs.
Once you have learnt the je form of the stem and the endings, you will know the whole verb!
Here is a list of common irregular future tense verbs
aller ... j'irai
avoir ... j'aurai
boire ... je boirai
envoyer ... j'enverrai
croire ... je croirai
devoir ... je devrai
dire ... je dirai
écrire ... j‘écrirai
être ... je serai
faire ... je ferai
falloir ... il faudra
lire ... je lirai
mettre ... je mettrai
pleuvoir ... il pleuvra
pouvoir ... je pourrai
prendre ... je prendrai
revevoir ... je recevrai
rire ... je ririai
savoir ... je saurai
tenir ... je tiendrai
venir ... je viendrai
voir ... je verrai
vouloir ... je voudrai