The future 1 Formation of the future 1.1 Regular For
verbs
ending in -er , and -ir the future tense is formed by taking the
infinitive
as
stem
and
adding the following endings: -ai , -as ,
-a , -ons , -ez ,
-ont .
Table 13.1.1a: Future of -er verbs
aimer to like
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j’ aimerai tu
aimeras il / elle
aimera nous
aimerons vous
aimerez ils / elles
aimeront
Table 13.1.1b: Future of -ir verbs
finir to finish
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je
finirai tu
finiras il / elle
finira nous
finirons vous finirez ils / elles finiront
Je passerai te prendre à neuf
heures
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I'll pick you up at nine
Elle finira sa licence l'année
prochaine
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She'll finish her degree next year
Cela nous coûtera moins cher si nous voyageons en groupe.
It will cost us less if we go in a group.
Nous ne savons pas encore quand nous partirons.
We still don’t know when we will leave.
Nous les accompagnerons à la gare.
We’ll accompany them to the train station.
Nous vous donnerons notre réponse le plus tôt possible.
We’ll give you our reply as soon as possible.
Je ne leur parlerai que si vous le voulez.
I’ll only speak to them if you want me to.
Table 13.1.1a: Future of -re verbs
rendre to give back
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je
rendrai tu
rendras il / elle
rendra nous
rendrons vous
rendrez ils / elles
rendront
For regular verbs ending in -re the process is the same except the final -e of the infinitive is removed:
Je te rendrai ton livre la semaine
prochaine
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I'll give you back your book next week
Cette nuit la température descendra en dessous de 0°C.
Tonight the temperature will fall below 0°C.
Une visite en Bretagne, ça te détendra.
A visit to Brittany, that will be relaxing for you.
Est-ce que le premier ministre répondra aux attentes des chômeurs?
Will the prime minister respond to the expectations of unemployed people?
1.2 Semi-irregular As regards
semi-irregulars
,
verbs conjugating like mener and acheter change the -e
in the
stem
to -è :
mener
→
je mènerai
acheter
→
j'achèterai
Note, however, that verbs conjugating like espérer keep the -é in the stem:
Je t'emmènerai à la gare si
tu veux
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I'll take you to the station if you like
Nous n'avons plus de yaourt. J'en rachèterai
demain
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We're out of yoghurt. I'll buy some more tomorrow
Ecoutez bien! Je ne le répéterai pas
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Pay attention! I won't repeat this
D’après la météo il gèlera demain matin.
According to the weather forecast it’ll be frosty tomorrow morning.
Le candidat possédera une excellente connaissance de l’anglais.
The candidate will have an excellent knowledge of English.
Avec ce nouvel appareil on décèlera les faux billets en quelques secondes.
With this new device counterfeit notes will be detected in a few seconds.
J’achèterai certainement un diesel la prochaine fois.
I’ll definitely buy a diesel next time.
Ils régleront cette facture aussitôt que possible.
They’ll pay this bill as soon as possible.
Verbs conjugating like jeter and appeler
double the final consonant:
jeter
→
je jetterai
appeler
→
j'appellerai
Elle rappellera dans une heure
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She'll call back in an hour
Je jetterai ça à la poubelle
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I'll throw that in the bin
La femme de ménage jettera ces fleurs demain matin.
The cleaning lady will throw out these flowers in the morning.
Je renouvellerai mon abonnement le mois prochain.
I’ll renew my subscription next month.
Dès le mois prochain l’usine ne rejettera plus ses déchets dans le fleuve.
From next month onwards the factory will no longer throw its waste in the river.
S’il veut m’aider je l’appellerai.
If he wants to help me I’ll give him a call.
Nous étiquetterons les pots de confiture quand ils seront froids.
We’ll label the jam jars when they are cold.
For other
semi-irregulars
ending -ger and -cer there is no change:
Je n'ai pas faim pour l'instant. Je mangerai plus tard.
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I'm not hungry at the moment. I'll eat later.
Dès que le contrat sera signé ils déménageront.
As soon as the contract is signed they’ll move.
Le concert commencera à sept heures.
The concert will start at seven o’clock.
L’année prochaine il commencera des études de médecine.
Next year he’ll start medical studies.
Le Directeur annoncera la nouvelle ce matin.
The Head will announce the news this morning.
1.3 IrregularTable 13.1.3a: Future of irregular verbs
Infinitive
Future
avoir
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j'aurai
courir
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je courrai
devoir
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je devrai
envoyer
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j'enverrai
être
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je serai
faire
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je ferai
falloir il faudra
mourir
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je mourrai
pouvoir
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je pourrai
recevoir
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je recevrai
savoir
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je saurai
tenir
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je tiendrai
valoir
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je vaudrai
venir
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je viendrai
voir
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je verrai
vouloir
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je voudrai
Selon la méteo il fera beau
demain
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According to the forecast it'll be nice tomorrow
La cérémonie aura lieu ce soir
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The ceremony will take place tonight
Nous serons de retour la semaine
prochaine
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We'll be back next week
Il suffira de partir plus tôt pour éviter les embouteillages.
You just have to leave earlier to avoid the traffic jams.
Restez assez loin, sinon le cerf s’enfuira.
Keep your distance, otherwise the deer will run off.
Promets-moi que tu ne riras pas quand je te dirai ce qui m’est arrivé.
Promise me you won’t laugh when I tell you what happened to me.
S’il nous arrive quelque chose mon frère pourvoira à l’éducation de nos enfants.
If anything happens to us my brother will provide for the education of our children.
Quand le lait bouillira ajoutez le riz.
When the milk boils add the rice.
2 Use of the future 2.1 Situating action in the near or distant
futureThe future tense is used to situate an action or state in the near or
distant future:
Vous recevrez votre commande
demain
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You will receive your order tomorrow
2.2 Sense of an imperativeAs with English also, the future tense can have the sense of an
imperative
:
Demain tu m'aideras à descendre
les valises
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Tomorrow you will help me take down the suitcases
2.3 Quand and dès
que It is also used after quand
and dès que when referring
to future time where English would use the present tense:
Tu pourras apprendre à conduire quand tu auras
dix-sept ans
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You can learn to drive when you are seventeen
Je te téléphonerai dès que je serai
à Manchester
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I will phone you as soon as I'm in Manchester
2.4 Immediate future When situating an action or state in the near future, it is possible,
as in English, to use aller plus the
infinitive
.
This is called the immediate future :
Il vaut mieux prendre un parapluie - je pense qu'il va
pleuvoir
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You'd / We'd better take an umbrella - I think it's going
to rain
Ce soir nous allons dîner au restaurant
This evening we’re going to dine in a restaurant.
Je vais ranger la maison avant leur arrivée.
I’m going to tidy the house before they arrive.
Aujourd’hui nous allons visiter un musée.
Today we’re going to visit a museum.
Je vais peindre leur chambre en jaune.
I’m going to paint their bedroom yellow.
Ils vont réparer la voiture mardi.
They’re going to repair the car on Tuesday.