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Le Futur — futur proche vs futur simple | French Grammar

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Futur proche vs futur simple. This guide explains Parler du futur in French with clear rules, real examples and practice for every CEFR level. For instance: « Je vais manger » — I’m going to eat.

Parler du futur

Futur proche vs futur simple

1. Le futur proche

SujetExempleTraduction
jeJe vais manger.I’m going to eat.
nousNous allons partir demain.We’re going to leave tomorrow.
ilsIls vont arriver bientôt.They’re going to arrive soon.

2. Le futur simple

Personneparlerfinirprendre*
jeparleraifiniraiprendrai
tuparlerasfinirasprendras
il/elleparlerafiniraprendra
nousparleronsfinironsprendrons
vousparlerezfinirezprendrez
ils/ellesparlerontfinirontprendront

3. Les irréguliers essentiels

VerbeFuturExemple
êtreser-je serai
avoiraur-tu auras le temps
allerir-elle ira à Paris
fairefer-nous ferons attention
pouvoir / voirpourr- / verr-vous pourrez · ils verront
venir / devoirviendr- / devr-je viendrai · tu devras

💡 Quel futur choisir ?

Futur proche = planned / about to happen (spoken French loves it) : « Je vais appeler ce soir. »

Futur simple = predictions, promises, formal plans : « Il pleuvra demain. »

After quand about the future, French uses the future twice : « Quand tu arriveras, on mangera. »

📚 Free French lessons at learnfrench.co

🔊 Example sentences

Je vais t’appeler ce soir.I’m going to call you tonight.
Demain, il fera beau.Tomorrow the weather will be nice.
Quand tu arriveras, on mangera.When you arrive, we’ll eat.

✍️ Practice

futur proche : nous ___ (partir) demain. (aller + inf)

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allons partir

futur simple : je ___ (être) là à midi. (irregular ser-)

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serai

futur simple : ils ___ (avoir) le temps. (irregular aur-)

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auront

Quand tu ___ (arriver), appelle-moi. (future after quand)

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arriveras

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🎯 More practice — translation — put it into French

Translate into French: « I’m going to call you tonight. » (translation)

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Je vais t’appeler ce soir.

Translate into French: « Tomorrow the weather will be nice. » (translation)

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Demain, il fera beau.

Translate into French: « When you arrive, we’ll eat. » (translation)

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Quand tu arriveras, on mangera.

📖

Go further: this chart is one small piece — get the full picture in our guide DELF B2 — a realistic study plan that works.

Parler du futur in French — FAQ

How do you use Parler du futur in French?

Futur proche vs futur simple. Follow the rules and patterns in the lesson above, and practise with real sentences like « Je vais manger » (I’m going to eat).

Can you give an example of Parler du futur in French?

Yes — « Je vais manger » means « I’m going to eat », and « Nous allons partir demain » means « We’re going to leave tomorrow ». The lesson above has many more examples with explanations.

What CEFR level is Parler du futur?

This topic is introduced around A2 and refined at higher levels — pick your level from the links at the top of the page. You can also drill it with the interactive exercises and games below.

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🎬 The 20-second version

5 quick questions on « Le Futur » — guess before the reveal. Practise with the free games → Open this short as a page — transcript included →

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