Lesson 27: Near Future (aller + verb)
Le futur proche — aller + Infinitive · A0 → A1 · Part 4 · Past & Future
You will talk about the near future with aller + infinitive. You will be able to say what you are going to do tonight, tomorrow and next week, ask other people about their plans, and make negative and question forms.
In this lesson
- futur proche
- aller + infinitive
- near-future plans
- future time markers
Vocabulary
| French | Meaning | Say it | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| je vais | I am going (to) | zhuh veh ژُ وے | The je form of aller. Used as the future helper: je vais manger. |
| tu vas | you are going (to) | tü va تُو وا | Notice: the -s of tu vas is silent. tu vas parler. |
| il va / elle va | he is going (to) / she is going (to) | eel va / el va ایل وا / ایل وا | Same sound for il and elle here: 'va'. |
| nous allons | we are going (to) | noo-za-lon نوزالوں | Liaison: nous + allons = noo-za-lon. Link it, do not pause. |
| vous allez | you are going (to) | voo-za-lay ووزالے | Liaison again: voo-za-lay. |
| ils vont / elles vont | they are going (to) | eel von / el von ایل ووں / ایل ووں | Short and nasal: von. The final t is silent. |
| demain | tomorrow | duh-man دُو مان | The 'ain' is nasal — air goes through the nose. |
| ce soir | this evening / tonight | suh swar سُہ سوار | ce soir can mean tonight or this evening. |
| la semaine prochaine | next week | la suh-men pro-shen لا سُمین پروشین | prochaine is the feminine of prochain ('next'). Compare la semaine dernière from lesson 25. |
| le mois prochain | next month | luh mwa pro-shan لُہ موا پروشاں | le mois is masculine. The final s of mois is silent. |
| l'année prochaine | next year | la-nay pro-shen لانے پروشین | l'année = the year (feminine), so prochaine with an e. |
| bientôt | soon | byan-to بیاں تو | The final t is silent. |
| tout de suite | right away / immediately | too duh süeet تو دُہ سُویت | Literally 'all of following'. Say it as one block. |
| après | after / afterwards | a-preh آ پرے | The final s is silent. |
| plus tard | later | plü tar پلُو تار | plus here is pronounced 'plü' (the s is silent). tard ends in a real r. |
| le futur proche | the near future (aller + infinitive) | luh fü-tür prosh لُہ فُوتُر پروش | The name means 'the near future' because it talks about things coming very soon. |
Pronunciation
| Word | Sounds like | Slowly | How to make the sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| je vais / tu vas | zhuh veh, tü va | zhuh veh ... tü va | The -s of tu vas is completely silent. Say 'tü va', never 'tü vas'. |
| nous allons / vous allez | noo-za-lon, voo-za-lay | noo ... za ... lon / voo ... za ... lay | Liaison joins the final s of nous/vous to the vowel: one smooth sound, no pause. |
| ils vont | eel von | eel ... von | vont is nasal: the air goes through the nose and the tongue must not close the n. Do not say 'vont-uh'. |
| demain | duh-man | duh ... man | 'ain' is a nasal of this lesson. English 'man' would be wrong — the n never closes. |
| je vais manger | zhuh-veh-mahn-zhay | zhuh veh ... mahn ... zhay | Run all three words together with no pause. The infinitive keeps its normal sound: manger = mahn-zhay. |
The futur proche is easy to pronounce: learn the six sounds of aller, then say the infinitive normally. Two traps: the silent s in tu vas, and the nasal vowels in demain / prochain.
Grammar
The formula: aller (present) + infinitive
To talk about the near future, take the present tense of aller (je vais, tu vas, il va, nous allons, vous allez, ils vont) and add the INFINITIVE of the action verb. That is the whole rule. It is easy because only aller changes — the main verb stays as an infinitive and never changes, not for je, not for nous, not for ils. je vais manger, tu vas partir, il va arriver, nous allons voyager, vous allez travailler, ils vont venir. In English this is 'I am going to eat', 'you are going to leave', and so on.
Questions, negatives — and how it differs from the passé composé
Questions: Est-ce que tu vas venir ? or simply Tu vas venir ? (with a rising voice). Qu'est-ce que tu vas faire ? = What are you going to do? Negative: put ne…pas around the form of ALLER, not around the infinitive: je ne vais pas travailler. Now the important contrast. je vais manger = I am going to eat (future). j'ai mangé = I ate (past). One word changes everything: vais or ai. French also has a second future tense called the futur simple (je mangerai), but that is NOT A1 — do not use it yet. Stick to aller + infinitive.
Examples
| French | English | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| Ce soir, je vais manger au restaurant. | Tonight I am going to eat at a restaurant. | suh swar, zhuh veh mahn-zhay o res-to-rahn |
| Tu vas partir à quelle heure ? | What time are you going to leave? | tü va par-teer a kel ur ↗ |
| Il va arriver dans dix minutes. | He is going to arrive in ten minutes. | eel va a-ree-vay dahn dee mee-nüt |
| Nous allons voyager en train demain. | We are going to travel by train tomorrow. | noo-za-lon vwa-ya-zhay ahn tran duh-man |
| Vous allez travailler la semaine prochaine ? | Are you going to work next week? | voo-za-lay tra-va-yay la suh-men pro-shen ↗ |
| Ils vont venir avec nous. | They are going to come with us. | eel von vuh-neer a-vek noo |
| Je vais téléphoner à ma mère tout de suite. | I am going to call my mother right away. | zhuh veh tay-lay-fo-nay a ma mehr too duh süeet |
| Qu'est-ce que tu vas faire ce soir ? | What are you going to do tonight? | kes-kuh tü va fehr suh swar ↗ |
| Je ne vais pas travailler demain. | I am not going to work tomorrow. | zhuh nuh veh pa tra-va-yay duh-man |
| Est-ce que tu vas venir à la fête ? | Are you going to come to the party? | es-kuh tü va vuh-neer a la fet ↗ |
| Nous allons acheter une nouvelle voiture l'année prochaine. | We are going to buy a new car next year. | noo-za-lon ash-tay ün noo-vel vwa-tür la-nay pro-shen |
| Il va pleuvoir bientôt. | It is going to rain soon. | eel va pluh-vwar byan-to |
| Hier, j'ai mangé une pizza ; demain, je vais manger du riz. | Yesterday I ate a pizza; tomorrow I am going to eat rice. | ee-yehr, zhay mahn-zhay ün peet-za; duh-man, zhuh veh mahn-zhay dü ree |
| Plus tard, je vais étudier le français en France. | Later, I am going to study French in France. | plü tar, zhuh veh ay-tü-dyay luh frahn-seh ahn frahns |
Dialogue: Friday afternoon — Qu'est-ce que tu vas faire ce week-end ?
Notice how the two friends mix the passé composé (what happened) and the futur proche (what is going to happen) in one short conversation — exactly like real life.
| French | English | Say it | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Salut Nadia ! Qu'est-ce que tu vas faire ce week-end ? | Hi Nadia! What are you going to do this weekend? | sa-lü na-dya, kes-kuh tü va fehr suh wee-kend ↗ |
| B | Demain, je vais aller à la mer avec mes parents. | Tomorrow I am going to go to the sea with my parents. | duh-man, zhuh veh za-lay a la mehr a-vek may pa-rahn |
| A | Génial ! Vous allez partir tôt ? | Great! Are you going to leave early? | zhay-nyal, voo-za-lay par-teer to ↗ |
| B | Oui, nous allons partir à cinq heures. Et toi ? | Yes, we are going to leave at five. And you? | wee, noo-za-lon par-teer a sank ur. ay twa ↗ |
| A | Moi, je ne vais pas voyager. Je vais travailler samedi. | Me, I am not going to travel. I am going to work on Saturday. | mwa, zhuh nuh veh pa vwa-ya-zhay. zhuh veh tra-va-yay sahm-dee |
| B | Oh non ! Et dimanche ? | Oh no! And on Sunday? | o non ↗ ay dee-mahnsh ↗ |
| A | Dimanche, je vais me reposer. Hier, j'ai travaillé douze heures ! | On Sunday I am going to rest. Yesterday I worked twelve hours! | dee-mahnsh, zhuh veh muh ruh-po-zay. ee-yehr, zhay tra-va-yay dooz ur |
| B | Ben, tu as raison. Bon week-end, alors ! | Well, you are right. Have a good weekend then! | ben, tü a ray-zon. bon wee-kend a-lor |
Say it out loud
- Ce soir, je vais manger au restaurant. — Tonight I am going to eat at a restaurant. Say it 3 times at natural speed.
- Demain, je vais travailler. — Tomorrow I am going to work. Keep demain nasal.
- Nous allons voyager la semaine prochaine. — We are going to travel next week. Liaison in nous allons: noo-za-lon.
- Ils vont venir avec nous. — They are going to come with us. Link vont + venir into one block.
- Je ne vais pas travailler demain. — I am not going to work tomorrow. ne + vais + pas: the ne…pas sits around vais only.
- Est-ce que tu vas venir ? — Are you going to come? Rise at the end. est-ce que = es-kuh, all linked.
- Qu'est-ce que tu vas faire ce soir ? — What are you going to do tonight? The fast, natural way to ask about plans.
- Hier, j'ai mangé une pizza. Demain, je vais manger du riz. — Yesterday I ate a pizza. Tomorrow I am going to eat rice. Try both tenses in one breath: ai, then vais.
Listening practice: Mes projets — my plans for the week
Ce soir, je vais rester à la maison. Je vais regarder un film et je vais manger une pizza. Demain, je vais travailler au bureau. La semaine prochaine, nous allons voyager à Karachi. Hier, j'ai acheté les billets de train ! Le mois prochain, mes parents vont venir chez moi. Bientôt, je vais étudier le français en France.
Tonight I am going to stay at home. I am going to watch a film and eat a pizza. Tomorrow I am going to work at the office. Next week we are going to travel to Karachi. Yesterday I bought the train tickets! Next month my parents are going to come to my house. Soon I am going to study French in France.
Questions
- What is the speaker going to do tonight? Stay at home / Travel to Karachi / Study in France → Stay at home
- What is the speaker going to eat tonight? Rice / A pizza / Bread → A pizza
- Where is the speaker going to work tomorrow? At home / At the office / At a restaurant → At the office
- Where are they going to travel next week? To Karachi / To Lahore / To France → To Karachi
- What did the speaker buy yesterday? A film / A pizza / Train tickets → Train tickets
Remember this
- Futur proche = aller (present) + infinitive.
- aller present: je vais, tu vas, il/elle va, nous allons, vous allez, ils/elles vont.
- Only aller changes; the main verb stays an infinitive.
- je vais manger (future) vs j'ai mangé (past) — one helper word changes the whole meaning.
- Future time words: demain, ce soir, la semaine prochaine, le mois prochain, l'année prochaine, bientôt, tout de suite, après, plus tard.
- Asking about plans: Qu'est-ce que tu vas faire ? / Est-ce que tu vas venir ?
- Negative: je ne vais pas travailler.
- The futur simple (je mangerai) is NOT A1 — keep it for later; use aller + infinitive for now.
Common mistakes
| Instead of | Say | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Je vais mange une pizza. | Je vais manger une pizza. | The second verb must stay in the infinitive. Only aller is conjugated — this is the whole point of the futur proche. |
| Je vais à manger. | Je vais manger. | There is no preposition between aller and the infinitive, although English says 'I am going to eat'. |
| Je ne vais travailler pas. | Je ne vais pas travailler. | ne…pas wraps around the conjugated helper (vais), not around the infinitive. |
| Tu vais partir demain ? | Tu vas partir demain ? | The tu form of aller is vas, not vais. vais is only for je. |
| Demain, j'ai mangé une pizza. | Demain, je vais manger une pizza. | demain is in the future, so you need the futur proche. Using the past with demain is a time logic error. |
Practice questions
- How do you say 'I am going to eat'? Je vais manger / Je vais mange / J'ai manger / Je manger vais — Je vais manger
- Which part of the futur proche changes with the person? The infinitive / The form of aller / Both / Neither — The form of aller
- Complete: Nous ___ voyager en train. vais / vas / allons / allez — allons
- Which sentence means 'We are going to come'? Nous allons venir / Nous sommes venus / Nous venons / Nous avons venu — Nous allons venir
- How do you make 'I am going to work' negative? Je vais ne pas travailler / Je ne vais pas travailler / Je ne travaille pas vais / Je vais pas ne travailler — Je ne vais pas travailler
- What does 'j'ai mangé' mean, compared with 'je vais manger'? I ate (past) / I am going to eat (future) / I am eating / I want to eat — I ate (past)
- Which word means 'next week'? la semaine dernière / la semaine prochaine / ce soir / plus tard — la semaine prochaine
- How do you ask 'What are you going to do?' Qu'est-ce que tu vas faire ? / Qu'est-ce que tu fais faire ? / Qu'est-ce que tu as fait ? / Où est-ce que tu vas faire ? — Qu'est-ce que tu vas faire ?
- 'Tout de suite' means: later / soon / right away / after — right away
- Why should you NOT say 'je mangerai' in this course? It is a spelling mistake / It is the futur simple, which is not A1 / It means the past / It is only for questions — It is the futur simple, which is not A1
Homework (15 minutes)
Write 8 sentences about your plans for tonight, tomorrow, next week and next year using je vais + infinitive. Then write 2 negative sentences (je ne vais pas…) and 2 questions (Est-ce que tu vas… ?). Finish by saying out loud: what you did yesterday (passé composé) and what you are going to do tomorrow (futur proche) — 3 sentences each.
Lesson 27 of 45 · Part 4 · Past & Future · See the full A0 → A2 roadmap · Français A0 → A2