Lesson 43: Le futur proche — je vais + verbe
Je vais partir — the future you can already use · A1 → A2 · A2 · Part 3 — Plans & the Future
You will talk about what you are going to do — tonight, tomorrow, next week. The near future is the easiest tense in French: you take aller in the present and add any infinitive. Nothing else changes, ever.
In this lesson
- le futur proche
- aller + infinitive
- future time words
- immediate plans
Vocabulary
| French | Meaning | Say it | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| je vais | I am going / I'm going to | zhuh vay ژُ وے | The engine of the whole tense. On its own it means 'I go'; with an infinitive it means 'I'm going to'. |
| je vais partir | I am going to leave | zhuh vay par-teer ژُ وے پارتيئر | aller + infinitive. The infinitive never changes — not for je, not for ils. |
| demain | tomorrow | duh-man دُوماں | Careful: 'demain' looks forward, 'hier' looks back. Both mean 'kal' in Urdu. |
| après-demain | the day after tomorrow | a-pray duh-man اپرے دُوماں | Just 'après' + 'demain'. Compare English 'after + tomorrow'. |
| ce soir | this evening / tonight | suh swar سُو سوار | ce matin / cet après-midi / ce soir — today's three blocks of time. |
| la semaine prochaine | next week | la suh-men pro-shen لا سُومین پروشین | prochain / prochaine = next. dernière = last. Keep the pair together. |
| bientôt | soon | byan-to بیاں تو | Nasal start, flat 'to' end. No hard t. |
| tout de suite | right away | too duh sweet تو دُو سوئیت | Means immediately — much sooner than 'bientôt'. Never confuse the two. |
| dans une heure | in an hour | don zün ur ڈاں زَن اُر | 'dans' + time = in (future). 'il y a' + time = ago (past). |
| on va | we are going to | on va اوں وا | In spoken French 'on' replaces 'nous' almost always. One word, no conjugation worry. |
| je vais voir | I am going to see | zhuh vay vwar ژُ وے ووار | 'Je vais voir' is used far more in real life than 'je verrai'. |
| l'avenir | the future | la-vuh-neer لاوُونیر | 'À l'avenir' = from now on, in future. |
Pronunciation
| Word | Sounds like | Slowly | How to make the sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| je vais | zhuh-vay | zhuh ... vay | One clean syllable for 'vais'. The s is silent. |
| je vais aller | zhuh-vay-za-lay | zhuh ... vay ... za ... lay | Liaison: vais + aller = vay-za-lay. No gap. |
| je vais manger | zhuh-vay-mon-zhay | zhuh ... vay ... mon ... zhay | No liaison here (m is a consonant) — but still one block. |
| nous allons | noo-za-lon | noo ... za ... lon | Compulsory liaison: noo-za-lon. |
| vous allez | voo-za-lay | voo ... za ... lay | Same liaison, different sound at the end: za-lay. |
| ils vont | eel-von | eel ... von | Nasal 'von'. Do not pronounce the final t. |
The near future is one smooth sound block. French speakers do not pause between 'vais' and the infinitive: 'je vais aller' becomes 'zhuh-vay-za-lay'. The liaison is not optional — it is what makes you sound French.
Grammar
aller in the present + any infinitive
This is the whole tense. Learn the six forms of aller once, and then every French verb becomes available to you in the future — including verbs you have never seen before.
Words that point to the future
These are the signals that tell a listener you are talking about the future — and they nearly always demand the near future or the simple future, never the past.
Examples
| French | English | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| Ce soir, je vais regarder un film. | Tonight I am going to watch a film. | suh swar, zhuh vay ruh-gar-day un feelm |
| Demain, je vais travailler de bonne heure. | Tomorrow I am going to work early. | duh-man, zhuh vay tra-va-yay duh bon ur |
| Nous allons manger chez ma sœur. | We are going to eat at my sister's. | noo-za-lon mon-zhay shay ma sur |
| Je vais t'appeler dans une heure. | I am going to call you in an hour. | zhuh vay ta-play don zün ur |
| Il va pleuvoir demain soir. | It is going to rain tomorrow evening. | eel va pluh-vwar duh-man swar |
| Qu'est-ce que tu vas faire ce week-end ? | What are you going to do this weekend? | kes-kuh tü va fair suh wee-kend ↗ |
| Nous allons partir bientôt. | We are going to leave soon. | noo-za-lon par-teer byan-to |
| Elle va téléphoner tout de suite. | She is going to call right away. | el va tay-lay-fo-nay too duh sweet |
| Je vais acheter du pain en rentrant. | I am going to buy some bread on the way home. | zhuh vay ash-tay dü pan on ron-tron |
| À l'avenir, je vais étudier tous les jours. | From now on, I am going to study every day. | a la-vuh-neer, zhuh vay ay-tü-dyay too lay zhoor |
Dialogue: Two friends make a plan for the weekend
Almost every verb here is aller + infinitive, because they are planning, not reporting. Listen for the two time words that anchor everything: 'samedi' and 'dix heures'.
| French | English | Say it | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Qu'est-ce que tu vas faire ce week-end ? | What are you going to do this weekend? | kes-kuh tü va fair suh wee-kend ↗ |
| B | Je vais voir mes parents samedi. Et toi ? | I am going to see my parents on Saturday. And you? | zhuh vay vwar may pa-ron sam-dee. ay twa ↗ |
| A | Moi, je ne vais rien faire. On va peut-être sortir dimanche ? | Me, I am not going to do anything. Shall we maybe go out on Sunday? | mwa, zhuh nuh vay ryan fair. on va puh-tetr sor-teer dee-monsh ↗ |
| B | Bonne idée ! On va manger quelque part ? | Good idea! Shall we eat somewhere? | bon ee-day. on va mon-zhay kel-kuh par ↗ |
| A | Oui. Je vais réserver une table pour midi. | Yes. I am going to book a table for noon. | wee. zhuh vay ray-zair-vay ün tabl poor mee-dee |
| B | Parfait. Je vais t'appeler samedi soir. | Perfect. I am going to call you on Saturday evening. | par-fay. zhuh vay ta-play sam-dee swar |
| A | D'accord. À dimanche ! | All right. See you Sunday! | da-kor. a dee-monsh |
Say it out loud
- Ce soir, je vais regarder un film. — Tonight I am going to watch a film. One smooth block — no pause after 'vay'.
- Demain, je vais travailler. — Tomorrow I am going to work. 'demain' is nasal: duh-man.
- Je vais t'appeler dans une heure. — I am going to call you in an hour. 't'appeler' = ta-play, one block.
- Nous allons partir bientôt. — We are going to leave soon. Liaison: noo-za-lon.
- Qu'est-ce que tu vas faire ? — What are you going to do? Rise at the end — it is a question.
- Je vais acheter du pain. — I am going to buy some bread. 'acheter' = ash-tay, silent p.
Listening practice: Amel's plan for next week
La semaine prochaine, je vais être très occupée. Lundi, je vais commencer un nouveau projet. Mardi et mercredi, je vais travailler à la maison. Jeudi, je vais déjeuner avec une amie. Vendredi, je vais partir à midi et je vais prendre le train. Et samedi, je vais enfin dormir !
Next week I am going to be very busy. On Monday I am going to start a new project. On Tuesday and Wednesday I am going to work from home. On Thursday I am going to have lunch with a friend. On Friday I am going to leave at noon and take the train. And on Saturday I am finally going to sleep!
Questions
- How is Amel going to be next week? Very free / Very busy / Very tired → Very busy
- What is she going to start on Monday? A new job / A new project / A new course → A new project
- Where is she going to work on Tuesday and Wednesday? At the office / At home / In a café → At home
- Who is she going to have lunch with? A friend / Her brother / Her boss → A friend
- What is she going to do on Saturday? Travel / Sleep / Work → Sleep
Remember this
- Near future = aller in the present + infinitive.
- aller: je vais, tu vas, il/elle va, nous allons, vous allez, ils/elles vont.
- The infinitive never changes: je vais manger, ils vont manger.
- Future time words: tout de suite, dans une heure, ce soir, demain, après-demain, la semaine prochaine, bientôt, un jour.
- 'dans' + time = in (future). 'il y a' + time = ago (past).
- Liaison is compulsory: je vais aller = zhuh-vay-za-lay.
- In speech 'on va' replaces 'nous allons' almost always.
- 'Je vais voir' is far more common in real life than 'je verrai'.
- Negation wraps aller: je ne vais pas partir.
Common mistakes
| Instead of | Say | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Je vais mangé un sandwich. | Je vais manger un sandwich. | After aller you need the infinitive, not a past participle. 'mangé' belongs to the past. |
| Nous allons mangeons. | Nous allons manger. | Only aller is conjugated. The second verb stays frozen. |
| Bientôt, je vais appeler — (for 'right now') | Tout de suite, je vais appeler. | 'Bientôt' means in a while, not now. |
| Il y a une heure, je vais partir. | Dans une heure, je vais partir. | 'il y a' points to the past and cannot go with a future tense. |
Practice questions
- How do you build the near future? avoir + infinitive / aller (present) + infinitive / être + past participle / infinitive + ending — aller (present) + infinitive
- Complete: 'Nous ___ manger au restaurant.' allons / allez / vont / vais — allons
- Which is correct? Je vais mange. / Je vais manger. / Je vais mangeons. / Je vais mangé. — Je vais manger.
- What does 'tout de suite' mean? Soon / Right away / Later / Sometimes — Right away
- Complete: 'Ils ___ partir demain.' vont / va / allons / vais — vont
- How do you say 'in an hour'? il y a une heure / dans une heure / une heure / à une heure — dans une heure
- Which sentence is a plan, not a habit? Tous les jours, je vais au bureau. / Demain, je vais aller au bureau. / Hier, je suis allé au bureau. / Je vais au bureau. — Demain, je vais aller au bureau.
- What is the liaison in 'je vais aller'? No liaison / zhuh-vay-za-lay / zhuh-vay. a-lay / zhuh-vays-a-lay — zhuh-vay-za-lay
Homework (30 minutes)
1) Write ten plans for tomorrow using je vais + infinitive. 2) Say each one out loud and mark the liaisons. 3) Record a 60-second message describing your whole next week, day by day. 4) Then re-read this lesson's warm-up words out loud before starting anything new.
Lesson 43 of 45 · A2 · Part 3 — Plans & the Future · See the full A0 → A2 roadmap · Français A0 → A2