Lesson 45: Le futur simple — je parlerai
Un jour, je parlerai — the simple future · A1 → A2 · A2 · Part 3 — Plans & the Future
You will talk about the more distant future — next year, in ten years, one day. You will build the simple future from any verb, learn the eight irregular stems that matter, and know exactly when to choose it instead of the near future.
In this lesson
- le futur simple
- future endings
- irregular future stems
- predictions
Vocabulary
| French | Meaning | Say it | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| je parlerai | I will speak | zhuh par-luh-ray ژُ پارلُورے | The infinitive 'parler' + -ai. That is the entire rule for regular verbs. |
| je serai | I will be | zhuh suh-ray ژُ سُورے | être is irregular: ser- + endings. One of the eight you must memorise. |
| j'aurai | I will have | zho-ray ژورے | avoir → aur-. Used constantly: 'J'aurai vingt ans' = I will be twenty. |
| j'irai | I will go | zhee-ray ژی رے | aller → ir-. Short and very common. |
| je ferai | I will do / I will make | zhuh fuh-ray ژُ فُورے | faire → fer-. Do not say 'faire-ai'. |
| je viendrai | I will come | zhuh vyan-dray ژُ ویاںدرے | venir → viendr-. The d appears only in the future. |
| je pourrai | I will be able to | zhuh poo-ray ژُ پورے | pouvoir → pourr-. Double r. |
| je verrai | I will see | zhuh vay-ray ژُ ویرے | voir → verr-. In speech people often prefer 'je vais voir'. |
| un jour | one day | un zhoor اَن ژور | The classic opener for a distant plan. |
| plus tard | later | plü tar پلُو تار | The final r is pronounced here — unusually for French. |
| l'année prochaine | next year | la-nay pro-shen لانے پروشین | Note: année (not an) because it is a full year. |
| j'espère que | I hope that | zhes-pair kuh ژیسپیئر کُو | Normally followed by the future: 'J'espère que tu viendras.' |
Pronunciation
| Word | Sounds like | Slowly | How to make the sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| je parlerai | zhuh-par-luh-ray | zhuh ... par ... luh ... ray | Four light syllables, no stress. French keeps them even. |
| je serai | zhuh-suh-ray | zhuh ... suh ... ray | Not 'say-ray'. The stem is 'suh-'. |
| j'aurai | zho-ray | zho ... ray | Two syllables. The 'au' is a round 'o'. |
| j'irai | zhee-ray | zhee ... ray | Long 'ee', then 'ray'. Very short word. |
| je viendrai | zhuh-vyan-dray | zhuh ... vyan ... dray | Nasal 'vyan', then a clean 'dray'. |
| ils viendront | eel-vyan-dron | eel ... vyan ... dron | First time you hear a d in this verb. Only in the future. |
The future endings -ai, -as, -a sound like 'ay', 'a', 'a' — short and clean. The trap is the irregular stems: 'je serai' is 'suh-ray', not 'say-ray'. Practise the eight stems until they are one sound each.
Grammar
The infinitive + six endings
For almost every verb, the simple future is the infinitive plus -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont. With -re verbs you drop the final e first.
The eight irregular stems you actually need
Only a small number of verbs form the future irregularly. Learn these eight and you can already say most of what you will ever need.
Near future or simple future?
Both are correct French. The difference is distance and certainty, not grammar.
Examples
| French | English | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| Un jour, je parlerai français couramment. | One day I will speak French fluently. | un zhoor, zhuh par-luh-ray fron-say koo-ra-mon |
| L'année prochaine, j'irai en France. | Next year I will go to France. | la-nay pro-shen, zhee-ray on frons |
| Demain, il pleuvra sur tout le pays. | Tomorrow it will rain across the whole country. | duh-man, eel pluh-vra sür too luh pay-ee |
| J'espère que tu viendras à ma fête. | I hope you will come to my party. | zhes-pair kuh tü vyan-dra a ma fet |
| Plus tard, je serai médecin. | Later, I will be a doctor. | plü tar, zhuh suh-ray mayd-san |
| Nous aurons plus de temps le mois prochain. | We will have more time next month. | noo-zo-ron plü duh ton luh mwa pro-shan |
| Qu'est-ce que tu feras après tes études ? | What will you do after your studies? | kes-kuh tü fuh-ra a-pray tay-zay-tüd ↗ |
| Si j'ai le temps, je verrai mes amis. | If I have time, I will see my friends. | see zhay luh ton, zhuh vay-ray may-za-mee |
| Tu pourras m'aider demain ? | Will you be able to help me tomorrow? | tü poo-ra ma-day duh-man ↗ |
| Ils devront attendre jusqu'à midi. | They will have to wait until noon. | eel duh-vron a-ton-dr zhoos-ka mee-dee |
Dialogue: Two students talking about their plans after the course
This conversation mixes both futures on purpose. The immediate plans use aller + infinitive; the distant ones use the simple future. Listen for where the switch happens — that is the real lesson.
| French | English | Say it | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Qu'est-ce que tu vas faire après ce cours ? | What are you going to do after this course? | kes-kuh tü va fair a-pray suh koor ↗ |
| B | D'abord, je vais passer l'examen A2. Et l'année prochaine, j'irai en France. | First I am going to take the A2 exam. And next year I will go to France. | da-bor, zhuh vay pa-say leg-za-man a-du. ay la-nay pro-shen, zhee-ray on frons |
| A | Super ! Et tu feras quoi là-bas ? | Great! And what will you do there? | sü-pair. ay tü fuh-ra kwa la-ba ↗ |
| B | Je suivrai des cours à l'université. Je serai étudiant pendant un an. | I will take courses at the university. I will be a student for a year. | zhuh swee-vray day koor a lü-nee-vair-see-tay. zhuh suh-ray ay-tü-dyan pon-don un on |
| A | Et tu trouveras du travail facilement ? | And will you find work easily? | ay tü troo-vuh-ra dü tra-vai fa-seel-mon ↗ |
| B | J'espère. Sinon, je rentrerai et je chercherai ici. | I hope so. Otherwise I will come back and look here. | zhes-pair. see-non, zhuh ron-truh-ray ay zhuh shair-shuh-ray ee-see |
| A | Moi, je ne sais pas encore. Mais un jour, je parlerai quatre langues. | Me, I don't know yet. But one day I will speak four languages. | mwa, zhuh nuh say pa on-kor. may un zhoor, zhuh par-luh-ray katr long |
| B | J'espère que tu y arriveras ! | I hope you will get there! | zhes-pair kuh tü ee a-ree-vuh-ra |
Say it out loud
- Un jour, je parlerai français couramment. — One day I will speak French fluently. Keep all syllables even. French has no stress.
- L'année prochaine, j'irai en France. — Next year I will go to France. 'j'irai' is short: zhee-ray.
- Plus tard, je serai médecin. — Later I will be a doctor. 'suh-ray', not 'say-ray'.
- J'espère que tu viendras. — I hope you will come. Nasal 'vyan', then 'dra'.
- Qu'est-ce que tu feras ? — What will you do? The stem is 'fuh-' — never 'fair-'.
- Demain, il pleuvra. — Tomorrow it will rain. One word: pluh-vra. No pause.
Listening practice: A weather forecast and three future predictions
Et maintenant la météo. Demain matin, il fera beau dans le nord. L'après-midi, il pleuvra dans l'est et il y aura du vent. Dans le sud, il fera très chaud — jusqu'à trente-cinq degrés. La semaine prochaine, les températures baisseront. Ce soir, il gèlera dans les montagnes.
And now the weather. Tomorrow morning the weather will be nice in the north. In the afternoon it will rain in the east and there will be wind. In the south it will be very hot — up to thirty-five degrees. Next week temperatures will fall. Tonight it will freeze in the mountains.
Questions
- What will the weather be like tomorrow morning in the north? Rainy / Nice / Windy → Nice
- Where will it rain in the afternoon? In the west / In the east / In the south → In the east
- What will the south be like? Very cold / Very hot / Very windy → Very hot
- What will temperatures do next week? Rise / Fall / Stay the same → Fall
- What will happen tonight in the mountains? It will snow / It will freeze / It will rain → It will freeze
Remember this
- Simple future = infinitive + -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont.
- -re verbs drop the final e first: attendre → j'attendrai.
- Eight irregular stems: ser-, aur-, ir-, fer-, viendr-, pourr-, verr-, devr-.
- These endings are the present of avoir without 'av-'.
- Simple future = distant plans, predictions, forecasts, formal writing.
- Near future (aller + infinitive) = immediate plans and everyday speech.
- If unsure in conversation, use the near future — it is never wrong.
- After 'j'espère que', use the future: j'espère que tu viendras.
- Pronunciation traps: je serai = suh-ray, je ferai = fuh-ray.
- Weather forecasts always use the simple future.
Common mistakes
| Instead of | Say | Why |
|---|---|---|
| J'allerai en France. | J'irai en France. | aller has an irregular stem: ir-. |
| Je serai (said as 'say-ray') | Je serai (said as 'suh-ray') | Pronunciation trap: the stem is 'suh-', not 'say-'. |
| Je ferai — (pronounced 'fair-ay') | Je ferai — (pronounced 'fuh-ray') | faire → fer-, and 'fer' is said 'fuh'. |
| J'espère que tu viens demain. | J'espère que tu viendras demain. | After 'j'espère que', French prefers the future if the event is still ahead. |
Practice questions
- How do you build the simple future of a regular -er verb? Infinitive + -ai -as -a -ons -ez -ont / Stem + -ais -ait / avoir + participle / aller + infinitive — Infinitive + -ai -as -a -ons -ez -ont
- What is the future of 'être'? Je serai / Je étais / Je saurai / Je serais — Je serai
- Which is the future of 'aller'? J'allerai / J'irai / Je vais aller / J'allais — J'irai
- Complete: 'Un jour, je ___ français couramment.' parlerai / parlais / parle / parlerais — parlerai
- Complete: 'J'espère que tu ___ à ma fête.' viendras / viens / venais / es venu — viendras
- Complete: 'Demain, il ___ beau.' fera / fait / faisait / a fait — fera
- Which is irregular in the future? parler / finir / faire / regarder — faire
- In everyday speech, what do French people usually say for a plan? The simple future / The near future (aller + infinitive) / The imperfect / The passé composé — The near future (aller + infinitive)
Homework (35 minutes)
1) Write the eight irregular stems from memory three times. 2) Write eight sentences about your life in ten years using the simple future. 3) Write the same eight ideas again using the near future, and notice which ones sound more natural. 4) Record a 90-second prediction for your own future. 5) Re-read this lesson's warm-up words.
Lesson 45 of 45 · A2 · Part 3 — Plans & the Future · See the full A0 → A2 roadmap · Français A0 → A2