French futur simple: forming and using the simple future tense

Demain, il pleuvra toute la journée.Tomorrow, it will rain all day.

To talk about the future with a single verb form, French uses the futur simple. It's built from the infinitive plus a set of endings, and it's used for predictions, plans and promises.

Quick shortcut: take the infinitive, add -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont — the same endings as the present tense of avoir: je parlerai, tu parleras, nous parlerons. Drop the final -e of -re verbs first (prendre → je prendrai), and learn the handful of irregular stems (être → ser-, avoir → aur-, aller → ir-...) separately.

The form

The futur simple endings are the same for every verb, and they match the present-tense forms of avoir — a handy mnemonic:

For regular -er and -ir verbs, add these endings straight to the infinitive:

• parler → je parlerai, tu parleras, elle parlera, nous parlerons, vous parlerez, ils parleront
• finir → je finirai, nous finirons

A few common -er verbs keep the same spelling change throughout the futur simple that they show in part of the present tense: acheter → j'achèterai (grave accent on every form, not just j'achète), appeler → j'appellerai (doubled l on every form, not just j'appelle).

For -re verbs, drop the final -e of the infinitive before adding the endings:

• prendre → je prendrai (never ❌ je prendreai)
• vendre → tu vendras
• attendre → nous attendrons

Irregular stems

A group of common verbs use an irregular stem instead of the infinitive, but keep the regular endings above:

There's no shortcut for these stems — learn each one with its verb — but once you have the stem, the endings are the same regular set every time.

When to use it

The futur simple states something about the future as a plain fact. It covers much the same ground as the futur proche — use it for:

• predictions: Il fera beau ce week-end.
• plans and future statements, at any distance: L'année prochaine, nous déménagerons.
• promises: Je t'appellerai demain, promis.

Both the futur simple and the futur proche can talk about plans and predictions — the difference is mostly one of register, not of how near or far the event is. The futur proche is the everyday, conversational choice; the futur simple is common in writing and more formal or careful speech, and is also the only option in a few specific patterns covered below.

Quand and lorsque + futur simple

This is the one place where French and English clearly diverge. When quand or lorsque ("when") refers to a future event, French uses the futur simple in both clauses — the quand-clause included. English switches its when-clause to the present tense instead.

• ✅ Quand j'arriverai, je t'appellerai. (When I arrive, I'll call you.)
• ❌ Quand j'arrive, je t'appellerai. — wrong for a future event: the present tense here reads as a habitual "whenever I arrive."
• ✅ Lorsqu'elle finira ses études, elle cherchera un emploi. (When she finishes her studies, she'll look for a job.)

If you use the present tense after quand/lorsque the way English does, French either reads it as talking about a repeated or general situation, not this one future event, or as simply ungrammatical alongside a futur simple main clause. Keep both verbs in the futur simple whenever the whole sentence is about the future.

Si + present, futur simple in the main clause

A real future possibility is expressed with si + the present tense, while the result goes in the futur simple — never the futur simple in the si-clause itself:

• Si tu viens, on ira au cinéma. (If you come, we'll go to the cinema.)
• S'il fait beau, nous mangerons dehors.
• ❌ Si tu viendras, on ira au cinéma. → ✅ Si tu viens, on ira au cinéma.

This is a different pattern from quand/lorsque: there, both clauses take the futur simple; here, si keeps the present and only the result clause moves to the future. (French also has a si + imperfect + conditional pattern for imaginary situations, but that's a separate topic — the conditional mood, not covered here.)

Common mistakes

• ❌ Je prendreai le train. → ✅ Je prendrai le train. (-re verbs drop the final -e before the ending)
• ❌ Il allera au marché. → ✅ Il ira au marché. (aller uses the irregular stem ir-, not the infinitive)
• ❌ Quand j'arrive, je t'appellerai. → ✅ Quand j'arriverai, je t'appellerai. (a future quand-clause also takes the futur simple)
• ❌ Si tu viendras demain, on sortira. → ✅ Si tu viens demain, on sortira. (si + a real future condition uses the present, not the futur simple)
• ❌ Nous ferons pronounced/written as nous ferrons → ✅ nous ferons (one r; faire's stem is fer-, not ferr- — don't confuse it with pourr-/verr-, which do double the r)

Quick check

Put the verb in brackets into the futur simple:

1. Demain, je ____ (aller) à la piscine.
2. Quand tu ____ (avoir) vingt ans, tu ____ (pouvoir) voter.
3. S'il ____ (pleuvoir) demain, nous ____ (rester) à la maison.
4. Elle ____ (venir) nous voir le mois prochain.
5. Vous ____ (voir) la différence tout de suite.

Key takeaways

• Futur simple = infinitive (-re verbs drop the final -e) + -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont — the same endings as the present tense of avoir.
• A group of common verbs use an irregular stem (être → ser-, avoir → aur-, aller → ir-, faire → fer-, venir → viendr-...) with the same regular endings.
• Used for predictions, plans and promises; it overlaps with the futur proche but leans more written/formal, rather than being tied to a particular distance in time.
• After quand / lorsque referring to the future, both clauses take the futur simple — unlike English, which uses the present in the when-clause.
• Si + present for a real future condition, futur simple in the result clause: si tu viens, on ira.