The simple future: regular cases

Futur simple: the core idea

Use le futur simple to talk about a future fact or plan (often with demain, ce soir, la semaine prochaine).

• English shortcut: it often corresponds to “will + verb”.
• In French, it is usually one word: infinitive (or future stem) + ending.

Build it in 2 steps (reliable method)

1. Step 1: Choose the base

   • -ER and -IR verbs: keep the full infinitive.
     • jouer → jouer-
     • finir → finir-
   • -RE verbs: remove the final -e.
     • vendre → vendr- (not vendre-)

2. Step 2: Add the ending (same endings for all verbs)

   Subject	Ending	Example with jouer
   je	-ai	je jouerai
   tu	-as	tu joueras
   il/elle/on	-a	il jouera
   nous	-ons	nous jouerons
   vous	-ez	vous jouerez
   ils/elles	-ont	ils joueront

What to pay attention to (typical mistakes)

• 1) -RE verbs: drop the final -e

  Correct: nous vendrons ✅

  Incorrect: nous vendreons ❌

• 2) Don’t mix endings

  • je → -ai: je jouerai (not je jouera)
  • ils/elles → -ont: ils finiront (not ils finirons)

• 3) Spelling: keep the infinitive intact for -ER/-IR

  • jouer → je jouerai (not jouera)
  • finir → tu finiras

Pronunciation: what you will actually hear

• -ai, -as, -a are often close in sound in fast speech.
• So rely on the subject pronoun to understand who does the action.

• Example:

  • je jouerai / tu joueras / il jouera

Quick self-check (before you move on)

1. Can I find the verb’s group? -er / -ir / -re

2. If it’s -re, did I remove the final -e?

3. Did I attach the correct ending for the subject (je -ai, nous -ons, ils -ont)?

4. Did I keep it as one word (French future), not “will + verb”?

Mini model sentences you can reuse (adult, practical)

• Demain, je finirai le dossier.

• Ce soir, nous vendrons les billets.

• La semaine prochaine, vous jouerez sur scène.

• Ils regarderont le concert en streaming.