The future 1 Formation of the future 1.1 Regular For
verbs
ending in -er , and -ir the future tense is formed by taking the
infinitive
as
stem
and
adding the following endings: -ai , -as ,
-a , -ons , -ez ,
-ont .
Table 13.1.1a: Future of -er verbs
aimer to like
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j’ aimerai tu
aimeras il / elle
aimera nous
aimerons vous
aimerez ils / elles
aimeront
Table 13.1.1b: Future of -ir verbs
finir to finish
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je
finirai tu
finiras il / elle
finira nous
finirons vous finirez ils / elles finiront
Je passerai te prendre à neuf
heures
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I'll pick you up at nine
Elle finira sa licence l'année
prochaine
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She'll finish her degree next year
Elle n’écoutera pas les conseils de ses amis.
She won’t listen to the advice of her friends.
Ce nouveau gel adoucira votre peau.
This new gel will soften your skin.
Tu donneras cette lettre à la directrice.
You’ll give this letter to the head mistress.
Nous visiterons la Turquie cet été.
We’ll visit Turkey this summer.
Les promoteurs démoliront une grande partie du bâtiment.
The developers will demolish a large part of the building.
Table 13.1.1a: Future of -re verbs
rendre to give back
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je
rendrai tu
rendras il / elle
rendra nous
rendrons vous
rendrez ils / elles
rendront
For regular verbs ending in -re the process is the same except the final -e of the infinitive is removed:
Je te rendrai ton livre la semaine
prochaine
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I'll give you back your book next week
Une visite en Bretagne, ça te détendra.
A visit to Brittany, that will be relaxing for you.
Cette nuit la température descendra en dessous de 0°C.
Tonight the temperature will fall below 0°C.
Est-ce que le premier ministre répondra aux attentes des chômeurs?
Will the prime minister respond to the expectations of unemployed people?
1.2 Semi-irregular As regards
semi-irregulars
,
verbs conjugating like mener and acheter change the -e
in the
stem
to -è :
mener
→
je mènerai
acheter
→
j'achèterai
Note, however, that verbs conjugating like espérer keep the -é in the stem:
Je t'emmènerai à la gare si
tu veux
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I'll take you to the station if you like
Nous n'avons plus de yaourt. J'en rachèterai
demain
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We're out of yoghurt. I'll buy some more tomorrow
Ecoutez bien! Je ne le répéterai pas
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Pay attention! I won't repeat this
Demain nous emmènerons mes parents au Louvre.
Tomorrow we’ll take my parents to the Louvre.
Aujourd’hui j’ amènerai les enfants à l’école.
Today I’ll take the children to school.
Le candidat possédera une excellente connaissance de l’anglais.
The candidate will have an excellent knowledge of English.
Nous sommes à court de tomates. J’en rachèterai demain.
We’ve run out of tomatoes. I’ll buy some more tomorrow.
Nous démantèlerons ces réseaux de criminalité le plus tôt possible.
We’ll dismantle these criminal networks as son as possible.
Verbs conjugating like jeter and appeler
double the final consonant:
jeter
→
je jetterai
appeler
→
j'appellerai
Elle rappellera dans une heure
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She'll call back in an hour
Je jetterai ça à la poubelle
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I'll throw that in the bin
Je renouvellerai mon abonnement le mois prochain.
I’ll renew my subscription next month.
S’il veut m’aider je l’appellerai.
If he wants to help me I’ll give him a call.
La femme de ménage jettera ces fleurs demain matin.
The cleaning lady will throw out these flowers in the morning.
Il faut réparer la gouttière, sinon l’eau ruissellera le long du mur.
We need to fix the gutter, otherwise water will run down the wall.
Dès le mois prochain l’usine ne rejettera plus ses déchets dans le fleuve.
From next month onwards the factory will no longer throw its waste in the river.
For other
semi-irregulars
ending -ger and -cer there is no change:
Je n'ai pas faim pour l'instant. Je mangerai plus tard.
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I'm not hungry at the moment. I'll eat later.
L’année prochaine il commencera des études de médecine.
Next year he’ll start medical studies.
Dès que le contrat sera signé ils déménageront.
As soon as the contract is signed they’ll move.
Le concert commencera à sept heures.
The concert will start at seven o’clock.
Le Directeur annoncera la nouvelle ce matin.
The Head will announce the news this morning.
1.3 IrregularTable 13.1.3a: Future of irregular verbs
Infinitive
Future
avoir
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j'aurai
courir
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je courrai
devoir
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je devrai
envoyer
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j'enverrai
être
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je serai
faire
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je ferai
falloir il faudra
mourir
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je mourrai
pouvoir
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je pourrai
recevoir
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je recevrai
savoir
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je saurai
tenir
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je tiendrai
valoir
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je vaudrai
venir
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je viendrai
voir
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je verrai
vouloir
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je voudrai
Selon la méteo il fera beau
demain
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According to the forecast it'll be nice tomorrow
La cérémonie aura lieu ce soir
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The ceremony will take place tonight
Nous serons de retour la semaine
prochaine
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We'll be back next week
Peut-être ne saurons-nous jamais la vérité.
Perhaps we’ll never know the truth.
Va voir le médecin, il te dira quoi prendre comme médicament.
Go and see the doctor, he’ll* / she’ll* tell you what medicine to take.
Si j’ai le temps j’ inclurai dans mon rapport les statistiques qui viennent d’arriver.
If I have time I’ll include in my report the statistics that have just arrived.
Bien que cet appartement soit petit, il nous suffira pour quelques mois.
Although this flat it small, it’ll be OK for a few months.
On construira quatre nouvelles maisons.
Four new houses will be built.
2 Use of the future 2.1 Situating action in the near or distant
futureThe future tense is used to situate an action or state in the near or
distant future:
Vous recevrez votre commande
demain
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You will receive your order tomorrow
2.2 Sense of an imperativeAs with English also, the future tense can have the sense of an
imperative
:
Demain tu m'aideras à descendre
les valises
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Tomorrow you will help me take down the suitcases
2.3 Quand and dès
que It is also used after quand
and dès que when referring
to future time where English would use the present tense:
Tu pourras apprendre à conduire quand tu auras
dix-sept ans
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You can learn to drive when you are seventeen
Je te téléphonerai dès que je serai
à Manchester
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I will phone you as soon as I'm in Manchester
2.4 Immediate future When situating an action or state in the near future, it is possible,
as in English, to use aller plus the
infinitive
.
This is called the immediate future :
Il vaut mieux prendre un parapluie - je pense qu'il va
pleuvoir
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You'd / We'd better take an umbrella - I think it's going
to rain
Ils vont réparer la voiture mardi.
They’re going to repair the car on Tuesday.
Ce week-end Pierre va tapisser la salle à manger.
This weekend Pierre is going to wallpaper the dining room.
Je vais ranger la maison avant leur arrivée.
I’m going to tidy the house before they arrive.
Je vais sortir acheter du pain.
I’m going to go out and buy some bread.
Cet été nous allons faire de la planche à voile.
This summer we’re going to go surfboarding