Future Tense – Regular Verbs
In this lesson we learn the future tense of regular French verbs.
When is the future tense used in French?
This one is straightforward! The future tense is used in French to convey that an action is to take place at a future time and corresponds to English forms such as “I will write,” “she will arrive,” “they will come” and so on.
How is the future tense formed in French?
To create the future tense in French, we add the following endings to the infinitive form of each verb, as follows:
| Person | Ending |
|---|---|
| je | -ai |
| tu | –as |
| il | –a |
| elle | –a |
| nous | –ons |
| vous | –ez |
| ils | –ont |
| elles | –ont |
What is the French future tense of regular -er verbs, e.g. jouer (‘to play’)?
| French | English |
|---|---|
| je jouerai | I will play |
| tu joueras | you will play |
| il jouera | he will play |
| elle jouera | she will play |
| nous jouerons | we will play |
| vous jouerez | you will play |
| ils joueront | they will play |
| elles joueront | they will play |
What is the French future tense of regular -ir verbs, e.g. finir (‘to finish’)?
| French | English |
|---|---|
| je finirai | I will finish |
| tu finiras | you will finish |
| il finira | he will finish |
| elle finira | she will finish |
| nous finirons | we will finish |
| vous finirez | you will finish |
| ils finiront | they will finish |
| elles finiront | they will finish |
What is the French future tense of regular -re verbs, e.g. attendre (‘to wait’; ‘to wait for’)?
Note that the ‘e’ is dropped from the end of the infinitive before the endings are applied, as follows:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| j’attendrai | I will wait |
| tu attendras | you will wait |
| il attendra | he will wait |
| elle attendra | she will wait |
| nous attendrons | we will wait |
| vous attendrez | you will wait |
| ils attendront | they will wait |
| elles attendront | they will wait |