Futur simple
Summary
The futur simple is the one-word future tense used to say what will happen, formed by adding the endings -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont to the infinitive (or an irregular future stem).
Explanation
The futur simple states what will happen later, corresponding to English 'will + verb'. It is a simple (one-word) tense, used for predictions, promises, plans and future facts, and it is especially common in writing and in slightly more formal or distant statements about the future.
Its formation is unusually transparent: the stem is the infinitive itself, to which you add the endings -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont (which are almost identical to the present tense of avoir). So parler gives je parlerai, tu parleras, il parlera, nous parlerons, vous parlerez, ils parleront, and finir gives je finirai. For -re verbs you simply drop the final -e of the infinitive before the endings: prendre → je prendrai, vendre → je vendrai.
The endings never change; what makes the future tricky is a set of common verbs with an irregular stem that replaces the infinitive but still takes these same endings. Key ones to memorise include être → ser-, avoir → aur-, aller → ir-, faire → fer-, venir → viendr-, voir → verr-, pouvoir → pourr-, vouloir → voudr-, devoir → devr-, savoir → saur- and falloir → faudr- (il faudra). Once the stem is known, the conjugation is automatic.
A characteristic French rule is that after the conjunctions quand, lorsque, dès que and aussitôt que referring to the future, French uses the future tense where English uses the present: quand il sera grand, il voyagera ('when he is grown up, he will travel'). Learners coming from English often wrongly keep the present here.
The main pitfall in speech is competition with the futur proche (aller + infinitive), which French frequently prefers for near, planned or certain events: je vais partir demain feels more natural in conversation than je partirai demain for an imminent plan. Mixing up the irregular stems (for example writing *je faiserai instead of je ferai) is the other recurring error.
Rule of thumb: for the future, start from the infinitive (dropping a final -e on -re verbs) and add -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont; just memorise the handful of irregular stems, and remember to use the future, not the present, after quand and dès que when you mean the future.
Examples
Demain, nous partirons très tôt. — Tomorrow, we will leave very early. (Regular -ir verb: stem = infinitive partir.)
Quand il sera grand, il fera ce métier. — When he is grown up, he will do this job. (After quand about the future, French uses the future (sera, fera).)
Je prendrai le bus si je suis en retard. — I will take the bus if I am late. (-re verb drops the final -e: prendre → prendrai.)
Vous aurez bientôt une réponse. — You will soon have an answer. (Irregular stem: avoir → aur-.)
Ils iront en France l'été prochain. — They will go to France next summer. (Irregular stem: aller → ir-.)
Common mistakes
Demain je faiserai mes devoirs.
Demain je ferai mes devoirs.
Some common verbs have an irregular future stem that replaces the infinitive; faire uses fer-, not the infinitive faire-. The endings (-ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont) are always regular, but the stem must be learned: être → ser-, avoir → aur-, aller → ir-, faire → fer-, venir → viendr-, voir → verr-. So the futur simple of faire is je ferai, tu feras, il fera, never *faiserai.
Prerequisites
Related rules
future-tenseverb-endingsirregular-stems