Bonjour ! Welcome to your next French lesson.
In our last session, we covered how to form the futur simple for regular verbs. The key takeaway was that for all verbs, you use the same set of endings: -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont. You simply add these to the infinitive form of -er and -ir verbs, or to the infinitive minus the final 'e' for -re verbs.
Today, we'll build directly on that knowledge. Our goal is to use the common irregular stems in the futur simple (ser-, aur-, fer-, ir-). Many of the most important verbs in French are irregular in this tense. The great news is that while their stems are unique, they use the exact same endings you mastered in the last lesson. Mastering these is essential for fluency in any context, from casual chats to professional emails.
1. The Core Irregular Stems
The rule for the futur simple is always Future Stem + Future Ending. For regular verbs, finding the stem is predictable. For irregular verbs, the stem must be memorized.
Let's start with the four most essential irregular verbs and their unique stems.
- Être (to be) uses the stem ser-
- Avoir (to have) uses the stem aur-
- Aller (to go) uses the stem ir-
- Faire (to do/make) uses the stem fer-
Notice how different these are from their infinitives. The following resource provides a clear table that lists these and a few other common irregulars.
The French Futur Simple: How to Talk About Tomorrow
This guide from La Minute Française has an excellent table summarizing the most common irregular stems. We'll focus on this specific part.
Scroll down to the section titled 'Irregular Stems in Futur Simple: The Plot Twist'. Study the table provided, paying close attention to the stems for Être, Avoir, Aller, and Faire.
So, to conjugate them, you simply combine these new stems with the endings you already know:
- Être: Je serai prêt. (I will be ready.)
- Avoir: Tu auras du succès. (You will have success.)
- Aller: Elle ira au bureau demain. (She will go to the office tomorrow.)
- Faire: Nous ferons une pause. (We will take a break.)
To hear these pronounced and see them in context, the following video will be helpful. It's from the same instructor as in our last lesson, which provides good continuity.
The FUTUR SIMPLE = will in English // French conjugation course // Lesson 31
Let's watch a short clip from 'The perfect French with Dylane'. She will quickly go over the most common irregular stems, including the ones we just covered.
Watch from 10:22 to 11:21. Listen for the pronunciation of the stems and the full verb forms, like 'j'irai' and 'je serai'.
2. Expanding Your Vocabulary of Irregular Stems
Besides the main four, a few other high-frequency verbs also have irregular stems. Committing them to memory now will make your conversations much smoother.
This infographic is a great visual summary of ten of the most important irregular stems.
Here are a few more key irregulars from that chart to focus on:
| Infinitive | Future Stem | Example (with 'je') | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Venir (to come) | viendr- | Je viendrai | I will come |
| Voir (to see) | verr- | Je verrai | I will see |
| Pouvoir (to be able to) | pourr- | Je pourrai | I will be able |
| Vouloir (to want) | voudr- | Je voudrai | I will want |
| Savoir (to know) | saur- | Je saurai | I will know |
The verb vouloir is particularly useful for your professional goals, as je voudrai is a more polite way of saying "I would like," similar to the expression je voudrais that we'll see later.
Test your understanding!
Let's test your ability to use these new stems. Complete the sentences with the correct futur simple form of the verb in parentheses.
- Demain, il (faire) __________ beau. (Tomorrow, the weather will be nice.)
- Vous (avoir) __________ une réunion à 10h. (You will have a meeting at 10am.)
- Je (aller) __________ en France l'année prochaine. (I will go to France next year.)
- Ils (être) __________ en retard si nous ne partons pas maintenant. (They will be late if we don't leave now.)
- Tu (voir) __________ la différence. (You will see the difference.)
Show answer
- Demain, il fera beau. (Stem:
fer-+ ending:-a) - Vous aurez une réunion à 10h. (Stem:
aur-+ ending:-ez) - J'irai en France l'année prochaine. (Stem:
ir-+ ending:-ai) - Ils seront en retard si nous ne partons pas maintenant. (Stem:
ser-+ ending:-ont) - Tu verras la différence. (Stem:
verr-+ ending:-as)
3. Practice with Full Sentences
Now let's try a final practice exercise that combines these verbs in common sentences.
How to form and use the futur simple in French: easy animated video explanation w practice work
This video from Lingo Learner has a great practice section at the end. Try to translate the sentences yourself before the answers are revealed.
Watch from 05:39 to 06:24. Pause the video as each English sentence appears and try to say the French translation. The sentences use 'pouvoir', 'faire', 'être', 'avoir', and 'aller'.
Conclusion
Excellent work today! You have now unlocked the ability to use the most common French verbs to speak about the future.
Key Takeaways:
- The futur simple endings (-ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont) remain the same for all verbs.
- Common verbs like être, avoir, aller, and faire have irregular stems that must be memorized: ser-, aur-, ir-, and fer-.
- Other important irregular stems include viendr- (venir), verr- (voir), pourr- (pouvoir), and voudr- (vouloir).
Next Lesson Preview:
You can now form two different future tenses: the futur proche (aller + infinitive) and the futur simple. In our next lesson, we will focus on understanding the nuances between them and learn when it is most appropriate to use each one. This will give you much greater precision when discussing your future plans and intentions.
À bientôt !