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Le Futur Simple by Bruce Sallee and David Hebert

There are more formal ways of speaking of future events, and the futur simple is the most commonly used. In some ways, it is one of the more interesting tenses, because it follows a unique conjugation pattern. Like the others, it uses special verb endings, but instead of chopping off parts of the infinitive, it uses the infinitive itself.

To form the future tense with most verbs, simply add the following endings to the infinitive form.

Table 14-1

Futur Simple Verb Endings

Person	Singular	Plural
1st Person	-ai	-ons
2nd Person	-as	-ez
3rd Person	-a	-ont

Here is an example of an -er verb conjugated in the futur simple:

Table 14-2

Regarder Conjugated in the Futur Simple

Person	Singular	Plural
1st Person	je regarderai	nous regarderons
2nd Person	tu regarderas	vous regarderez
3rd Person	il/elle regardera	ils/elles regarderont

When conjugating verbs that end in -re in the future tense, simply drop the “e” from the ending, but keep the “r,” as shown in Table 14-3.

Table 14-3

Prendre Conjugated in the Futur Simple

Person	Singular	Plural
1st Person	je prendrai	nous prendrons
2nd Person	tu prendras	vous prendrez
3rd Person	il/elle prendra	ils/elles prendront

As you can see, the verb takes on a unique appearance with the presence of the “r.” The “r” is distinctly pronounced in spoken French, so when you hear it, you know that someone is referring to something in the future tense.

TRACK 66

<tgroup cols="2"> <colspec colname="col1" colnum="1" colwidth="60%" colsep="0" rowsep="0" align="left"/> <colspec colname="col2" colnum="2" colwidth="40%" colsep="0" rowsep="0" align="left"/> <tbody> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>Je prendrai un café</emphasis>.</p></td> <td><p>I will have a coffee.</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>Nous voyagerons</emphasis>.</p></td> <td><p>We will travel.</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><para/></td> <td><p>We are going to travel.</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>Nous ne regarderons pas le film</emphasis>.</p></td> <td><p>We will not see the film.</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><para/></td> <td><p>We won't watch the film.</p></td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> <p>Naturally, there are exceptions with irregular formations that you will have to watch for — a number of verbs have an irregular stem when used in the future tense — but you will get used to them with practice, because they tend to be fairly commonly used. Not all irregular verbs have irregular future stems, so you'll need to memorize these individually.</p> <p><B>Table 14-4</B></p> <table frame="none" width="100%"> <h2>Irregular Stems in the Futur Simple</h2> <tgroup cols="2"> <colspec colname="col1" colnum="1" colwidth="60%" colsep="0" rowsep="0" align="left"/> <colspec colname="col2" colnum="2" colwidth="40%" colsep="0" rowsep="0" align="left"/> <tbody> <tr> <td><p><B>Verb</B></p></td> <td><p><B>Future Stem</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>avoir</emphasis></p></td> <td><p><emphasis>aur-</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>être</emphasis></p></td> <td><p><emphasis>ser-</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>aller</emphasis></p></td> <td><p><emphasis>ir-</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>devoir</emphasis></p></td> <td><p><emphasis>devr-</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>envoyer</emphasis></p></td> <td><p><emphasis>enverr-</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>faire</emphasis></p></td> <td><p><emphasis>fer-</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>falloir</emphasis></p></td> <td><p><emphasis>faudr-</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>pleuvoir</emphasis></p></td> <td><p><emphasis>pleuvr-</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>pouvoir</emphasis></p></td> <td><p><emphasis>pourr-</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>recevoir</emphasis></p></td> <td><p><emphasis>recevr-</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>savoir</emphasis></p></td> <td><p><emphasis>saur-</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>valoir</emphasis></p></td> <td><p><emphasis>vaudr-</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>venir</emphasis></p></td> <td><p><emphasis>viendr-</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>voir</emphasis></p></td> <td><p><emphasis>verr-</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>vouloir</emphasis></p></td> <td><p><emphasis>voudr-</emphasis></p></td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table>  <div id="pagination"><ul><li class="prev"><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/french/forming-the-future-tense/le-futur-proche.htm" title="Le Futur Proche">Le Futur Proche</a></li><li class="next"><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/french/forming-the-future-tense/use-of-future-with-si-and-quand.htm" title="Use of Future with Si and Quand">Use of Future with Si and Quand</a> </li></ul></div></div> <div id="coda"> <div id="rel"><div class="n5">Related Articles</div><ul> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/french/forming-the-future-tense/le-futur-simple.htm" zT="18/1YL/Zn"> Le Futur Simple - French </a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/french/forming-the-conditional-tense/forming-the-conditional-tense-2.htm" zT="18/1YL/Zn"> Forming the Conditional Tense - French </a></li> <li><a href="http://french.about.com/od/grammar/a/future_2.htm" zT="18/1YL/Zn"> French Future Tense - Le futur </a></li> <li><a href="http://italian.about.com/library/fare/blfare182a.htm" 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