The future of regular –er verbs

Key points

For verbs ending in -er, the future tense is formed by taking the infinitive as stem and adding the following endings: -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont
The ils form ends in –ont. This is a little like the present tense ending –ent, but it is pronounced.

We've already seen that you can use the verb aller with another verb to say you're going to do something. This is called the immediate future.

Je vais rentrer chez moi

I'm going to go home

The commonest way of expressing the future in French is by using the future tense. You use this when you want to express a general future action, rather than something you're about to do very soon.

grammar diagram

For verbs ending in -er, the future tense is formed by taking the infinitive as stem and adding the endings shown in the table:

Table 31: the future
aimer to like
je	-ai	aimerai
tu	-as	aimeras
il / elle	-a	aimera
nous	-ons	aimerons
vous	-ez	aimerez
ils / elles	-aient	aimeront

Note

Note that the ils form ends in –ont. This is a little like the present tense ending –ent, but it is pronounced.

Ils regarderont le match

They’ll watch the match

Here are some examples of the future tense in use:

Je donnerai les vêtements à ma soeur

I’ll give the clothes to my sister

Tu écouteras le professeur

You'll listen to the teacher

Elle portera sa jube rose

She’ll wear her pink dress

Nous arriverons à cinq heures

We’ll arrive at five o’clock

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