French Verbs Are Accessible

Future Tense-

Part 2: Irregular Verbs-

We will now work with verbs that are conjugated irregularly in the future tense. They are irregular because the endings are added to an irregular stem instead of the infinitive. Keep in mind that most verbs, including many that are irregular in other tenses, are regular in the future tense.

The verbs in the following chart have an irregular stem in the future and conditional tenses.

Infinitive- English Translation- Example- Irregular Stem-
aller- to go- j'irai- i r-
avoir- to have- tu auras- a u r-
courir- to run- il courra- c o u r r-
devoir- to be obliged to, have to- elle devra- d e v r-
envoyer- to send- nous enverrons- e n v e r r-
être- to be- vous serez- s e r -
faire- to do, make- ils feront- f e r-
pleuvoir- to rain- il pleuvra- p l e u v r-
pouvoir- to be able- je pourrai- p o u r r-
recevoir- to receive- tu recevras- r e c e v r-
savoir- to know- elle saura- s a u r-
venir- to come- nous viendrons- v i e n d r-
voir- to see- vous verrez- v e r r-
vouloir- to wish, want- elles voudront- v o u d r-

When is the future tense used?

  1. To describe an action that will take place at some other time, maybe tomorrow, maybe next year.
    Example:
    • Je verrai mes amis français l'été prochain.
    • I'll see my French friends next summer.
  2. After quand, lorsque, dès que, and aussitôt que if future time is implied, even though the present tense is used in English.
    Example:
    • Je lui donnerai votre message quand je le verrai.
    • I'll give him your message when I see him.