THE FUTURE (TENSE, THAT IS!!)

THERE ARE TWO WAYS TO EXPRESS THE FUTURE IN FRENCH 1. USING THE VERB “ALLER” (TO GO) 2. USING THE “REAL” FUTURE TENSE (TRANSLATES AS “WILL”)

USING "ALLER" STEP 1 – TAKE THE PART OF “ALLER” YOU NEED. STEP 2 – COMBINE IT WITH AN INFINITIVE. LET’S SEE HOW

1 "ALLER" - TO GO JE VAIS = I AM GOING TU VAS = YOU ARE GOING IL/ELLE VA = HE/SHE IS GOING NOUS ALLONS = WE ARE GOING VOUS ALLEZ = YOU ARE GOING ILS/ELLES VONT = THEY ARE GOING

COMBINE WITH AN INFINITIVE 2 COMBINE WITH AN INFINITIVE BUT WHAT IS AN INFINITIVE? IT IS THE WAY A VERB IS WRITTEN BEFORE WE DO ANYTHING WITH IT. THIS IS HOW YOU WILL SEE IT IN A DICTIONARY. MANGER = TO EAT FINIR = TO FINISH VENDRE = TO SELL

SO "ALLER" + INFINITIVE MANGER JE VAIS = I AM GOING TO EAT IT’S AS EASY AS THAT!!!!! LET’S JUST SEE ANOTHER EXAMPLE

"ALLER" + INFINITIVE IL VA FINIR =HE IS GOING TO FINISH ONE MORE……

"ALLER" + INFINITIVE NOUS ALLONS TRAVAILLER = WE ARE GOING TO WORK OK LET’S LOOK AT THE REAL FUTURE TENSE NOW………………

THE "REAL" FUTURE TENSE WE NEED 2 THINGS 1. AN INFINITIVE 2. ENDINGS

RECOGNISE THEM? ENDINGS NOUS - ONS JE - AI TU - AS VOUS - EZ THESE ARE THE ENDINGS WE NEED. YOU MIGHT HAVE SEEN THEM SOMEWHERE BEFORE? NOUS - ONS JE - AI TU - AS VOUS - EZ IL/ELLE - A ILS/ELLES - ONT RECOGNISE THEM?

J’AI NOUS AVONS TU AS VOUS AVEZ ILS ONT IL A AVOIR - TO HAVE SO IF YOU KNOW “AVOIR” YOU KNOW THE ENDINGS FOR THE FUTURE TENSE

NOUS ILS TU JE IL MANGER ONS ONT EZ AS VOUS A AI = YOU WILL EAT NEXT, ADD THE ENDING TO AN INFINITIVE………… JE - AI NOUS - ONS TU - AS VOUS - EZ IL/ELLE - A ILS/ELLES ONT NOUS ILS TU JE IL MANGER ONS ONT EZ AS VOUS A AI = YOU WILL EAT = THEY WILL EAT = YOU WILL EAT = HE WILL EAT = WE WILL EAT = I WILL EAT

A POINT TO REMEMBER JE VENDR E AI = I WILL SELL WHEN USING AN INFINITIVE THAT ENDS IN “-RE” REMOVE THE “E” BEFORE YOU ADD THE ENDING FOR EXAMPLE JE VENDR E AI = I WILL SELL

PRETTY SIMPLE WASN’T IT? HOWEVER, NOT ALL VERBS IN THE FUTURE TENSE USE THE INFINITIVE. SOME USE A DIFFERENT “STEM” FOR THE FUTURE. THEY NEED TO BE LEARNT. HERE ARE SOME IMPORTANT ONES YOU NEED TO KNOW…

INFINITIVE FUTURE STEM AUR- AVOIR SER- ÊTRE IR- ALLER POURR- POUVOIR VIENDR- VENIR FER- FAIRE SAUR- SAVOIR

AND THAT’S HOW THE FUTURE TENSE WORKS IN FRENCH.