Le futur proche: the near future in French
- When to use the futur proche in French
- How to conjugate the futur proche in French
- Online exercises to improve your French
- Lingolia Plus French
What is the futur proche?
Le futur proche, also known as le futur composé, is used to talk about actions in the near future. It corresponds to the English structure going to + infinitive, and emphasises that there is already an intention behind the action.
Learn all about the futur proche in French grammar with Lingolia’s quick and easy examples, then test your knowledge in the exercises.
Example
Christine va partir dans deux secondes.
Elle va aller au supermarché.
When to use the futur proche in French
We use the futur proche in the following cases:
- to talk about an action that will take place shortly
- Example:
- Christine va partir dans deux secondes.Christine is going to leave in two seconds.
- to talk about a planned action in the near future
- Example:
- Elle va aller au supermarché.She’s going to go to the supermarket.
How to conjugate the futur proche in French
To conjugate the futur proche, we use the present tense of the verb aller as an auxiliary verb, followed by the infinitive of the main verb.
| Person | aller | Infinitive |
|---|---|---|
| 1st person singular (I) | je vais |
aimer finir vendre |
| 2nd person singular (you) | tu vas | |
| 3rd person singular (he/she/it) | il/elle/on va | |
| 1st person plural (we) | nous allons | |
| 2nd person plural (you) | vous allez | |
| 3rd person plural (they) | ils/elles vont |