The futur simple is, for regular verbs, one of the most predictable tenses in French. Take the infinitive, add six endings, and you have a complete paradigm. The endings come from the present tense of avoir — a fossilized historical fact, since the futur simple originated as the infinitive followed by a reduced form of avoir (Vulgar Latin cantare habeo "I have to sing" → Old French chanterai "I will sing"). That origin tells you why the endings look like avoir: they literally are.
This page covers the regular pattern across the three verb groups, the universal endings, and the small set of spelling adjustments that affect certain -er verbs. Irregular stems — the verbs that don't take the infinitive whole — have their own page: irregular-stems.
The endings
Every futur simple form, regular or irregular, ends with one of these six endings:
| Person | Ending |
|---|---|
| je | -ai |
| tu | -as |
| il / elle / on | -a |
| nous | -ons |
| vous | -ez |
| ils / elles | -ont |
These are essentially ai, as, a, avons, avez, ont — the present tense of avoir — minus the av- in avons and avez. The endings never change, no matter what verb you are conjugating. Memorize these six endings once and you have them for the futur simple, the conditional, and most other places where the future stem appears.
Group 1: -er verbs
For regular -er verbs, the stem is the infinitive itself. You attach the endings directly:
| Person | Stem | Ending | Full form |
|---|---|---|---|
| je | parler | -ai | je parlerai |
| tu | parler | -as | tu parleras |
| il / elle / on | parler | -a | il parlera |
| nous | parler | -ons | nous parlerons |
| vous | parler | -ez | vous parlerez |
| ils / elles | parler | -ont | ils parleront |
Demain, je parlerai à mon patron de ma promotion.
Tomorrow I'll talk to my boss about my promotion.
Tu chanteras à la fête de fin d'année ?
Will you sing at the end-of-year party?
Nous mangerons sur la terrasse s'il fait beau.
We'll eat on the terrace if the weather's nice.
The same pattern applies to aimer (j'aimerai), travailler (je travaillerai), donner (je donnerai), acheter (here with a spelling change — see below), jouer (je jouerai), and the thousands of other regular -er verbs.
A point of pronunciation: the -e- of the infinitive ending is silent in the futur simple of -er verbs. Parlerai is pronounced /paʁlʁe/, not /paʁləʁe/. This silent -e- is preserved in spelling but dropped in speech, except in very careful or sung diction.
Group 2: -ir verbs (with -iss-)
The second-group -ir verbs (the ones with -iss- in the nous and ils present forms — finir, choisir, réussir, grossir, maigrir, obéir) also use the infinitive as the stem:
| Person | Stem | Ending | Full form |
|---|---|---|---|
| je | finir | -ai | je finirai |
| tu | finir | -as | tu finiras |
| il / elle / on | finir | -a | il finira |
| nous | finir | -ons | nous finirons |
| vous | finir | -ez | vous finirez |
| ils / elles | finir | -ont | ils finiront |
Je finirai mon rapport ce soir.
I'll finish my report tonight.
Tu choisiras la couleur que tu préfères.
You'll choose whichever color you prefer.
Ils réussiront leur examen sans problème.
They'll pass their exam without any trouble.
A few common third-group -ir verbs (the ones without -iss-) also use the bare infinitive: partir → je partirai, sortir → je sortirai, dormir → je dormirai, sentir → je sentirai, servir → je servirai. These are regular in the futur simple, even though they're irregular in the present.
Je partirai à six heures du matin.
I'll leave at six in the morning.
Vous dormirez mieux après une bonne tisane.
You'll sleep better after a good herbal tea.
The verbs that don't follow this pattern — venir, tenir, mourir, courir, devenir — are on the irregular-stems page. Watch for them.
Group 3: -re verbs
For -re verbs (vendre, attendre, perdre, descendre, répondre, entendre, rendre), the rule has one tweak: drop the final -e of the infinitive, then add the endings.
| Person | Stem | Ending | Full form |
|---|---|---|---|
| je | vendr | -ai | je vendrai |
| tu | vendr | -as | tu vendras |
| il / elle / on | vendr | -a | il vendra |
| nous | vendr | -ons | nous vendrons |
| vous | vendr | -ez | vous vendrez |
| ils / elles | vendr | -ont | ils vendront |
Je vendrai ma vieille voiture la semaine prochaine.
I'll sell my old car next week.
Tu attendras ton tour comme tout le monde.
You'll wait your turn like everyone else.
Nous descendrons à la prochaine station.
We'll get off at the next station.
The dropped -e is purely orthographic: it disappears so the stem doesn't end in -e before adding -ai, -as, -a. Phonetically, the final -r- of the stem links directly with the ending: vendrai /vɑ̃dʁe/.
A handful of -re verbs have irregular futur stems despite belonging to this group: prendre → je prendrai (regular), mettre → je mettrai (regular), but faire → je ferai, être → je serai (irregular, on the next page).
Putting it together: complete examples
Si tu m'aides, on finira plus vite.
If you help me, we'll finish faster.
Je vous appellerai dès que possible.
I'll call you as soon as possible.
Elle écrira un livre sur ses voyages.
She'll write a book about her travels.
Nous attendrons devant le café à dix-neuf heures.
We'll wait in front of the café at seven p.m.
Vous comprendrez quand vous le verrez de vos propres yeux.
You'll understand when you see it with your own eyes.
Pronunciation: where the e is silent
Most regular futur-simple stems contain a silent -e- between the root and the -r-. In standard pronunciation:
- parlerai → /paʁlʁe/ (the -e- is dropped)
- donnerais → /dɔnʁɛ/ (silent -e-)
- jouerai → /ʒuʁe/ (the entire -er- sequence reduces to /ʁ/)
This silent -e- is one of the things that distinguishes the futur simple from the present in speech: je parle /ʒə paʁl/ versus je parlerai /ʒə paʁlʁe/. The -r- of the futur stem is audible; without it, you have not produced a future form.
In careful or sung speech, the silent -e- may be pronounced. Don't worry about it for normal conversation.
Spelling adjustments in regular -er verbs
A small set of -er verbs need orthographic adjustments before adding the endings. These are real spelling rules, not exceptions; they apply across all forms of the futur simple.
-yer verbs: y → i
Verbs ending in -yer (employer, payer, essayer, nettoyer, envoyer) change y → i throughout the futur simple. The y + e combination of the infinitive becomes i + e:
| Infinitive | Futur simple stem | Example form |
|---|---|---|
| employer | emploier- | j'emploierai |
| payer | paier- (or payer-) | je paierai (or je payerai) |
| essayer | essaier- (or essayer-) | j'essaierai (or j'essayerai) |
| nettoyer | nettoier- | je nettoierai |
Je t'emploierai dès le début du mois.
I'll hire you from the beginning of the month.
Tu paieras la moitié, je paierai l'autre.
You'll pay half, I'll pay the other.
For -ayer verbs (payer, essayer), both forms are accepted: je paierai and je payerai. The y → i form is more common in modern French. For -oyer and -uyer verbs, the y → i change is mandatory (you cannot write je nettoyerai).
The verb envoyer is irregular: its futur stem is enverr- (j'enverrai), covered on the next page.
-eler and -eter verbs: doubled consonant or grave accent
These verbs come in two patterns. Some double the consonant before adding the endings:
| Infinitive | Futur simple |
|---|---|
| appeler (to call) | j'appellerai |
| jeter (to throw) | je jetterai |
| rappeler (to remind / call back) | je rappellerai |
Others take a grave accent instead:
| Infinitive | Futur simple |
|---|---|
| acheter (to buy) | j'achèterai |
| geler (to freeze) | je gèlerai |
| peler (to peel) | je pèlerai |
Knowing which pattern a verb follows is largely a memorization task — the doubled-consonant verbs and the grave-accent verbs don't separate by any audible rule. Appeler doubles the l; acheter takes a grave accent. Jeter doubles the t; peler takes a grave accent. The 1990 spelling reforms allowed grave accents across the board (j'appèlerai, je jèterai) but these forms remain rare; traditional spellings dominate in published writing.
Je t'appellerai demain matin.
I'll call you tomorrow morning.
Nous achèterons une nouvelle voiture l'année prochaine.
We'll buy a new car next year.
-é-er verbs: traditionally é, optionally è
Verbs like espérer, préférer, posséder, considérer — verbs with é in the second-to-last syllable of the infinitive — have traditionally kept the é in the futur simple: j'espérerai, je préférerai. The 1990 spelling reform allows (and recommends) è: j'espèrerai, je préfèrerai. Both spellings are now acceptable; é dominates in older texts, è is gaining ground in modern usage.
J'espérerai jusqu'au dernier moment.
I'll hope until the last moment. (traditional)
J'espèrerai jusqu'au dernier moment.
I'll hope until the last moment. (modern, post-1990)
For learners, choose either consistently and don't worry about it.
Quick reference: full paradigms
| Person | parler | finir | vendre |
|---|---|---|---|
| je | parlerai | finirai | vendrai |
| tu | parleras | finiras | vendras |
| il / elle / on | parlera | finira | vendra |
| nous | parlerons | finirons | vendrons |
| vous | parlerez | finirez | vendrez |
| ils / elles | parleront | finiront | vendront |
Memorize one paradigm — parler is the conventional choice — and you have the template for thousands of regular verbs.
Connection to the conditional
The futur simple stem is also the conditional stem. Whatever stem you use to build je parlerai is the same stem you use to build je parlerais. The only difference is the endings: futur uses -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont, conditional uses -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient. Learn the futur simple stem, and you know the conditional stem for free. This is one of the highest-leverage things to internalize early. See conditional formation.
Comparison with English
English uses will + base form for the simple future: I will speak, you will speak, she will speak. The base form is invariant; will is the only piece that does anything. French is the opposite: there is no separate "future auxiliary," and every form takes a personal ending.
This means English speakers learning French sometimes underconjugate — they say je parler, treating the bare infinitive as the future. The fix: every futur simple form has an ending. Je parler is not French; je parlerai is.
The endings are also confusable with the imparfait endings (-ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient) and the conditional endings (same as imparfait, attached to the future stem). Pay attention to whether the -r- is present and to which set of endings follows it.
Common Mistakes
Mistake 1: Using the infinitive without endings.
❌ Demain, je parler à mon patron.
The futur simple requires endings. Without -ai, you have only an infinitive.
✅ Demain, je parlerai à mon patron.
Tomorrow I'll talk to my boss.
Mistake 2: Forgetting to drop the -e of -re verbs.
❌ Je vendreai ma voiture.
The final -e of vendre must be dropped before adding endings: je vendrai.
✅ Je vendrai ma voiture.
I'll sell my car.
Mistake 3: Confusing futur simple endings with imparfait or conditional.
❌ Demain, je parlerais à mon patron.
-ais is the imparfait or conditional ending. The futur simple of je is -ai (no s). The intended future is je parlerai.
✅ Demain, je parlerai à mon patron.
Tomorrow I'll talk to my boss.
Mistake 4: Spelling -yer verbs without the y → i change.
❌ Je nettoyerai la cuisine ce soir.
For -oyer verbs, the y must change to i in the futur simple: je nettoierai.
✅ Je nettoierai la cuisine ce soir.
I'll clean the kitchen tonight.
Mistake 5: Forgetting the doubled consonant in appeler / jeter.
❌ Je t'appelerai demain.
Appeler doubles the l in the futur simple: je t'appellerai.
✅ Je t'appellerai demain.
I'll call you tomorrow.
Mistake 6: Treating partir / sortir / dormir as irregular in the futur.
❌ Je parterai à six heures.
Partir is regular in the futur simple — keep the -ir of the infinitive: je partirai.
✅ Je partirai à six heures.
I'll leave at six.
Key takeaways
The futur simple stem of regular verbs is the infinitive itself for -er and -ir verbs, and the infinitive minus -e for -re verbs. To this stem you attach the endings -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont. The endings come from the present tense of avoir, a fossilized historical fact — Vulgar Latin cantare habeo "I have to sing" became Old French chanterai.
The endings never change. The stem follows the regular pattern unless the verb is on the irregular-stem list — aller, avoir, être, faire, voir, savoir, pouvoir, vouloir, devoir, recevoir, venir, tenir, courir, mourir, envoyer, falloir, pleuvoir — covered on the next page.
Three small spelling adjustments affect -yer verbs (y → i), -eler / -eter verbs (doubled consonant or grave accent), and verbs with é in the second-to-last syllable (traditional é, modern è both accepted). Once you have the regular pattern and the irregulars, you can produce any French verb in the futur simple.
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Start learning French→Related Topics
- Le Futur: OverviewA1 — French has two main futures — the synthetic futur simple (je parlerai) and the analytic futur proche (je vais parler) — plus the futur antérieur (j'aurai parlé) for completed future actions. This page maps how each is built, when each is used, and how they divide up the future-time space.
- Futur Simple: Irregular StemsA1 — Around twenty high-frequency French verbs use irregular stems in the futur simple — être → ser-, avoir → aur-, aller → ir-, faire → fer-, voir → verr-, and so on. The endings stay regular; you have to memorize the stems. Once memorized, they double as the conditional stems.
- Futur Proche: Going to / Immediate FutureA1 — The futur proche is built with aller in the present plus an infinitive — je vais manger, tu vas partir. It dominates spoken French for plans, intentions, and imminent events, and maps almost perfectly onto English 'going to' + verb.
- The Three Conjugation Groups: -er, -ir, -reA1 — How French verbs sort into the 1er, 2e, and 3e groupes — and why one group has 90% of the verbs and another is everything that doesn't fit.
- Orthographic Changes in -er ConjugationsA2 — Predictable spelling adjustments in 1er-groupe verbs (manger, commencer, appeler, espérer, lever, employer) that preserve consistent pronunciation across the paradigm.
- Le Conditionnel Présent: Formation et TerminaisonsA2 — How to build the conditionnel for any French verb — futur stem plus imparfait endings. The rule is one line; the pronunciation distinction with the futur (je serai vs je serais) is the trap.