The near future (le futur proche)
To talk about things that are going to happen soon or future plans, French uses the near future tense (le futur proche). Just like in English, it is formed by combining the present tense of aller (to go) with the infinitive (the dictionary form) of the main action verb.
Here is a quick reminder of how to conjugate aller:
| Subject | aller (to go) |
|---|---|
| je | vais |
| tu | vas |
| il / elle / on | va |
| nous | allons |
| vous | allez |
| ils / elles | vont |
| I am going to celebrate my birthday tomorrow. | Je vais fêter mon anniversaire demain. |
| We are going to move to Paris. | Nous allons déménager à Paris. |
If the main verb is reflexive, the reflexive pronoun still needs to match the subject. Place the reflexive pronoun directly before the infinitive.
| They are going to get married next month. | Ils vont se marier le mois prochain. |
Negation in the near future
To make a near future sentence negative, place the two parts of the negation (like ne ... pas or ne ... jamais) around the conjugated verb (aller). The infinitive stays outside the negation.
| He is not going to sell his boat. | Il ne va pas vendre son bateau. |
| We are never going to rent this house. | Nous n'allons jamais louer cette maison. |
Asking questions about the future
When asking questions in the near future, question words (like où, quand, or à quelle heure) can be placed at the beginning or the end of the sentence.
| Where are you going to celebrate his birthday? | Vous allez fêter son anniversaire où ? |
| At what time are you going to meet the clients? | Vous allez rencontrer les clients à quelle heure ? |
The verb passer
The verb passer has a few different meanings depending on the context. In the near future, you will often see it used to express spending time or taking an exam.
| You are going to spend the weekend with us. | Tu vas passer le week-end avec nous. |
| She is going to take a difficult exam. | Elle va passer un examen difficile. |
