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La prochaine génération aura moins d'enfants.

La prochaine génération aura moins d'enfants.
The next generation will have fewer children.
From Lesson 138:The near vs. distant future·French

Questions & Answers about La prochaine génération aura moins d'enfants.

Why does this sentence use aura (futur simple) instead of va avoir (futur proche)?
Aura is the futur simple (will have), which is perfect for predictions about the distant future. If we said va avoir (is going to have), it would sound like an immediate certainty happening very soon, which doesn't fit a general guess about a whole generation.
Why is prochaine before the noun here? Usually we put it after, like in la semaine prochaine (next week).
When prochain or prochaine means 'the next one in a sequence' (like the next generation, the next train, or the next page), it goes before the noun. It only goes after the noun when talking about specific time periods (like next week, next month, or next year).
Is aura a regular verb in the futur simple?
No, aura is the futur simple form of avoir (to have). The verb avoir has an irregular future stem, aur-, which you just have to memorize. The ending -a matches the subject la prochaine génération (which acts like elle).
Why is it moins d'enfants and not moins des enfants?
Moins de is an expression of quantity meaning 'fewer' or 'less'. In French, after expressions of quantity like moins de, plus de (more), or beaucoup de (a lot), you just use de (or d' before a vowel). You do not use the plural article des.

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