Question 1

Since this lesson is about the near future, how would I change this sentence to say 'I am going to take a trip to France'?

Accepted Answer

To use the near future, you combine the present tense of the verb aller (to go) with the infinitive (the dictionary form) of your main verb. The main action verb here is faire (to do/make). So, je fais becomes je vais faire. The full sentence in the near future is: Je vais faire un voyage en France.

Question 2

The English translation says 'taking a trip', but doesn't fais mean 'do' or 'make'?

Accepted Answer

Yes, it does! The literal translation is 'I make a trip'. In French, you use faire for a trip (faire un voyage), whereas in English you use 'take'. French uses faire for many common activities where English uses different verbs, such as faire une promenade (to take a walk) or faire les courses (to go grocery shopping).

Question 3

Why is it en France instead of à France for 'to France'?

Accepted Answer

In French, countries that end in the letter 'e' are almost always feminine, like la France. For feminine countries, you use the preposition en to mean both 'to' and 'in'. If the country were masculine, like Canada, you would use au instead, for example, au Canada.

Question 4

Can I use this present tense sentence to talk about a trip I am taking next week, instead of using the near future?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Just like in English, you can often use the present tense in French to talk about a firmly planned future event. If you add a future time word to the sentence, saying something like Je fais un voyage en France demain (I am taking a trip to France tomorrow) is completely natural, even though the near future (Je vais faire...) is also a great option.

Je fais un voyage en France.

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