Paul prévoit un voyage en France l'année prochaine.

Paul is planning a trip to France next year.

Breakdown of Paul prévoit un voyage en France l'année prochaine.

• Paul: Paul
• en: in
• France: France
• l'année: the year
• prochain: next
• le voyage: the trip
• prévoir: to include

Questions & Answers about Paul prévoit un voyage en France l'année prochaine.

What exactly does prévoit mean here, and why is it in the present tense if we’re talking about the future?

The verb prévoir literally means to foresee, but in everyday French it often means to plan, to schedule, or to expect.

In Paul prévoit un voyage…, prévoit = is planning or plans.

It’s in the present tense (3rd person singular: il/elle prévoit) even though the trip is in the future. French very often uses the present to talk about fixed or arranged future plans, especially when a time expression like l’année prochaine (next year) makes the time clear.

So:

• Paul prévoit un voyage en France l’année prochaine.
  = Paul is planning a trip to France next year.

Grammatically, Paul (he) → il prévoit → Paul prévoit.

Why is it prévoit and not prévoir in the sentence?

Prévoir is the infinitive form (the dictionary form: to plan, to foresee).

In a sentence, you must conjugate it to match the subject:

• je prévois (I plan)
• tu prévois (you plan, singular familiar)
• il / elle / on prévoit (he / she / one plans)
• nous prévoyons (we plan)
• vous prévoyez (you plan, plural or formal)
• ils / elles prévoient (they plan)

Since the subject is Paul (3rd person singular), the correct form is prévoit:

• Paul prévoit… = He plans…

Using Paul prévoir… would be like saying Paul to plan… in English – ungrammatical.

Why is it un voyage and not une voyage or le voyage?

1. Gender:
   Voyage is a masculine noun in French, so you must use un (masculine) and not une (feminine):

   • un voyage (a trip)
   • le voyage (the trip)

2. Indefinite vs definite article:

   • un voyage = a trip, some non‑specific trip (we just know he’s planning a trip, not a specific one already identified)
   • le voyage = the trip, a specific trip both speaker and listener already know about

In this sentence, Paul is just planning a trip in general, so un voyage is the natural choice.

How can I know that voyage is masculine?

Unfortunately, French gender is mostly arbitrary and must be memorized with each noun.

A good habit is to always learn a noun together with its article:

• un voyage (masculine)
• une voiture (feminine)
• un pays (masculine)
• une ville (feminine)

There is no reliable rule that makes voyage clearly masculine; you simply need to remember un voyage / le voyage.

Why do we say en France and not à la France?

For countries, French uses a special pattern:

• en
  • feminine countries (or countries starting with a vowel sound)
    → en France, en Italie, en Espagne, en Allemagne
• au
  • masculine countries
    → au Canada, au Japon, au Portugal
• aux
  • plural countries
    → aux États‑Unis, aux Pays‑Bas

France is grammatically feminine, so:

• en France = to France / in France

À la France is possible only in very specific, abstract expressions (often political or historical), not for basic physical travel. For travel, you say:

• Je vais en France. = I’m going to France.
• Je suis en France. = I’m in France.

Could we also say Paul prévoit un voyage à la France?

No, not for this meaning.

For going to a country, the natural preposition is:

• en (for feminine countries like la France)
• au (for masculine countries)
• aux (for plural countries)

So:

• Paul prévoit un voyage en France. ✅

À la France would sound wrong or at least very odd in the context of travel. It might appear in very specific expressions about France as an idea or entity (e.g. historical or political rhetoric), but not in everyday language about trips.

What is the difference between prévoir un voyage en France and prévoir d’aller en France?

Both are correct, but the structure and nuance differ slightly:

1. Prévoir un voyage en France

   • Verb + direct object: prévoir
     • un voyage
   • Focuses on the trip as an event: he is planning a trip (which happens to be to France).

2. Prévoir d’aller en France

   • Verb + de
     • infinitive: prévoir de
       • aller
   • Focuses more on the action of going: he is planning to go to France.

In many contexts, they are interchangeable:

• Paul prévoit un voyage en France l’année prochaine.
• Paul prévoit d’aller en France l’année prochaine.

Both imply he is planning to go to France next year.

Why is it l’année prochaine and not la année prochaine?

L’année is an example of elision in French.

When la (feminine singular the) is followed by a word beginning with a vowel or mute h, la becomes l’ to make pronunciation smoother:

• la année → l’année
• la école → l’école
• la histoire → l’histoire

So:

• l’année prochaine = next year

Writing la année prochaine would be considered incorrect.

Is there a difference between l’année prochaine and l’an prochain?

Both can mean next year, but there is a small nuance:

• an refers more to a calendar or counted year (a simple unit of time: 1 year, 2 years, etc.).
• année often emphasizes the content or experience of the year (how the year goes, what happens during it).

In practice:

• l’an prochain – everyday, slightly shorter and very common.
• l’année prochaine – also very common; can sound a bit more “full” or slightly more descriptive.

In your sentence, l’année prochaine is perfectly natural. You could also say:

• Paul prévoit un voyage en France l’an prochain.

No big difference in meaning here.

Could the time phrase l’année prochaine go at the beginning of the sentence?

Yes. French allows some flexibility with time expressions. All of these are correct:

• Paul prévoit un voyage en France l’année prochaine.
• L’année prochaine, Paul prévoit un voyage en France.

Both mean the same thing.

The most common positions for time phrases in French are:

• At the beginning of the sentence
• At the end of the sentence

Putting it in the exact middle (e.g. Paul prévoit l’année prochaine un voyage en France) is possible but sounds more marked or less natural in everyday speech.

Why is it prochaine after année and not before, like la prochaine année?

With année, the normal way to say next year is:

• l’année prochaine ✅
  Not:
• la prochaine année ❌ (sounds awkward or wrong in most contexts)

In French, the position of adjectives can affect idiomaticity and sometimes meaning. For année, the time‑expression pattern is fixed:

• l’année prochaine (next year)
• l’année dernière (last year)

You might see la prochaine année in very specific, literary, or heavily modified phrases (e.g. la prochaine année fiscale = the next fiscal year), but as a simple time expression, l’année prochaine is the natural form.

Could we use a future tense like prévoira or va prévoir instead of prévoit?

Grammatically, yes:

• Paul prévoira un voyage en France l’année prochaine.
• Paul va prévoir un voyage en France l’année prochaine.

But they sound less natural here:

1. Paul prévoira… (simple future)
   Sounds a bit more formal or distant; often used for predictions or scheduled future events not yet started. It suggests: He will (at some point) plan a trip… rather than He is already planning.

2. Paul va prévoir… (near future)
   Emphasizes that the act of planning will happen soon: He is going to plan a trip…, not that he is already in the process of planning.

The original Paul prévoit… suggests he is currently planning or has started planning, which matches the English Paul is planning… very well.

How is prévoit pronounced, and is the final t silent?

Prévoit is pronounced approximately like: [pray-vwah] in English approximation.

• pré‑ → like pray
• ‑voit → like vwah
• The final t in prévoit is silent.

So you do not pronounce a final t sound:

• prévoit → pray-vwah (not pray-vwaht)

Also:

• Paul prévoit un voyage en France l’année prochaine
  has many silent final consonants: Paul, prévoit, voyage, France, prochaine all end with letters that are not fully pronounced in isolation.