Last week we learned about Futur Simple, and now it is time to go over Le Futur Proche tense. We use this tense when we are certain that an event or action will happen, either in the immediate future, or at a definted point in the future, eg. tomorrow, next week, in July, next year. Or in other words, we can use Futur Proche when we are talking about our plans. Let's dive in:

Here are 5 Great Tips to Talk About Your Future Plans in French

1. Le futur est si proche!

The easiest way to express your upcoming plans is to use the verb tense called futur proche, which is the equivalent to going to + verb in the infinitive form in English.

Futur proche is used every day by most native speakers to talk about what they will do in the near future, i.e. in a few hours, tomorrow or in the next few days. It is considered more informal.

Verbe ALLER au présent + verbe à l’infinitif

• Je vais manger une salade. (I am going to eat a salad.)
• Tu vas parler avec ta mère ce soir. (You are going to speak with your mother tonight.)
• Il va acheter une baguette au supermarché.  (He is going to buy a baguette at the supermarket.)
• Nous allons nager dans le lac dans quelques heures.  (We are going to swim in the lake in a few hours.)
• Vous allez écrire un courriel à votre patron. (You are going to write an email to your boss.)
• Ils vont se reposer cet après-midi parce qu’ils sont très fatigués. (They are going to relax/take it easy this afternoon because they are very tired.

2. Qu’est-ce que tu vas faire aujourd’hui?

So, what are you going to do today?

• Comme je suis en congé, je pense que je vais aller m’entraîner au centre de fitness ce matin. 
  (As I have a day off, I think I’m going to work out at the gym this morning.)
• Ensuite, je vais faire les courses en après-midi. 
  (Then, I’m going (to go) grocery shopping in the afternoon.)
• Je vais acheter un poulet rôti pour le dîner. 
  (I am going to buy a roasted chicken for dinner.)
• Je vais aller chercher mes parents à la station de train en soirée. 
  (I am going to pick up my parents at the train station in the evening.)
• Ils vont arriver à la Gare Cornavin vers 18h30. 
  (They are going to arrive at Gare Cornavin around 6.30 PM.)
• Ma mère m’a dit qu’ils vont sûrement arriver à l’heure. 
  (My mother told me that they are probably going to be on time.)
• Ils vont prendre le train de bonne heure demain matin. 
  (They are going to take the train quite early tomorrow morning.)
• Ils vont passer leurs vacances d'hiver  dans les Alpes. 
  (They are going to spend their winter holidays on the Alps.)

3. Le futur n’est pas si simple!

Another more formal way to express your future plans is to use a verb tense called futur simple, which isn’t as simple to use as futur proche, but not quite as complicated as some might think! I recommend using futur simple in more formal situations during which you want to show respect or impress your speaking partner with your mastery of futur simple!

This verb tense is very similar to the modal verb will in English. We take the infinitive (for re-verbs, we remove the last e) and add the following endings: ai, as, a, ons, ez, ont. Être and avoir are irregular, as always.

For irregular verbs, please refer to Le Conjugueur, a very useful tool to learn and check your French conjugation.

• Je parlerai* avec elle aujourd’hui. (I will speak with her today.)
• Tu habiteras toujours à Genève l’an prochain? (Will you still live in Geneva next year?)
• Il finira son rapport avant la fin de la journée. (He will finish his report before the end of the day.)
• Nous partagerons notre Airbnb avec nos meilleurs amis lors de nos prochaines vacances estivales. (We will share our Airbnb with our best friends during our next summer holidays.)
• Vous mangerez bien un petit morceau avec nous, n’est-ce pas? (You will eat a bite with us, won’t you?)
• Ils agiront en temps et lieu. (They will act in due course.)

*Please note that the ending ”ai” is pronounced like é in café or say.*