The Future Tense: Grammar Explanation

The future tense in French is formed in French in the following way:

Take the stem of the verb, as follows:

-ER verbs: the infinitive, e.g. jouer = jouer

-IR verbs: the infinitive , e.g. finir = finir

-RE verbs: the infinitive minus the "e", e.g. attendre = attendr

Now add the endings below:

je ....................... ai

tu ....................... as

il ....................... a

nous ................. ons

vous ................. ez

ils ...................... ont

Easy way to remember these endings:

They are the verb "avoir" in the present tense, minus the "av" in the nous and vous forms. i.e.

j'ai

tu as

il a

nous (av)ons

vous (av)ez

ils ont

EXCEPTIONS:

There are a number of verbs which have irregular stems. The most common are given below: