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French Conjugation

Le Futur Proche (The Near Future)

Expressing imminent plans, certain outcomes, or immediate upcoming events using the present tense of aller followed by an infinitive.

Level A2 Category Conjugation

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Lesson Summary

Expressing imminent plans, certain outcomes, or immediate upcoming events using the present tense of aller followed by an infinitive.

Conjugation

The Near Future

The futur proche expresses actions that are going to take place in the near future. It is formed with the present tense of the verb aller and an infinitive. For the conjugation of aller, see aller present. This construction is extremely frequent in spoken French, where it often replaces the simple future.

Formation of the Futur Proche

Subject	Aller (present)	Infinitive	Example
je	vais	manger	Je vais manger.
tu	vas	partir	Tu vas partir ?
il / elle / on	va	dormir	Il va dormir.
nous	allons	visiter	Nous allons visiter le musée.
vous	allez	commander	Vous allez commander ?
ils / elles	vont	arriver	Elles vont arriver bientôt.

Usage

The futur proche is used to announce a planned or imminent action. It corresponds to the English ‘going to’ or, in many contexts, to the auxiliary ‘will’.

- Ce soir, je vais préparer le dîner.
- Demain, nous allons avoir un examen.

The construction is invariable: the auxiliary aller is conjugated in the present, and the main verb remains in the infinitive. No other element is inserted between the two verbs.

Negation and Questions

In negative sentences, the negation ne…pas encloses the conjugated form of aller: Je ne vais pas dormir. Il ne va pas pleuvoir. For the complete rules of negation, see basic negation.

Questions in the futur proche can be formed by intonation (Tu vas venir ?), by the insertion of est-ce que (Est-ce que tu vas venir ?), or by formal inversion (Vas-tu venir ?). For the various question structures, see yes/no questions via intonation and questions with est-ce que.

Examples

Nous allons dîner au restaurant ce soir.
The futur proche formed with allons (first person plural of aller) and the infinitive dîner.
Elle va bientôt se lever.
The pronoun se is attached to the infinitive lever in the pronominal verb se lever.

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These are the main phrases this lesson covers:

Le Futur Proche (The Near Future)Expressing imminent plans, certain outcomes, or immediate upcoming events using the present tense of aller followed by an infinitive.Construct sentences referring to the immediate future by combining the conjugated present form of aller with the relevant action verb in the infinitive.ConjugationA2conjugationLearn French ConjugationFrench ConjugationThe Near FutureThe futur proche expresses actions that are going to take place in the near future. It is formed with the present tense of the verb aller and an infinitive. For the conjugation of aller, see aller present. This construction is extremely frequent in spoken French, where it often replaces the simple future.