A1–A2 · Future
The near future: je vais + infinitive
French has a fancy future tense. Conversation mostly does not use it. People say je vais t’appeler (I’m going to call you) the way English does. Aller + infinitive is the future you can take to a shop, a meeting, and a WhatsApp voice note this week.
Aller + a second verb
Conjugate aller. Leave the next verb in the infinitive. That is the whole tense. The “going to” is not always about walking somewhere — it is about what comes next.
| Person | Near future |
|---|---|
| je | je vais partir |
| tu | tu vas partir |
| il / elle / on | il va partir |
| nous | nous allons partir |
| vous | vous allez partir |
| ils / elles | ils vont partir |
Je vais envoyer le mail ce soir.
I’m going to send the email tonight. On va manger où ?
Where are we going to eat? Je ne vais pas rester.
I’m not going to stay. Negation wraps aller: ne vais pas + infinitive.
Going somewhere vs going to do
Movement
Je vais à la gare.
I’m going to the station. — aller + place
Elle va chez le médecin.
She’s going to the doctor’s.
Intention
Je vais prendre le train.
I’m going to take the train. — aller + verb
Elle va appeler.
She’s going to call.
When the written future can wait
The futur simple (je partirai, tu enverras) shows up in writing, promises, and “this will happen as a fact”. You will learn it. You do not need it to book a table or tell a tutor your plan for the week.
Je vais t’écrire.
I’ll write to you. — spoken default Je t’écrirai.
I will write to you. — a bit more formal or definite
Try this out loud
Say three things you are going to do after this page.
Je vais relire l’exemple.
I’m going to reread the example.
Je vais l’essayer à voix haute.
I’m going to try it out loud.
On va en parler en cours.
We’ll talk about it in the lesson.
Questions this page usually raises
Keep going
Next grammar pages — same English, next rule.
A1 · Verbs
Être, avoir, aller, faire
The four French verbs you cannot skip: to be, to have, to go, and to do — with full present forms and when to use each.
Read this resourceA1 · Verbs
The French present tense
How the French present tense works for regular -er, -ir, and -re verbs, and when it covers English “I am doing”.
Read this resourceA1 · Sentences
French negation: ne…pas and what people actually say
How to make French sentences negative with ne…pas, never, nothing — and why spoken French often drops the ne.
Read this resource
If you want a lesson around this
On the call
A page is a map. Speaking is the walk.
Use this in a real sentence on the free intro. We will correct it once, then you say it again.
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