Futur Proche: aller + infinitive

Getting Started

The futur proche is the future you will hear most in French: Je vais partir (I’m going to leave), On va manger (We’re going to eat), Il va pleuvoir (It’s going to rain). It is also the safest future in a TEF or TCF speaking task: one verb to conjugate, and it works for almost any plan.

The whole lesson rests on one rule for every sentence with two verbs side by side:

Only the first verb changes. The second stays in the infinitive.

Aller tells you who and when; the infinitive tells you what. You will meet the same rule again with venir de (je viens de partir), with vouloir, pouvoir, devoir (je veux partir) and with aimer (j’aime partir), so learning it here pays four times.

Punjabi and Hindi work the same way. In ਮੈਂ ਫ਼ੋਨ ਕਰਨ ਜਾ ਰਿਹਾ ਹਾਂ / मैं फ़ोन करने जा रहा हूँ, only ਜਾ ਰਿਹਾ ਹਾਂ changes with the person (ਜਾ ਰਹੀ ਹਾਂ, ਜਾ ਰਹੇ ਹਾਂ); ਕਰਨ stays as it is. French does exactly this: je vais appeler, elle va appeler, nous allons appeler. Only the order is different: French puts the infinitive after aller.

By the end of this lesson you should be able to:

• conjugate aller and build the futur proche for every person;
• put ne… pas and object pronouns in the right place;
• use pronominal verbs after aller (je vais me lever);
• choose between the futur proche and the futur simple;
• talk about your plans in a TEF/TCF speaking task.

1 The form: aller + infinitive

Listen for the liaison: nous‿allons and vous‿allez are said with a z: “noo-za-lon”, “voo-za-lé”. Without it, nous allons is not recognisable.

In everyday speech, on va is often used for “we”: On va manger au restaurant ce soir.

2 The two-verb rule: only aller changes

The infinitive never takes the person’s ending:

• Je vais manger. ❌ Je vais mange.
• Elle va finir. ❌ Elle va finit.
• Ils vont prendre le bus. ❌ Ils vont prennent le bus.

The -er trap. For -er verbs, the infinitive and the past participle sound the same: manger and mangé are both “man-jé”. So the mistake only shows in writing: ❌ Je vais mangé. To check, swap in an -ir or -re verb: you would say je vais finir, not je vais fini, so write manger.

No à. Je vais à Toronto (I’m going to Toronto) has an à because Toronto is a place. Je vais partir has none, because partir is a verb. ❌ Je vais à partir.

3 Negatives and questions

Ne… pas goes around aller, the verb that changes, and the infinitive stays outside:

In speech you will hear the ne dropped: Je vais pas partir. Recognise it, but write ne.

Questions work like any other sentence:

• Tu vas venir demain ? (rising voice, the everyday way)
• Est-ce que vous allez étudier ce soir ?
• Qu’est-ce que tu vas faire ce week-end ?
• Quand est-ce qu’elle va appeler ?
• Allez-vous signer le contrat ? (inversion, formal)

4 Pronouns go before the infinitive

An object pronoun belongs to the verb it is the object of, and that is the infinitive, so it goes just before the infinitive, not before aller:

❌ Je le vais faire. ❌ Je vais faire le.

With a negative, both rules work together: Je ne vais pas le faire.

Pronominal verbs: the pronoun matches the subject, not the dictionary form:

❌ Je vais se lever is the single most common futur proche mistake: se is only for il, elle, on, ils, elles. See Pronominal Verbs.

5 Where the simple rule breaks

• Je vais aller is fine. Je vais aller chez le médecin is completely normal: the first aller marks the future, the second is the trip.
• “About to” is not the futur proche. Je vais partir can be tonight or next year: Je vais avoir quarante ans l’année prochaine. For something about to happen right now, French says être sur le point de: Je suis sur le point de partir (I’m just about to leave).
• Je vais ne pas partir is not a mistake, but it says something else. Je ne vais pas partir = I’m not going to leave. Je vais ne pas partir = I’m going to (choose to) not leave. Use the first one.
• Aller in the imparfait = “was going to”. J’allais t’appeler, mais j’ai oublié. (I was going to call you, but I forgot.) It is the futur proche seen from the past, and very common in conversation.

6 Futur proche or futur simple?

Both talk about the future. The difference is mostly register and certainty:

In Canada especially, the futur proche covers most of the future in conversation. After quand in writing, use the futur simple on both sides: Quand j’aurai mon diplôme, je chercherai un emploi. The forms are in Futur Simple.

Its mirror is the passé récent. Je vais manger (going to eat), je suis en train de manger (eating right now), je viens de manger (have just eaten): the same two-verb rule, pointing forward, now, and back. See Passé Récent.

Common Mistakes

Practice

A. Conjugate aller

B. Pronouns and negatives: write the missing word

C. Going to, or have just? Write vais, va, viens de or vient de

For conjugation practice, try the verb conjugation drill.

Your Turn: Your Plans for Next Weekend

A classic TEF/TCF speaking question: Qu’est-ce que vous allez faire le week-end prochain ? Answer in five or six sentences. Use at least one negative, one pronoun and one pronominal verb.

Model answer: Samedi matin, je vais faire les courses avec ma femme. L’après-midi, nous allons emmener les enfants au parc, s’il fait beau. Le soir, je vais préparer des parathas, parce que mes cousins vont venir dîner. Dimanche, je ne vais pas sortir : je vais me reposer et réviser mon français. Le test est en mars, et je vais le réussir !

What makes it work: a time marker opens each sentence (samedi matin, l’après-midi, le soir, dimanche), aller changes with the subject (je vais, nous allons, mes cousins vont), and the negative, the pronominal verb and the pronoun each sit in their place (je ne vais pas sortir, je vais me reposer, je vais le réussir).

What’s Next

• Passé Récent: venir de + infinitivethe mirror tense, pointing back.
• Futur Simplethe other future, for writing and promises.
• Pronominal Verbsje vais me lever and the daily routine.
• Likes, Preferences and Future Planstalking about your plans the way a TEF task asks for them.
• Verb conjugation drillmake the forms automatic.