Futur Simple - Irregular Stems

Imagine you are building a house. The endings are your roof and windows. These stay the same for every house. The stem is your foundation. For regular verbs, the foundation is the whole infinitive. For our irregular rebels, the foundation changes shape. For example, aller (to go) does not become allerai. That sounds clunky even to a beginner. Instead, it shrinks down to ir-. You then stick your future endings onto this ir- base. The result? J'irai. It is shorter and faster to say. Most irregular stems in the future tense end in the letter r. This r is the signature sound of the future. If you hear a strong r followed by an ai or as sound, you are likely hearing the Futur Simple. This pattern is very consistent. Even the most "broken" looking verbs follow this stem + ending logic perfectly. It is less about chaos and more about efficiency.

1. 1To form the Futur Simple with irregular stems, follow these two steps:
2. 2Identify the irregular stem of the verb. You must memorize these, but they often resemble the verb's roots. For example, venir (to come) becomes viendr-.
3. 3Add the standard Futur Simple endings to that stem. These endings are basically the present tense of avoir (except for nous and vous).
4. 4The endings are:
5. 5je + -ai
6. 6tu + -as
7. 7il/elle/on + -a
8. 8nous + -ons
9. 9vous + -ez
10. 10ils/elles + -ont
11. 11Let's look at faire (to do/make). Its irregular stem is fer-.
12. 12Je ferai (I will do)
13. 13Tu feras (You will do)
14. 14Il fera (He will do)
15. 15Nous ferons (We will do)
16. 16Vous ferez (You will do)
17. 17Ils feront (They will do)
18. 18Yes, it is that simple. The hardest part is just remembering the stem. Think of it like a secret code. Once you have the key (fer-, ir-, ser-), the rest is automatic.

You use the Futur Simple for things that feel a bit further away. It is for your dreams, your long-term plans, and your big predictions.

• Making Promises: "I will call you tomorrow." Je t'appellerai demain.
• Formal Announcements: "The store will close at 8 PM." Le magasin fermera à vingt heures.
• Weather Forecasts: "It will rain on Sunday." Il pleuvra dimanche.
• Life Goals: "One day, I will be famous." Un jour, je serai célèbre.
• Polite Requests: Sometimes we use the future to sound less bossy. "You will do your homework now?" Tu feras tes devoirs maintenant ? (Though this is a bit firm!)

In a job interview, you might say, "I will be a great asset to your team." Je serai un atout pour votre équipe. It sounds professional and confident. In a restaurant, you might use it to talk about what you will have, though the Futur Proche is also common there. Use the Futur Simple when you want to sound sure about the future but not necessarily doing it in the next five minutes.

Don't use the Futur Simple for things happening right now. If you are literally putting your coat on to leave, use the Futur Proche (Je vais partir). The Futur Simple feels too "distant" for that. Also, avoid it in "if" clauses that are purely hypothetical. For example, if you say "If I were rich, I would buy a boat," the "would buy" part is Conditional, not Future.

Another trap is the "when" clause. In English, we say "When I arrive, I will call you." Note that "arrive" is in the present tense in English. In French, you must use the future for both: Quand j'arriverai, je t'appellerai. If both actions are in the future, French wants both verbs in the future. It is more logical, but it feels weird to English speakers at first. Don't let your English brain sabotage your French grammar!

The biggest mistake is trying to be too regular. Students often say je allerai or je avoirai. It makes sense logically, but it will make a native speaker wince. If a verb is common, it is probably irregular.

• Stem Confusion: Mixing up voir (to see) and vouloir (to want). Voir becomes verr-, while vouloir becomes voudr-. If you say Je voudrai voir le film, you are saying "I will want to see the movie." If you mean "I will see," use Je verrai.
• Double R Trouble: Some verbs like pouvoir (to be able) and courir (to run) get a double r. Je pourrai and je courrai. Don't forget that second r! It changes the pronunciation slightly and is vital for spelling.
• Endings: Using -ez instead of -ont for the ils/elles form. Remember, the ending for "they" always ends in -ont in the future. It sounds like the word for "circle" or "bridge" in French.

The main rival of the Futur Simple is the Futur Proche (aller + infinitive).

• Futur Proche: Je vais manger. (I am going to eat). This is for the immediate future. It is for things you have already decided and are about to do. It is very common in spoken French.
• Futur Simple: Je mangerai. (I will eat). This is for intentions, predictions, or more formal contexts.

Think of it like a grammar traffic light. Green light is Futur Proche (Go now!). Yellow light is Futur Simple (Wait, it’s coming later).

Also, compare it to the Conditional. They look almost identical! Je serai (Future: I will be) vs. Je serais (Conditional: I would be). The only difference in spelling is that silent s at the end of the Conditional. In speech, they can sound very similar depending on the region. Pay close attention to the context. Are we talking about a plan or a dream?