Near Future (aller + infinitive) — I can form the near future using aller + infinitive. - French 1

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Historical Context & Motivation

Every language needs a way to talk about the future, and French is no exception. However, unlike English, where we simply say "I will" or "I am going to," French developed multiple systems to express upcoming events. The construction known as the futur proche (near future) — built from the verb aller (to go) plus an infinitive — is one of the most frequently used ways to express future actions in everyday French. Understanding where it came from helps you appreciate why it works the way it does today.

~100 CE • Latin Origins

Latin used a simple future tense (cantabo = 'I will sing'), but in spoken Vulgar Latin, people started combining verbs to express the future in a more conversational way, foreshadowing what French would later develop.

~800 CE • Old French Emerges

As Latin evolved into Old French, the verb 'aler' (an early form of 'aller') began to be paired with other verbs to indicate motion toward an action — literally 'going to do something.' This physical sense of movement would gradually become more abstract.

~1500 • Grammaticalization

By the Renaissance, 'aller + infinitive' had lost much of its literal 'going somewhere' meaning and was widely used simply to indicate that something was about to happen, even without physical movement.

Modern Era • Everyday French

Today, the futur proche is the dominant way French speakers express future events in conversation. It is far more common in spoken French than the formal 'futur simple' tense, much like how English speakers prefer 'I'm going to' over 'I shall.'

The key question this lesson answers is straightforward: how do you conjugate aller in the present tense and attach an infinitive to express what someone is going to do? By the end, you will be able to construct near-future sentences with confidence, recognize the pattern in reading and listening, and distinguish the futur proche from other future constructions.

SECTION 2

Core Principles & Definitions

The futur proche is built on a simple two-part formula. First, you conjugate the verb aller in the present tense to match your subject. Then, you immediately follow it with the infinitive form of whatever action you want to express. Nothing changes about the infinitive — it stays in its base dictionary form. This is why the futur proche is considered one of the easiest French constructions to learn.

Aller = The Engine

Aller is an irregular verb meaning 'to go.' In the futur proche, it is the only part you conjugate. You must memorize its present-tense forms: je vais, tu vas, il/elle/on va, nous allons, vous allez, ils/elles vont.

Infinitive = The Action

The infinitive is the unconjugated, base form of a verb — the form you find in the dictionary. It always ends in -er, -ir, -re (e.g., manger, finir, vendre). In the futur proche, the infinitive never changes.

No Agreement Needed

Unlike the passé composé, the futur proche does not require past participle agreement. The infinitive stays the same regardless of the subject's gender or number, which simplifies things significantly.

Negation Wraps Aller

To make the futur proche negative, place ne...pas around the conjugated form of aller, not around the infinitive. Example: 'Je ne vais pas manger' (I am not going to eat).

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KEY TAKEAWAY

Think of the futur proche like a GPS navigation app on your phone. The verb aller is your GPS — it adjusts to who is driving (the subject). The infinitive is the destination — it stays the same no matter who is behind the wheel. 'Je vais manger' and 'Nous allons manger' have different drivers but the same destination: eating.

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Visual Explanation

This diagram illustrates the two-part futur proche formula. On the left, you see all six conjugated forms of aller in purple. On the right, sample infinitives appear in cyan. The bottom bar shows how the two parts combine: Nous allons manger (We are going to eat).

As the diagram shows, the construction works like snapping two puzzle pieces together. The left piece — the conjugated form of aller — changes depending on who the subject is. The right piece — the infinitive — always stays in its dictionary form. This predictability makes the futur proche one of the first future constructions you will master. Notice that aller is highly irregular, so each form must be memorized individually: vais, vas, va, allons, allez, vont. Once you have those six forms down, you can pair them with any infinitive in the French language.

SECTION 4

How It Works — Sentence Construction

The Affirmative Pattern

AFFIRMATIVE FUTUR PROCHE

Subject + aller (conjugated) + infinitive

Subject = je, tu, il/elle/on, nous, vous, ils/elles (or a noun/name); aller = conjugated in the present tense to match the subject; infinitive = any verb in its base form (-er, -ir, -re).

For example, if you want to say "Marie is going to study," you identify the subject (Marie = elle), choose the correct aller form (va), and add the infinitive (étudier). Result: Marie va étudier.

The Negative Pattern

NEGATIVE FUTUR PROCHE

Subject + ne + aller (conjugated) + pas + infinitive

The negation words ne...pas wrap around the conjugated verb (aller), NOT around the infinitive. This is true for all compound constructions in French.

To negate our earlier example: "Marie is not going to study" becomes Marie ne va pas étudier. Notice how ne comes before va and pas comes after it. The infinitive étudier remains untouched at the end of the sentence.

Pronoun Placement

FUTUR PROCHE WITH OBJECT PRONOUNS

Subject + aller (conjugated) + pronoun + infinitive

When an object pronoun is present (le, la, les, me, te, lui, etc.), it goes directly before the infinitive, not before aller. Example: 'Je vais le faire' (I am going to do it).

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Common Mistake Alert

Many students want to place the object pronoun before aller instead of before the infinitive. Remember: the pronoun belongs to the action verb (the infinitive), not to aller. Say "Je vais le manger" (I am going to eat it), NOT "Je le vais manger."

SECTION 5

Detailed Conjugation Breakdown

Since the entire futur proche construction depends on how well you know the present tense of aller, let's examine each form in detail. Aller is one of the most irregular verbs in French — its forms don't follow any of the standard -er, -ir, or -re patterns. The table below pairs each subject pronoun with its aller form and provides a complete futur proche example using a different infinitive for each row.

Subject	Aller Form	Example (Futur Proche)	English Translation
je	vais	Je vais parler.	I am going to speak.
tu	vas	Tu vas danser.	You are going to dance.
il / elle / on	va	Elle va lire.	She is going to read.
nous	allons	Nous allons voyager.	We are going to travel.
vous	allez	Vous allez choisir.	You are going to choose.
ils / elles	vont	Ils vont attendre.	They are going to wait.

Complete conjugation of aller in the present tense with futur proche examples

This side-by-side comparison shows four affirmative futur proche sentences on the left and their negative counterparts on the right. Notice how ne...pas always wraps around the conjugated form of aller (shown in purple), while the infinitive (shown in cyan) remains at the end. Also note the elision in the third row: n'allons — when 'ne' precedes a vowel, it contracts to 'n'.'

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Elision Reminder

When ne comes before a verb starting with a vowel or a silent 'h,' it shortens to n'. Since 'allons,' 'allez,' and 'ont' all start with vowel sounds, you will write n'allons pas, n'allez pas, etc.

SECTION 6

Worked Example

Let's walk through a complete example, including translating an English sentence into French using the futur proche, and then forming its negative.

Translate: "My friends are going to watch a movie tonight. They are not going to study."

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Step 1 — Identify the Subject

"My friends" is a third-person plural subject. In French, "my friends" translates to mes amis. The corresponding subject pronoun is ils (since "amis" is masculine plural).

Subject: Mes amis (ils)
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Step 2 — Conjugate Aller

For ils (third-person plural), the present-tense form of aller is vont. This is the form we will use in our futur proche construction.

Aller form: vont
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Step 3 — Choose the Infinitive

"To watch" in French is regarder. This is a regular -er verb. In the futur proche, it stays in its infinitive form — no conjugation needed.

Infinitive: regarder
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Step 4 — Assemble the Affirmative Sentence

Put the pieces together: subject + conjugated aller + infinitive + the rest of the sentence. "A movie" is un film and "tonight" is ce soir.

Mes amis vont regarder un film ce soir.
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Step 5 — Form the Negative Sentence

For the second sentence, "They are not going to study," we use the negative pattern. The subject pronoun is Ils, the aller form is vont, and the infinitive for "to study" is étudier. We wrap ne...pas around vont.

Ils ne vont pas étudier.

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Futur Proche vs. Futur Simple

French has more than one way to express the future. The futur proche (aller + infinitive) and the futur simple (a one-word conjugated form) both express future actions, but they differ in tone, register, and implied timeframe. Understanding when to use each will make your French sound more natural.

Feature	Futur Proche (aller + inf.)	Futur Simple
Formation	Two words: conjugated aller + infinitive	One word: infinitive stem + special endings (-ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont)
Difficulty	Easier — only aller changes	Harder — must learn new endings and irregular stems
Timeframe feel	Near or immediate future; plans in progress	Any future; often more distant or formal predictions
Register	Informal, conversational, everyday speech	Formal writing, literature, speeches, news broadcasts
English equivalent	"I am going to eat" / "I'm gonna eat"	"I will eat" / "I shall eat"
Example	Je vais manger.	Je mangerai.

Key differences between the futur proche and the futur simple

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WHEN TO USE WHICH

Think of it like texting versus writing an essay. When you text a friend "I'm gonna grab lunch," that's the futur proche — casual, immediate, and personal. When a weather reporter says "Temperatures will rise next week," that's more like the futur simple — formal, projected, and authoritative. At the French 1 level, the futur proche is your go-to tool for almost every future situation you'll encounter.

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Connection to Advanced Structures

Mastering the futur proche does more than let you talk about tomorrow's plans — it builds a foundation for more advanced French grammar. Several structures you'll encounter in French 2 and beyond follow the same pattern of a conjugated helper verb plus an infinitive. The table below previews how the futur proche connects to these future topics.

Structure	Pattern	Example	When You'll Learn It
Futur proche	aller + infinitive	Je vais parler.	French 1 (now!)
Recent past (passé récent)	venir de + infinitive	Je viens de parler.	French 2
Ongoing action (être en train de)	être en train de + infinitive	Je suis en train de parler.	French 2
Futur simple	single conjugated form	Je parlerai.	French 2–3
Conditional (would do)	single conjugated form	Je parlerais.	French 3–4

How the futur proche connects to future grammar topics

Notice how the passé récent (venir de + infinitive) is essentially the mirror image of the futur proche. Instead of "going to" do something, you "just" did it. If you can handle aller + infinitive, you already have the mental framework for this construction. Similarly, the expression être en train de + infinitive uses the same principle — a conjugated helper followed by an unchanging infinitive. These patterns will feel familiar because you practiced them first with the futur proche.

SECTION 9

Practice Problems

Question 1: CONCEPTUAL

Explain in your own words why the infinitive in a futur proche sentence never changes, regardless of who the subject is. Give an example in French to support your explanation.

Show answer

In the futur proche, the verb aller is the conjugated (helper) verb, and it is the only part that must agree with the subject. The infinitive is the action verb in its base, dictionary form — it simply names the action without specifying who does it. This is similar to English: in "I am going to eat" and "They are going to eat," the word "eat" stays the same while "am/are" changes. For example, Je vais manger and Elles vont manger both use "manger" unchanged because aller already carries the subject information.

Question 2: BASIC

Conjugate the following sentence in the futur proche: "Nous __________ (finir) nos devoirs." Write out the complete sentence.

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The subject is nous, so you conjugate aller as allons. The infinitive finir stays in its base form. The complete sentence is: Nous allons finir nos devoirs. (We are going to finish our homework.) Remember: allons is the nous form of aller, and finir remains an infinitive.

Question 3: INTERMEDIATE

Rewrite the following affirmative sentence as a negative sentence: "Tu vas acheter un cadeau pour Sophie." Then translate both versions into English.

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To form the negative, place ne...pas around the conjugated form of aller (vas). The negative version is: Tu ne vas pas acheter un cadeau pour Sophie. The affirmative translates to "You are going to buy a gift for Sophie," and the negative translates to "You are not going to buy a gift for Sophie." Notice that 'ne' comes before 'vas' and 'pas' comes after it. The infinitive 'acheter' and everything that follows remain at the end of the sentence.

Question 4: APPLIED

Your French pen pal asks what you and your family are doing this weekend. Write three sentences in the futur proche describing upcoming activities. Use three different subjects and three different infinitives. At least one sentence must be negative.

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Sample answer: 1) Je vais visiter le musée samedi. (I am going to visit the museum on Saturday.) 2) Ma sœur va préparer un gâteau. (My sister is going to prepare a cake.) 3) Mes parents ne vont pas travailler dimanche. (My parents are not going to work on Sunday.) Each sentence uses a different subject (je, ma sœur, mes parents), a different aller form (vais, va, vont), and a different infinitive (visiter, préparer, travailler). The third sentence demonstrates the negative pattern with ne...pas around vont.

Question 5: CRITICAL THINKING

A classmate writes: "Marie va à le manger un sandwich." Identify every error in this sentence, explain why each is wrong, and provide the corrected version. Also explain the difference between aller used as a regular verb meaning "to go" and aller used as a helper in the futur proche.

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There are two main errors. Error 1: The phrase "à le" does not belong. In the futur proche, aller is immediately followed by the infinitive — no preposition is needed. The student confused the futur proche with aller meaning "to go (to a place)," which does take the preposition "à." Error 2: Even if the student intended to use "à le," it should contract to "au" — but again, it shouldn't be there at all. Corrected sentence: "Marie va manger un sandwich." The key distinction is that when aller means "to go to a physical place" (e.g., "Marie va au cinéma"), you need a destination with à. But in the futur proche, aller is a grammatical helper that simply signals the future — no preposition, just aller + infinitive.

SUMMARY

Lesson Summary

Summary

The futur proche (near future) is formed by combining a present-tense conjugation of aller with an infinitive. The six forms of aller you must know are vais, vas, va, allons, allez, vont. The infinitive — the action you are going to perform — never changes, regardless of the subject. To make the construction negative, wrap ne...pas around the conjugated form of aller, leaving the infinitive untouched at the end.

The futur proche is the most common way to express future actions in everyday spoken French, much like "going to" in English. It contrasts with the futur simple, which is a one-word conjugation used more often in formal or written contexts. Mastering the futur proche also prepares you for other conjugated verb + infinitive structures you will encounter in more advanced French, such as venir de + infinitive (recent past) and être en train de + infinitive (ongoing action).