The near future
Aller with an infinitive: what you are going to do, and what will happen.
Learn
The near future, explained point by point
Everything the GCSE specification expects you to be able to do, and how to actually do it - the same lesson a signed-in student studies from.
Form the near future with aller and an infinitive
Use the present of aller, then the infinitive of the main verb: je vais jouer, tu vas manger, elle va partir, nous allons voir, vous allez rester, ils vont sortir. It covers both going to and will.
Use it for plans and for what is about to happen
The near future gives plans (ce soir, je vais regarder un film) and predictions: il va pleuvoir. It is the future you will hear and use most, and it is all you need at Foundation.
Add a time phrase
Words like demain, ce week-end, la semaine prochaine and plus tard make the time clear: l'année prochaine, je vais apprendre l'espagnol. They usually go at the start or at the end of the sentence.
Make it negative
Put ne and pas round the form of aller: je ne vais pas sortir, on ne va pas jouer. The infinitive stays outside the negative.
Put pronouns before the infinitive
An object or reflexive pronoun goes before the infinitive, not before aller: je vais le faire, je vais me lever. A reflexive pronoun still matches the subject: nous allons nous coucher.
Use aller twice to say you are going to go
To say where you are going to go, aller is the infinitive as well: je vais aller en France, nous allons aller au match. It looks odd from English, but it is natural French.
Tell the near future from the present of aller
Je vais au cinéma has a place after vais, so it means I am going to the cinema. Je vais voir un film has an infinitive after it, so it is the near future: I am going to see a film.
The near future key terms
The words the specification and the mark schemes use, each defined the way an examiner wants it.
- Near future
- The future made with aller and an infinitive, for what you are going to do: je vais travailler.
- Infinitive
- The form of the verb ending in -er, -ir or -re, which follows aller in the near future: manger, finir, prendre.
- aller
- To go: je vais, tu vas, il va, nous allons, vous allez, ils vont. In the near future it means going to.
- Time phrase
- Words that place an action in time, such as demain (tomorrow) or le week-end prochain (next weekend).
- prochain and prochaine
- Next, after the noun and agreeing with it: la semaine prochaine, le mois prochain.
- il va pleuvoir
- It is going to rain: a prediction in the near future, from pleuvoir, to rain.
Common mistakes in The near future
The slips that cost marks year after year, and what to do instead.
Changing the second verb too, as in je vais joue.
Only aller changes, and the second verb stays in the infinitive: je vais jouer, ils vont finir.
Leaving out aller, as in je jouer demain.
The near future needs both parts, the right form of aller and then the infinitive: je vais jouer demain.
Putting pas after the infinitive, as in je vais jouer pas.
Ne and pas go round the form of aller: je ne vais pas jouer.
Putting the pronoun before aller, as in je me vais lever.
The pronoun belongs to the infinitive, so it goes just before it: je vais me lever, je vais la voir.
Mixing up ils vont and ils ont.
Ils vont (they go) builds the near future, and ils ont (they have) builds the perfect: ils vont partir, but ils ont mangé.
Practice
Try a The near future question
A GCSE-style original question from this topic. Have a go before you open the working - deciding on an answer first is what makes the working stick.
Which sentence is right?
- Demain, je vais me lever à six heures.
- Demain, je vais se lever à six heures.
- Demain, je me vais lever à six heures.
- Demain, je vais lever me à six heures.
Show the answer and the working
Answer: Demain, je vais me lever à six heures.
With a reflexive verb, the pronoun goes just before the infinitive and matches the subject: je vais me lever.
- Je vais: I am going.
- The pronoun for je is me.
- It goes before the infinitive: me lever.