Day 25: The near future
This is the best value-for-effort grammar in French. Take the aller conjugation you learned on Day 15, add an infinitive, and you have the future tense. There is a "real" future (futur simple), but in conversation this form wins by a mile.
1. ★ The formula
aller (conjugated) + infinitive = going to ___| French | Respelling | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Je vais manger. | zhuh veh mahn-ZHAY | I'm going to eat |
| Tu vas partir. | tew va par-TEER | You're going to leave |
| Il va travailler. | eel va tra-va-YAY | He's going to work |
| Nous allons commencer. | noo za-lohn ko-mahn-SAY | We're going to start |
| Vous allez aimer ça. | voo za-lay eh-MAY sa | You're going to like this |
| Ils vont arriver. | eel vohn ta-ree-VAY | They're going to arrive |
★ This is exactly English's "going to" future, built from exactly the same verb.One of the very few French structures you can translate word for word — use that.⚠️ But no "to" in the middle: Je vais à manger is wrong. Bare infinitive.If you have forgotten aller, go back to Day 15: vais · vas · va · allons · allez · vont.Those six are the entire grammar of today.
Negative (Day 23's rule unchanged)
| French | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Je ne vais pas manger. | I'm not going to eat |
| On ne va pas sortir ce soir. | We're not going out tonight |
ne…pas wraps only aller. The infinitive stays outside, after pas.
2. Future time expressions
| French | Respelling | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| demain | duh-MAN | tomorrow |
| après-demain | a-preh duh-MAN | the day after tomorrow |
| ce soir | suh SWAR | this evening |
| ce week-end | suh wee-KEND | this weekend |
| la semaine prochaine | la suh-men pro-SHEN | next week |
| le mois prochain | luh mwa pro-SHAN | next month |
| l'année prochaine | la-NAY pro-SHEN | next year |
| dans une heure | dahn zewn UR | in an hour |
| dans trois jours | dahn trwa ZHOOR | in three days |
| bientôt | byan-TOH | soon |
| plus tard | plew TAR | later |
| tout de suite | toot SWEET | right now |
★dans + a period= in / from now (dans deux jours = in two days)↔il y a + a period= ago (il y a deux jours = two days ago) — used on Day 26.Learn them as a pair; English uses two completely unrelated words too.
3. Talking about plans — today's output
[time expression] + [subject] + [aller] + [infinitive]| French | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Demain, je vais travailler. | Tomorrow I'm going to work |
| Ce soir, on va manger au restaurant. | Tonight we're eating out |
| Ce week-end, je vais voir mes amis. | This weekend I'm seeing my friends |
| La semaine prochaine, je vais visiter Paris. | Next week I'm going to visit Paris |
| L'année prochaine, je vais apprendre l'espagnol. | Next year I'm going to learn Spanish |
| Dans une heure, je vais partir. | I'm leaving in an hour |
Asking
| French | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Qu'est-ce que vous allez faire ce soir ? | What are you doing tonight? |
| Tu vas où ? | Where are you going? |
| On va faire quoi demain ? | What shall we do tomorrow? |
| Vous allez rester combien de temps ? | How long are you staying? |
4. The present tense also does the future
As you saw on Day 22, the present can mean the future too. Both are correct.
| Form | Example | Nuance |
|---|---|---|
| present | Je pars demain. | a fixed arrangement (ticket already bought) |
| aller + inf. | Je vais partir demain. | a plan, an intention |
★ English draws the same distinction ("I leave tomorrow" vs "I'm going to leave tomorrow"), so trust your instinct here. When unsure, use aller + infinitive — it always works.
5. Dialogue
A: Qu'est-ce que tu vas faire ce week-end ?kess kuh tew va fair suh wee-KEND?B: Je vais visiter le Louvre. Et toi ?zhuh veh vee-zee-TAY luh LOO-vruh. ay TWA?A: Je ne sais pas encore. Je vais peut-être rester à la maison.zhuh nuh seh pa zahn-KOR. zhuh veh puh-TEH-truh res-TAY a la meh-ZOHN. I don't know yet. I might just stay home.B: On va manger ensemble dimanche ?ohn va mahn-ZHAY ahn-SAHM-bluh dee-MAHNSH?A: Bonne idée ! À quelle heure ? bun ee-DAY! a kell UR?B: Vers midi. Je vais réserver une table.vair mee-DEE. zhuh veh ray-zair-VAY ewn TA-bluh. Around noon. I'll book a table.A: Parfait. À dimanche !
★ peut-être (puh-TEH-truh) = maybe · vers (vair) = around, about (a time) · Bonne idée ! (bun ee-DAY) = Good idea! ⚠️ FAUX AMI: rester = to stay (Day 22's list). Je vais rester à la maison is "I'm going to stay home", not "rest at home".
6. Exercises
A. Convert to aller + infinitive.
- Je mange. → 2. Il travaille. → 3. Nous partons. → 4. Vous arrivez. →
B. Make it negative.
- Je vais sortir. → 2. On va manger. →
C. Say it in French.
- Tomorrow I'm going to work. 2. What are you doing tonight?
- Next week I'm going to visit Paris. 4. I'm leaving in an hour.
- We're not going out tonight.
D. Write 5 of your own plans for this week with aller + infinitive.
Answers
A. 1. Je vais manger. 2. Il va travailler. 3. Nous allons partir. 4. Vous allez arriver. B. 1. Je ne vais pas sortir. 2. On ne va pas manger. C. 1. Demain, je vais travailler. 2. Qu'est-ce que vous allez faire ce soir ? 3. La semaine prochaine, je vais visiter Paris. 4. Dans une heure, je vais partir. 5. Ce soir, on ne va pas sortir.
7. Today's 10 sentences
- Je vais manger. — I'm going to eat (zhuh veh mahn-ZHAY)
- Qu'est-ce que tu vas faire ? — What are you going to do? (kess kuh tew va FAIR)
- Ce soir, je vais travailler. — Tonight I'm working (suh swar, zhuh veh tra-va-YAY)
- On va manger ensemble ? — Shall we eat together? (ohn va mahn-ZHAY ahn-SAHM-bluh)
- Je vais réserver une table. — I'll book a table (zhuh veh ray-zair-VAY ewn TA-bluh)
- Je ne vais pas sortir. — I'm not going out (zhuh nuh veh pa sor-TEER)
- Dans une heure. — In an hour (dahn zewn UR)
- La semaine prochaine. — Next week (la suh-men pro-SHEN)
- Peut-être. — Maybe (puh-TEH-truh)
- Bonne idée ! — Good idea! (bun ee-DAY)
8. 📲 Upload to LangNote
The formula (1) + the plan sentences (3). Add your own actual plans for this week in French and the review cards become your own diary.
| Mission | What to do with it today |
|---|---|
| 🔤 Grammar | aller + infinitive conversion — today's main mission |
| 🎭 Role-play | "Talking about weekend plans" |
| 📖 Vocab | 12 future time expressions |
| 🗣 Shadowing | Your 5 plan sentences |
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