Near Future (Futur Proche: "aller" + infinitive) — equivalent in English: "to be going to" + verb (e.g., "I am going to eat").

Near Future (Futur Proche: aller + infinitive)

What is the near future (futur proche)?

The French "futur proche" is a simple way to talk about actions that will happen soon, actions you intend to do, or predictions based on present evidence. It's formed with the present tense of the verb aller (to go) + an infinitive. In meaning it often corresponds to English "to be going to + verb."

Examples:
- Je vais manger. (Im going to eat.)
- Il va pleuvoir. (Its going to rain.)
- Nous allons partir bientôt. (Were going to leave soon.)

When do I use the futur proche?

Use the futur proche in these common situations:

- Immediate plans or intentions: you already decided and the action is expected soon.
- Je vais étudier ce soir. (Im going to study tonight.)
- A decision made just now (spoken): often used to announce an immediate intention.
- "Je vais appeler le médecin." ("Im going to call the doctor.")
- Predictions based on present evidence (what looks like it will happen):
- Regarde les nuages : il va pleuvoir. (Look at the clouds: its going to rain.)
- Informal plans or arrangements (colloquial speech):
- On va au cinéma demain ? (Shall we go to the movies tomorrow?)

Contrast with the futur simple:
- Futur proche emphasizes immediacy, intention, or present evidence. Its common in spoken French.
- Futur simple is used for more distant or neutral future statements, formal writing, promises, or conditional contexts.
- Futur proche: Je vais partir demain. (Im going to leave tomorrow. -- planned)
- Futur simple: Je partirai demain. (I will leave tomorrow. -- more neutral or formal)

How do I form the futur proche? (Conjugation + examples)

Formation: present of aller + infinitive.

Conjugation of aller in the present tense (use this + any infinitive):
- Je vais + [infinitive]
- Tu vas + [infinitive]
- Il / Elle / On va + [infinitive]
- Nous allons + [infinitive]
- Vous allez + [infinitive]
- Ils / Elles vont + [infinitive]

Examples with the verb "manger" (to eat):
- Je vais manger. (Im going to eat.)
- Tu vas manger. (Youre going to eat.)
- Il va manger. (Hes going to eat.)
- Nous allons manger. (Were going to eat.)
- Vous allez manger. (Youre going to eat.)
- Ils vont manger. (Theyre going to eat.)
- On va manger. (Informal: Were going to eat.)

More natural examples with varied verbs:
- Elle va commencer un nouveau travail. (Shes going to start a new job.)
- Tu vas apprendre le français. (Youre going to learn French.)
- Nous allons acheter une voiture. (Were going to buy a car.)
- Ils vont regarder un film. (Theyre going to watch a movie.)

Negative form

Put the negation (ne ... pas, ne ... jamais, etc.) around the conjugated form of aller, not around the infinitive.

Examples:
- Je ne vais pas sortir. (Im not going to go out.)
- Il ne va jamais manger ça. (Hes never going to eat that.)
- Nous nallons pas le faire. (Were not going to do it.)
- Je ne vais pas y aller. (Im not going to go there.)

Questions: three common ways

1) Intonation (spoken)
- Tu vas venir ce soir ? (Youre going to come tonight?)

2) Est-ce que + statement
- Est-ce que tu vas venir ce soir ? (Are you going to come tonight?)

3) Inversion (more formal / written)
- Vas-tu venir ce soir ? (Are you going to come tonight?)

Negative question examples:
- Tu ne vas pas venir ? (Arent you going to come?)
- Ne vas-tu pas venir ? (Formal: Arent you going to come?)

Questions with where/how/when:
- Où vas-tu aller ? (Where are you going to go?)
- Quand va-t-elle partir ? (When is she going to leave?)
- Comment allez-vous le faire ? (How are you going to do it?)

Object pronouns and pronoun placement

When you have a pronoun that refers to the infinitive, place the pronoun immediately before the infinitive (not before aller).

Correct examples:
- Je vais le voir. (Im going to see him/it.)
- Elle va nous appeler. (Shes going to call us.)
- Nous allons lui parler. (Were going to talk to him/her.)
- Je vais y aller. (Im going to go there.)
- Il va en prendre deux. (Hes going to take two (of them).)
- Je vais men occuper. (Im going to take care of it.)
- Je vais te le donner. (Im going to give it to you.)
- Je vais le lui donner. (Im going to give it to him/her.)

Wrong (common learner mistakes):
- *Je le vais voir. (wrong)
- *Je vais le lui donner. (This is correct — note: place pronouns before the infinitive, not before "aller".)

(because in that example the pronouns precede the infinitive "donner": Je vais [le lui donner].)

Order of multiple pronouns
When you put more than one pronoun before an infinitive, follow normal French clitic order: me/te/se/nous/vous - le/la/les - lui/leur - y - en. Examples:
- Je vais le lui offrir. (Im going to give it to him/her.)
- Elle va sy intéresser. (Shes going to be interested in it.)

Reflexive verbs

Reflexive pronouns come before the infinitive as well:
- Je vais me lever à sept heures. (Im going to get up at seven.)
- Elle va se coucher tôt. (Shes going to go to bed early.)
- Nous allons nous préparer. (Were going to get ready.)

Negative reflexive example:
- Je ne vais pas me dépêcher. (Im not going to hurry.)

Time expressions commonly used with the futur proche

Words and phrases that often appear with the futur proche: tout de suite (right away), bientôt (soon), demain (tomorrow), ce soir (this evening), dans une heure (in an hour), tout à lheure (shortly).

Examples:
- Je vais téléphoner tout de suite. (Im going to phone right away.)
- Ils vont arriver bientôt. (Theyre going to arrive soon.)
- Nous allons partir demain matin. (Were going to leave tomorrow morning.)

Predictions, evidence, and "il va y avoir"

Use futur proche for predictions that feel immediate because of current evidence. Also use it in impersonal constructions with "il":
- Regarde ! Il va y avoir un accident. (Look! Theres going to be an accident.)
- Il va neiger ce soir. (Its going to snow tonight.)

Passive and other constructions

You can make a passive idea with aller + infinitive + past participle:
- La lettre va être envoyée. (The letter is going to be sent.)
- Les résultats vont être publiE9s demain. (The results are going to be published tomorrow.)

Futur proche vs other tenses (quick comparisons)

- Present vs futur proche:
- Je mange. (Im eating.) vs Je vais manger. (Im going to eat.)
- The present tense describes what is happening now; futur proche announces a near-future action.

- Futur proche vs futur simple:
- Futur proche: immediate plans, intentions, predictions based on now.
- Futur simple: more distant future, formal writing, or a simple statement about the future.
- Example: "Il va tomber" (Its going to fall) vs "Il tombera" (It will fall).

- Imperfect of aller + infinitive = past intention (was going to):
- Jallais partir quand tu as arrivE9. (I was going to leave when you arrived.)
- Elle allait appeler, mais elle a oubliE9. (She was going to call, but she forgot.)

Common mistakes to avoid

- Putting pronouns before aller instead of before the infinitive:
- Wrong: *Je le vais voir. Right: Je vais le voir.
- Forgetting to place negation around the conjugated aller:
- Wrong: *Je vais pas partir. (colloquial spoken) Better: Je ne vais pas partir.
- Confusing futur proche and futur simple nuance:
- Both can often be used, but choose futur proche for plans/intentions and immediate predictions; use futur simple in formal or more distant contexts.
- Using present when you mean future, and vice versa. Context and time expressions help make meaning clear.

Past reporting: indirect speech note

When you report speech in the past, "je vais" often becomes "il/elle allait" in indirect speech:
- Direct: Il a dit, "Je vais partir demain." (He said, "Im going to leave tomorrow.")
- Indirect: Il a dit quil allait partir le lendemain. (He said he was going to leave the next day.)

When you should prefer the futur simple instead

Use futur simple when:
- You make a promise or strong commitment: Je te promets que je viendrai. (I will come.)
- The future action is distant or not tied to an immediate plan: Un jour je serai riche. (One day I will be rich.)
- You write formal texts, literature, or give formal forecasts.

Short glossary

Infinitive E2 the basic form of a verb (manger, partir, parler).

Conjugation E2 changing the verb to match the subject (je vais, tu vas).

Imperfect (imparfait) E2 past tense used for ongoing or repeated past actions, and for past intentions with aller (jallais + infinitive = I was going to...).

Futur simple E2 the simple future tense (je parlerai) used for more distant or neutral future statements.

Object pronoun / clitic E2 small words that stand for objects or people (le, la, les, lui, leur, y, en, me, te...).

Quick summary / cheat sheet

- Form: present tense of aller + infinitive (Je vais + [verb]).
- Use for near future, plans, intentions, and predictions based on present evidence.
- Place pronouns before the infinitive (Je vais le faire), and negation around aller (Je ne vais pas faire).
- For past intentions use the imperfect of aller + infinitive (Jallais partir = I was going to leave).

This construction is one of the most common ways to speak about the future in everyday French. Practice by making simple sentences describing what you plan to do today or tomorrow: Je vais ... (Im going to ...).