Simple future
The simple future tense and the present conditional are formed in the same way from the infinitive of the verb. These two tenses have been etymologically formed in the same way from the endings of the auxiliary "avoir". In the simple future tense, all the endings are the same in all the groups: -rai , -ras, -ra , -rons, -rez, -ront.
In order not to make a mistake, compare the endings between the simple future tense and the present conditional carefully:
- for simple future: j'aimerai, tu aimeras, il aimera, nous aimerons, vous aimerez, ils aimeront
- for conditional: j'aimerais, tu aimerais, il aimerait, nous aimerions, vous aimeriez, ils aimeraient
In the first person singular, the pronunciation is slightly different. The future has a slightly closed [é] sound, while the conditional has an open [è] sound. This makes it possible to differentiate between them. If this is not enough, the easiest way is to try to put the sentence in the second person singular. If we obtain an ending in -as, we have a simple future tense and not a conditional.
Here are the endigs for the future:
| Personne | 1rt group verbs | 2nd group verbs | 3rd groupe verbs |
| je | root + erai | root + irai | root + rai |
| tu | root + eras | root + iras | root + ras |
| il/elle/on | root + era | root + ira | root + ra |
| nous | root + erons | root + irons | root + rons |
| vous | root + erez | root + irez | root + rez |
| ils/elles | root + eront | root + iront | root + ront |
Indicative past future
The past future is formed quite simply. We take the auxiliary to the simple future tense and add the past participle of the verb to be conjugated.
The future in the past
When an action occurs in the past, a future event can be expressed in relation to that action using the future of the past. The future in the past is formed simply by using the conditional. The present conditional corresponds to the future of the past and the past conditional corresponds to the past future of the past.
Il dit (present) qu'il viendra (future) avec nous.
Il a déclaré (past) qu'il viendrait (conditional) avec nous.