What are common mistakes with Le futur proche?

Conjugating the infinitive instead of aller; putting ne...pas around the infinitive. 🇬🇧 English speakers: 'Going to' structure is almost identical — this is one of the easiest French structures for English speakers. 🇷🇺 Russian speakers: Russian has no 'going to' future. The concept is new but the structure is simple. 🇨🇿 Czech speakers: Czech has no periphrastic future with 'go'. The structure must be learned fresh.

Le futur proche: règles, exemples et exercices | French Grammar A1

Le futur proche

A1 — Verbes

Near future with aller + infinitive: je vais manger

Can express future plans and intentions using aller + infinitive

Near future with aller + infinitive: je vais manger

Examples

Je vais prendre un café. — I'm going to have a coffee.
Nous n'allons pas sortir ce soir. — We're not going to go out tonight.
Il va pleuvoir demain. — It's going to rain tomorrow.

VerbesA1

Le futur proche

Near future with aller + infinitive: je vais manger

Learning Goal

Can express future plans and intentions using aller + infinitive

Exam Skills:Production écriteProduction orale

Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?

Je vais prendre un café.

I'm going to have a coffee.

Nous n'allons pas sortir ce soir.

We're not going to go out tonight.

Il va pleuvoir demain.

It's going to rain tomorrow.

Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?

Le futur proche exprime une action qui va se passer bientôt. C'est la façon la plus simple de parler du futur :

Formation : aller (conjugué au présent) + infinitif

Personne	Futur proche
je	vais manger
tu	vas manger
il/elle/on	va manger
nous	allons manger
vous	allez manger
ils/elles	vont manger

Négation : Ne...pas autour d'aller : Je ne vais pas manger.

Emplois : Plans proches (Je vais partir demain), intentions (Je vais étudier ce soir), prédictions (Il va pleuvoir).

Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises

Practice Exercises

Conjugating the infinitive instead of aller; putting ne...pas around the infinitive. 🇬🇧 English speakers: 'Going to' structure is almost identical — this is one of the easiest French structures for English speakers.

Common Error Patterns

Conjugated the infinitive or misplaced negation

Only conjugate aller. Infinitive stays unchanged. Negation: ne + aller + pas + infinitive.

Je vais prendre un café.

I'm going to have a coffee.

Vais (aller conjugated) + prendre (infinitive). Simple and very common.

Nous n'allons pas sortir ce soir.

We're not going to go out tonight.

Negation wraps aller: ne + allons + pas. The infinitive stays untouched.

Il va pleuvoir demain.

It's going to rain tomorrow.

Il va + infinitive for weather predictions. Very natural in French.

Practice in course

Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises

A1 Course

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Put it into practice

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Frequently asked questions

When is Le futur proche used?: Le futur proche exprime une action qui va se passer bientôt. C'est la façon la plus simple de parler du futur :
How is Le futur proche formed?: Négation : Ne...pas autour d' aller : Je ne vais pas manger. Emplois : Plans proches ( Je vais partir demain ), intentions ( Je vais étudier ce soir ), prédictions ( Il va pleuvoir ).
What are common mistakes with Le futur proche?: Conjugating the infinitive instead of aller; putting ne...pas around the infinitive. 🇬🇧 English speakers: 'Going to' structure is almost identical — this is one of the easiest French structures for English speakers. 🇷🇺 Russian speakers: Russian has no 'going to' future. The concept is new but the structure is simple. 🇨🇿 Czech speakers: Czech has no periphrastic future with 'go'. The structure must be learned fresh.