French Near Future Tense Futur Proche

The French near  future—futur proche—is a verb construction that is used to express something that is going to happen soon, an upcoming event that will occur in the near future. Note that in French, this verb tense is called  futur proche; to avoid misspelling this term, notice that the French spelling of  futur does not have an e  on the end, unlike future in English.   The Concept of Time The near future in French, as in English, illustrates the fluidity of time. There is the straightforward future—I will eat, or Je mangerai—and there is the near future—I am going to eat, or Je vais manger—which assumes a time a little earlier than the future. Likewise, in constructions involving the present, there is the straightforward present—I eat, or Je mange—and the continuous present, which assumes a continuous process completed in the present—I am eating, or Je suis en train de manger, meaning  Im in the process of eating. The fact that the continuous present action begins in the present prevents any point on the timeline of that continuous action from being considered the near future or future.   Forming "FuturProche" The futur  proche, or near future, is formed by combining the present of aller, which means to go,  with the infinitive of the action verb, a single word  that  is the basic, unconjugated form of the verb. This makes  the futur proche one of the easiest tenses to construct in the French language, and, as such, fairly foolproof. That said, it does require the user to correctly spell the present tense of  aller. The Present Tense of "Aller" Before forming future  proche, familiarize yourself with the spellings of the present tense conjugations of aller. Je  vais   I goTu  vas You goIl  va He goesNous  allons We goVous  allez You (plural) goIls  vont They go Note that  one common mistake French language beginners make is  incorrectly saying  je va  instead of  je vais.   Combine the Present Tense of "Aller"' With an Infinitive To indicate that you will do something, that someone else will do something, or that something will occur in the near future, combine the present tense of  aller  with an infinitive. Note that you are not using the infinitive of  aller,  which is simply aller.  Instead, use the correct present-tense use of  aller,  which is determined by the pronouns that follow it:  je (I), tu (you), il (he), nous (we), vous  (you plural), and ils (they), as demonstrated in the examples. Je vais voir Luc.   Im going to see Luc.Il va arriver.   Hes going to arrive.Nous allons manger.   Were going to eat.Je vais à ©tudier.   I am going to study.Vas-tu nous aider?   Are you going to help us?Nous allons partir dans cinq minutes.   Were going to leave in five minutes. Additional Resources As you brush up on future  proche, take a few minutes to review the rules for French  future tense,  infinitives,  verb timelines,  and  present tense.