Grammar / A2 : Elementary / The near future
The near future
aller + infinitive: expressing an immediate or planned future.
The everyday future
The futur proche was first introduced in the lesson on irregular verbs, where aller appeared. The structure is simple: the present tense of aller followed by an infinitive. At A2 level, there are several things to add to that foundation: how object pronouns position themselves, how reflexive verbs behave, how to express what was about to happen in the past, and how the futur proche compares to the futur simple.
In everyday spoken French, the futur proche has largely taken over the role of the futur simple. It is heard constantly: in conversation, in media, in planning and scheduling. Mastering it fully at A2 level gives you the most useful tool for talking about the future.
1. Structure and conjugation
Subject + aller (present) + infinitive
| Subject | aller | Example |
|---|---|---|
| je | vais | Je vais partir. (I am going to leave.) |
| tu | vas | Tu vas manger quoi ? (What are you going to eat?) |
| il / elle / on | va | Il va pleuvoir. (It is going to rain.) |
| nous | allons | Nous allons commencer. (We are going to start.) |
| vous | allez | Vous allez comprendre. (You are going to understand.) |
| ils / elles | vont | Ils vont arriver bientôt. (They are going to arrive soon.) |
2. What the futur proche expresses
The futur proche is used across a range of contexts, all of them involving a future that feels near, planned, or certain from the speaker's perspective.
| Use | Example |
|---|---|
| Something happening very soon | Attention, tu vas tomber ! (Watch out, you're going to fall!) |
| A plan or intention | Ce soir, on va au restaurant. (Tonight, we're going to a restaurant.) |
| A scheduled event | Le directeur va arriver dans dix minutes. (The director is going to arrive in ten minutes.) |
| A confident prediction | Ce film va être un succès. (This film is going to be a success.) |
| A warning | Ça va faire mal. (That's going to hurt.) |
| A logical consequence | Si tu ne dors pas, tu vas être fatigué demain. (If you don't sleep, you're going to be tired tomorrow.) |
3. Negation
To negate the futur proche, place ne before aller and pas directly after it: before the infinitive.
Structure: ne + aller + pas + infinitive
| Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|
| Je vais partir. (I'm going to leave.) | Je ne vais pas partir. (I'm not going to leave.) |
| Il va pleuvoir. (It's going to rain.) | Il ne va pas pleuvoir. (It's not going to rain.) |
| Nous allons réussir. (We're going to succeed.) | Nous n'allons pas réussir. (We're not going to succeed.) |
| Elle va comprendre. (She's going to understand.) | Elle ne va pas comprendre. (She's not going to understand.) |
4. Object pronouns with the futur proche
When an object pronoun (le, la, les, lui, leur, me, te, se, nous, vous, y, en) is used with the futur proche, the pronoun goes before the infinitive, not before aller. This placement is consistent across all compound verb structures in French.
Structure: aller + pronoun + infinitive
| Without pronoun | With pronoun |
|---|---|
| Je vais appeler Marie. (I'm going to call Marie.) | Je vais l'appeler. (I'm going to call her.) |
| Tu vas lire ce livre. (You're going to read this book.) | Tu vas le lire. (You're going to read it.) |
| Il va parler à ses parents. (He's going to talk to his parents.) | Il va leur parler. (He's going to talk to them.) |
| Nous allons faire les courses. (We're going to do the shopping.) | Nous allons les faire. (We're going to do them.) |
| Je vais aller à Paris. (I'm going to go to Paris.) | Je vais y aller. (I'm going to go there.) |
Pronouns in the negative
In the negative, ne...pas surrounds aller, and the pronoun stays before the infinitive.
Je ne vais pas l'appeler. (I'm not going to call her.)
Il ne va pas leur parler. (He's not going to talk to them.)
Nous n'allons pas les faire. (We're not going to do them.)
⚠ The pronoun never goes before aller.
❌ Je l'vais appeler. · ✓ Je vais l'appeler.
❌ Il leur va parler. · ✓ Il va leur parler.
5. Reflexive verbs with the futur proche
With reflexive verbs, the reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nous, vous, se) stays before the infinitive and must agree with the subject.
| Subject | Futur proche of reflexive verb | English |
|---|---|---|
| je | Je vais me lever. | I'm going to get up. |
| tu | Tu vas te reposer ? | Are you going to rest? |
| il / elle | Elle va se doucher. | She's going to have a shower. |
| nous | Nous allons nous retrouver à midi. | We're going to meet at noon. |
| vous | Vous allez vous souvenir. | You're going to remember. |
| ils / elles | Ils vont se marier. | They're going to get married. |
Je vais me coucher tôt ce soir. (I'm going to go to bed early tonight.)
Il va se mettre en colère si tu fais ça. (He's going to get angry if you do that.)
On va se voir la semaine prochaine ? (Shall we see each other next week?)
6. Le futur proche du passé : was going to
One of the most useful and often overlooked uses of aller: when aller is put in the imparfait, the construction expresses what was about to happen or what someone was going to do before something else intervened. The English equivalent is "was going to" or "was about to".
Subject + aller (imparfait) + infinitive = was going to / was about to
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Il allait partir quand le téléphone a sonné. | He was about to leave when the phone rang. |
| J'allais te dire la même chose. | I was going to say the same thing. |
| On allait manger quand elle est arrivée. | We were about to eat when she arrived. |
| Elle allait appeler quand elle a vu ton message. | She was about to call when she saw your message. |
| Tu allais faire quoi ? | What were you going to do? |
💡 This structure is very natural in French conversation and is the correct way to express "I was going to..." Notice how it combines the imparfait of aller (ongoing intention in the past) with the passé composé for the event that interrupted it.
7. Time expressions for the futur proche
| Expression | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| tout à l'heure | in a moment / shortly | Je vais appeler tout à l'heure. |
| bientôt | soon | Il va bientôt arriver. |
| dans cinq minutes | in five minutes | On va partir dans cinq minutes. |
| ce soir / ce week-end | tonight / this weekend | On va sortir ce soir. |
| demain | tomorrow | Je vais commencer demain. |
| la semaine prochaine | next week | Ils vont se marier la semaine prochaine. |
| l'année prochaine | next year | Elle va finir ses études l'année prochaine. |
8. Futur proche vs futur simple
Both tenses express future events, but they are not always interchangeable. The futur simple will be covered in its own lesson; here is a brief overview of the distinction.
| Futur proche | Futur simple | |
|---|---|---|
| Feeling | Near, planned, certain from the present moment | More distant, hypothetical, or formal |
| Common in | Everyday conversation | Formal speech, writing, promises, weather forecasts |
| Example | Je vais partir. (I'm going to leave: decided, imminent) | Je partirai. (I will leave: more distant or formal) |
| In speech | Dominant (replaces futur simple in most spoken contexts) | Less common in everyday speech |
Both are correct but carry different nuances:
Je vais appeler demain. (I'm going to call tomorrow (it is planned, I intend to))
J'appellerai demain. I will call tomorrow (a commitment or more formal statement)
In informal speech, native French speakers almost always choose the futur proche.
9. Key points
✓ Structure: subject + aller (present) + infinitive
✓ Expresses: near future, plans, predictions, warnings, intentions
✓ Negation: ne + aller + pas + infinitive; je ne vais pas partir
✓ Object pronouns go before the infinitive, not before aller: je vais l'appeler
✓ Reflexive verbs: the reflexive pronoun agrees with the subject; elle va se doucher
✓ Futur proche du passé: aller (imparfait) + infinitive = was going to / was about to
✓ Il allait partir quand... (common in narrative alongside the passé composé)
✓ In everyday speech, futur proche replaces futur simple in most situations