Irregular future stems

Level 2

While most French verbs use their infinitive as a base for the future tense, about 20 common verbs use a special 'irregular stem' that always ends in the letter -r-.

How It Works

In French, the future and conditional tenses are built on a 'future stem.' For regular -er and -ir verbs, this is the infinitive (e.g., parler-). For regular -re verbs, you drop the final -e (e.g., vendre becomes vendr-). However, many common verbs use irregular stems.

Key Characteristics:

  • The Universal -r-: Every future stem (regular or irregular) ends in -r-. This is the phonetic signal of the future/conditional.
  • Double 'r': Some verbs like voir (verr-), pouvoir (pourr-), mourir (mourr-), courir (courr-), and envoyer (enverr-) double the 'r'. This is important for both spelling and pronunciation.
  • The 'd' insertion: Verbs like venir (viendr-), tenir (tiendr-), and vouloir (voudr-) insert a 'd' to bridge the sound between the root and the 'r'.

Common Irregular Stems:

  • avoir → aur-
  • être → ser-
  • aller → ir-
  • faire → fer-
  • voir → verr-
  • pouvoir → pourr-
  • savoir → saur-
  • venir → viendr-
  • tenir → tiendr-
  • vouloir → voudr-
  • devoir → devr-
  • recevoir → recevr-
  • mourir → mourr-
  • courir → courr-
  • envoyer → enverr-
  • falloir (impersonal) → faudr-
  • pleuvoir (impersonal) → pleuvr-

Usage Note: While the futur proche is common for immediate plans, the futur simple is grammatically required in certain structures, such as si clauses and after time conjunctions like quand or dès que when referring to the future.

Examples (5)

  1. J'irai au cinéma demain.

    I will go to the cinema tomorrow.

    Word by Word: I will go to the cinema tomorrow.

    Uses the irregular stem 'ir-' from the verb 'aller'.

  2. Tu auras faim après le sport.

    You will be hungry after sports.

    Word by Word: You will have hunger after the sport.

    Uses the irregular stem 'aur-' from the verb 'avoir'.

  3. Demain, il fera beau sur toute la France.

    Tomorrow, it will be fine weather across all of France.

    Word by Word: Tomorrow, it will make beautiful on all the France.

    Uses the irregular stem 'fer-' from the verb 'faire', common in weather forecasts.

  4. Nous serons là pour t'aider.

    We will be there to help you.

    Word by Word: We will be there for you to help.

    Uses the irregular stem 'ser-' from the verb 'être'.

  5. Quand tu viendras, nous mangerons.

    When you come, we will eat.

    Word by Word: When you will come, we will eat.

    Uses the irregular stem 'viendr-' from 'venir'. Note that French uses the future after 'quand' if the action is in the future.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the full infinitive for irregular verbs.

    J'allerai à la plage.
    J'irai à la plage.

    Learners often try to apply the regular rule (infinitive + ending) to irregular verbs. 'Aller' must change to 'ir-'.

  • Spelling errors with double 'r' stems.

    Je pourai t'aider.
    Je pourrai t'aider.

    Verbs like 'pouvoir', 'voir', and 'envoyer' require a double 'r' in their future stems (pourr-, verr-, enverr-).

  • Using the future ending where the conditional is needed.

    Si j'avais le temps, je ferai du sport.
    Si j'avais le temps, je ferais du sport.

    Both tenses use the same irregular stem (fer-), but the future ending is -ai and the conditional is -ais. After 'si' + imparfait, use the conditional.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Irregular future stemsLevel 2

Learn This First

To learn irregular future stems, you must first be familiar with the regular futur simple formation, as the endings remain identical. Additionally, knowing the present tense of 'avoir' is essential because those forms serve as the suffixes for the future tense.