Future & Conditional

🎯 The #1 slip: dropping a future or conditional straight into a si ("if") clause. The rule is the exact opposite — after si you use the present or the imparfait, and the futur / conditionnel belongs to the main clause. See "The trap" below.

Futur proche (near future)

The simplest way to talk about the future.

Formation: present of aller + infinitive

Equivalent to English "going to" — something about to happen.

Futur simple (simple future)

Formation: infinitive + endings

-re verbs: drop the final e → vendre → je vendrai

Common irregular stems

Conditionnel présent (present conditional)

Formation: future stem + imparfait endings

💡 Intuition: conditional = future stem + imparfait endings. Think "the tone of the future + the tail of the past." Torn between je parlerai (future) and je parlais (past)? Glue the two halves together — je parler-ais — and you have the conditional.

Uses

⚠️ The nastiest one: never put futur / conditionnel in a si clause

For "if... then..." sentences, the si clause and the main clause come as a fixed tense pair, and si can never be followed directly by a future or a conditional:

🔑 Rule of thumb: after si, only présent or imparfait; futur / conditionnel always stays in the main clause. ❌ Never say Si je viendrai or Si j'aurais — and the subjunctive can't go there either: Si je vienne (why si doesn't trigger it: "The subjunctive").