A1 · Verb Constructions · Published September 9, 2026

Futur Proche

Q: How do you form the futur proche in French?

Conjugate aller in the present (je vais, tu vas, il va, nous allons, vous allez, ils vont) and add an infinitive: je vais partir, "I am going to leave". The infinitive never changes.

Q: How do you make the futur proche negative?

Put ne and pas around the conjugated verb aller: je ne vais pas partir, "I am not going to leave". The infinitive stays outside the negation.

Q: Where do object pronouns go in the futur proche?

Directly before the infinitive: je vais le faire, elle va se lever, on va leur parler. They never come before aller.

Q: Is "je vais à Paris" the futur proche?

No — that is the ordinary present of aller meaning movement: "I am going to Paris." The futur proche needs an infinitive after aller: je vais partir pour Paris, "I am going to leave for Paris."

The futur proche is the easiest French future: conjugate aller in the present and put an infinitive after it — je vais partir, "I am going to leave". It works exactly like English "going to", and in everyday conversation it is the default way French speakers talk about the future.

Despite the name "near future", it is not limited to the next five minutes. French uses it for anything felt as planned, decided, or already on its way — tonight’s dinner, next week’s move, next year’s wedding.

This page covers the formation, negation, where pronouns go, and the time markers that typically come with it. Choosing between this form and the one-word future is its own topic — see futur proche vs futur simple; the one-word forms live on the futur simple page.

In short

Futur proche = present of aller + infinitive: je vais manger, "I’m going to eat".
Only aller changes with the subject; the second verb stays in the infinitive.
Negation wraps aller: je ne vais pas partir. Pronouns go before the infinitive: je vais le faire.

aller in the presentinfinitivetime markerobject or reflexive pronounnegation· hover a highlighted word for its label

Conjugate aller, freeze the verb

There is only one thing to conjugate: aller in the present tense. The verb that carries the meaning never changes — it stays in the infinitive, straight out of the dictionary. If you know the six present forms of aller, you can already put any French verb in the future.

subject + aller in the present + infinitive

Person	aller (present)	Futur proche
je	je vais	je vais manger
tu	tu vas	tu vas manger
il / elle / on	elle va	elle va manger
nous	nous allons	nous allons manger
vous	vous allez	vous allez manger
ils / elles	ils vont	ils vont manger

Je vais regarder un film ce soir.

— Only vais is conjugated; regarder stays in the infinitive.

Tu vas adorer ce restaurant.

— A confident prediction growing out of the present situation — classic futur proche.

Elle va prendre le train demain matin.

— The infinitive never agrees with the subject; only aller does.

The default future of spoken French

In conversation, the futur proche is not a backup form — it is the normal one. Use it for plans you have made, decisions you have taken, and events you can already see coming. The "near" in the name is about how real the event feels, not how soon it happens: on va déménager l’année prochaine is perfectly natural even though it is a year away.

It usually travels with a time marker that anchors the plan:

ce soir, demain, ce week-end, la semaine prochaine, dans une heure

When the future feels more like a detached prediction or a formal announcement, French reaches for the futur simple instead — the full decision guide is futur proche vs futur simple.

Nous allons déménager la semaine prochaine.

— A decided plan with a time marker — the most typical futur proche sentence.

Vous allez voir, c’est facile.

— A fixed spoken phrase: the futur proche of voir.

Ils vont organiser une fête pour son anniversaire.

— Decided and already in motion, even if the date is not tomorrow.

Negation wraps aller

To say what is not going to happen, put ne and pas around the conjugated verb — and here the conjugated verb is aller. The infinitive stays outside the negation, untouched. This is the ordinary negation rule; the only trap is the temptation to wrap the infinitive instead.

subject + ne + aller in the present + pas + infinitive

Je ne vais pas répondre tout de suite.

— ne and pas surround vais, not the infinitive.

Pronouns go before the infinitive

Object and reflexive pronouns attach to the verb they belong to — and in the futur proche, that is the infinitive. So the pronoun slips between aller and the infinitive, never in front of aller. This mirrors what you know from direct object pronouns and reflexive verbs.

Je vais le faire demain.

— The pronoun le sits between vais and the infinitive.

Elle va se lever tôt demain.

— The reflexive pronoun se stays with the infinitive it belongs to.

Aller alone is just movement

One check before you label a sentence futur proche: is there an infinitive after aller? If aller is followed by a place, it is the ordinary verb "to go" in the present — physical movement, not a future tense. Only aller + infinitive makes the futur proche.

Movement

Je vais à Paris.

— No infinitive after vais — this is movement, not the futur proche.

Futur proche

Je vais partir pour Lyon.

— An infinitive follows — now it is the futur proche.

Common mistakes

✗Ce soir, je vais mange une pizza.

✓Ce soir, je vais manger une pizza.

After aller, the second verb stays in the infinitive. Only aller is conjugated.

✗Ils ne vont venir pas ce soir.

✓Ils ne vont pas venir ce soir.

Ne and pas wrap the conjugated verb aller; the infinitive stays outside the negation.

✗Je le vais acheter demain.

✓Je vais l’acheter demain.

The object pronoun goes right before the infinitive it belongs to, not before aller.

✗Nous va manger au restaurant.

✓Nous allons manger au restaurant.

Aller must agree with the subject: nous allons, vous allez, ils vont.

Check yourself

1 / 5Ce soir, nous ___ un match au stade. (regarder)

2 / 5Elle ___ demain matin. (partir)

3 / 5Je ne ___ ce week-end. (travailler)

4 / 5Ces chaussures ? Je ___ acheter demain. (acheter + pronoun)

5 / 5Ce soir, vous ___ tard. (se coucher)

Frequently asked questions

How do you form the futur proche in French?

Conjugate aller in the present (je vais, tu vas, il va, nous allons, vous allez, ils vont) and add an infinitive: je vais partir, "I am going to leave". The infinitive never changes.

Is the futur proche only for the near future?

No. It covers any future event felt as planned, decided, or already on its way, even a distant one: ils vont se marier l’année prochaine. For choosing between it and the one-word future, see futur proche vs futur simple.

How do you make the futur proche negative?

Put ne and pas around the conjugated verb aller: je ne vais pas partir, "I am not going to leave". The infinitive stays outside the negation.

Where do object pronouns go in the futur proche?

Directly before the infinitive: je vais le faire, elle va se lever, on va leur parler. They never come before aller.

Is "je vais à Paris" the futur proche?

No — that is the ordinary present of aller meaning movement: "I am going to Paris." The futur proche needs an infinitive after aller: je vais partir pour Paris, "I am going to leave for Paris."

Memory tip

Conjugate aller, freeze the verb. And before calling a sentence futur proche, look for the infinitive: no infinitive after aller means you are simply going somewhere.

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