Grammar: Future Simple, irregular

The Future Simple tense of regular verbs was covered in a previous post here. That post explained how to find the future simple stem of a regular -er, -ir or -re verb, as well as the appropriate future simple endings.

This post, however, is a list of the most important verbs whose future simple stems do not follow the rules of regular future simple stems. These tend to be more frequently used verbs. So it is important to get to know their future simple stems. Not only so that you can form the future simple tense, but also so that you can form the Present Conditional Tense. That’s because the Present Conditional uses the future simple stem as its own stem.

Frequently used verbs: irregular future simple stems

VERBMEANINGSTEMEXAMPLE
êtreto beser-je serai
avoirto haveaur-j’aurai
allerto goir-j’irai
faireto do, to makefer-je ferai
venirto comeviendr-je viendrai
devoirto have to, mustdevr-je devrai
vouloirto wantvoudr-je voudrai
pouvoirto be able, canpourr-je pourrai
savoirto know (how)saur-je saurai
voirto seeverr-je verrai

Infrequently used verbs: irregular future simple stems

VERBMEANINGSTEMEXAMPLE
acquérir to acquireacquerrj’acquerrai
courir to runcourr-je courrai
cueillirto gathercueiller-je cueillerai
décevoirto deceiveto décevr-je décevrai
envoyerto sendenverr-j’enverrai
falloirto be necessaryfaudr-il faudra
pleuvoirto rainpleuvr-il pleuvra
recevoirto receiverecevr-je recevrai
tenirto hold, keeptiendr-je tiendrai
valoirto be worthvaudr-il vaudra

Don’t miss out on new posts – subscribe now!

Don’t miss new articles!

Get 1 email a week with new articles about French

We don’t spam! Read more in our privacy policy

Similar Posts

  • il faut

    The French phrase “il faut” translates to “it is necessary.” It is an impersonal expression, meaning that the “il” does not translate as “he,” but rather as “it.” So it means “it is necessary,” not “he is necessary.” In fact, the French verb “falloir,” which is the infinitive that “il faut” comes from, can only…

  • le long de

    The French phrase “le long de” means “along” in English. It is a preposition. However, there are other ways of translating “along,” depending on the exact meaning of the English term. Related words Etymology “Le long de” comes from the French word “long,” which in turn comes from the Latin word “longus,” meaning “far, extended, remote, distant,…

  • Grammar: Plus-Que-Parfait

    Understanding the French Plus-Que-Parfait Verb Tense: Actions in the Past Before Another Past Action In French grammar, there’s a tense called the plus-que-parfait that helps us talk about actions that happened before another past action. It adds depth to our storytelling and gives a clearer picture of the sequence of events. “Plus-que-parfait” literally means “more…

  • where

    Most French learners are familiar with the word for “where,” which is “où.” But how do you say “somewhere,” “nowhere,” “anywhere,” “everywhere,” “elsewhere,” and similar words?

  • Verb: bouillir

    The French verb “bouillir” means “to boil.” It is conjugated irregularly in the Present tense. So it must be memorised. Present tense It is only the Present tense of bouillir that is irregular. So this is the only part you need to memorise. Passé composé In the Passé composé, “bouillir” is conjugated with “avoir,” like…

  • sentir vs se sentir

    What is the difference between the French verbs “sentir” and “se sentir”? They both mean “to feel” in English, although “sentir” can also mean “to smell.” So how are they different from each other and how should each one be used? In short, “sentir” is for physical sensations like smell or touch, while “se sentir”…