Grammar: Present meaning Future

ByFast French

In French, you don’t always have to use the Future Simple tense to talk about the future. You don’t even have to use the Near Future tense. You can just use the Present Tense, provided that you also specify a time that will occur sometime in the near future, eg “this evening,” “tomorrow,” or even “next week.”

French people will often use this same approach when they speak English, saying things like, “I see you tomorrow.” English speakers would say, “I’ll see you tomorrow,” but French speakers are used to saying, “I see you tomorrow,” and many see no reason why they should not use the same construction in English.

Examples

Present tenseLiteral meaningActual meaning
Je te vois demainI see you tomorrowI will/I’ll see you tomorrow
On se parle la semaine prochaineWe speak to each other next weekWe will/we’ll speak to each other next week
Il vous appelle vendrediHe calls you FridayHe will/he’ll call you on Friday
Tu me rappelles ce soir ?You call me back this evening?Will you call me back tonight?

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