B1 · The future
Future after quand
One of your two habits is right here, and they look identical.
At a glance
- Remember
- quand takes the future, si never does.
- When
- Before the past
- The past
- Past linked to the present
- The present
- The future
- Completed in the future
The future — What is still to come — promised, planned or merely guessed at.
- Form
- quand j’arriveraiwhen I arrive
- Signal words
- quand
- dès que
- tant que
- une fois que
- si
- Trap
- Wrong:Si j’aurai le temps, je passerai.Right:Si j’ai le temps, je passerai.
Your turn
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The form
How the forms are built
Each row gives the meaning first, then the form in French. The colours show what changes from one form to the next.
stem (regular) stem (irregular) tense marker person ending auxiliary verb
| when I arrive | quand j’arriverai |
| as soon as you are ready | dès que tu seras prêt |
| as long as the weather holds | tant qu’il fera beau |
| when we leave | lorsque nous partirons |
| as soon as you know (plural, polite) | aussitôt que vous le saurez |
| once they are there | une fois qu’ils seront là |
| if I have time | si j’ai le temps |
| when I have finished | quand j’aurai fini |
| once you have seen it | une fois que tu auras vu |
| as soon as she has eaten | dès qu’elle aura mangé |
| when we have come back | quand nous serons rentrés |
| when you have read (plural, polite) | lorsque vous aurez lu |
| as soon as they have left | aussitôt qu’ils seront partis |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
After quand comes the future.
Je t’appellerai quand j’arriverai.I will call you when I arrive.
dès que and tant que do the same.
On partira dès que tu seras prêt.We will leave as soon as you are ready.
After si comes the present.
Si j’ai le temps, je passerai.If I have time, I will drop by.
For the earlier of two, the futur antérieur.
Quand j’aurai fini, je t’enverrai le texte.When I have finished, I will send you the text.
Example sentences
Je te dirai tout quand on se verra.I will tell you everything when we see each other.
Dès qu’il arrivera, nous commencerons.As soon as he arrives, we will start.
Si tu veux, on peut y aller ensemble.If you want, we can go together.
Tant qu’il y aura du soleil, on restera dehors.As long as there is sunshine, we will stay outside.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
After si the future never appears. Si je viendrai does not exist; it is si je viens. In English both clauses look the same — «when I come» and «if I come» — so there is nothing at all to warn you that one of them changes and the other must not.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
If the main clause is in the future, the clause with quand is too: je t'appellerai quand j'arriverai — literally «I will call you when I will arrive».
English says «when I arrive», with the present, and so does German, and so does almost everybody. Carry it across and you write quand j'arrive, which means «whenever I arrive».
The same holds for lorsque, dès que, aussitôt que, tant que and une fois que. All five want a future when a future is meant.
After si it does *not* hold. Si j'ai le temps, je viendrai — present in the si clause. So English «when I arrive» and «if I have time» look identical, both in the present, and French treats them oppositely. Learning the two side by side is the only way the difference sticks.
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The verbs on this page, in every form: avoir · arriver · être · dire · passer · pouvoir · commencer · voir