Grammar
Aller + infinitive: the French future you can use today.
Bonjour encore ! Before you stress over memorizing every single regular and irregular future tense ending, let me introduce you to your best friend for making plans: le futur proche (the near future). It is simply the verb aller plus an infinitive verb.
The pattern
To use this tense, you simply conjugate the verb aller (to go) in the present tense, and then add the action verb in its full, untouched infinitive form. Here is how it looks in action:
« Je vais partir. » (I am going to leave.)
« Tu vas manger. » (You are going to eat.)
« Nous allons étudier. » (We are going to study.)
Why it is useful
As a teacher, I highly encourage mastering this structure first. It is incredibly common in everyday spoken French and conveys a strong sense of intention and immediate plans. You will use it to talk about what you are doing tonight, this weekend, or right after you finish reading this lesson!
« Je vais appeler ma mère. » (I am going to call my mother.)
« On va voir. » (We will see.)
Do not conjugate the second verb
Pay close attention here, as this is a very common beginner mistake! Only aller changes to match the subject. The second verb must remain in its dictionary form. Say « je vais prendre », never « je vais prends ».
Practical examples
Let's look at a few more real-world examples that you might use on a trip to France or in daily communication:
« Je vais réserver une table. » (I am going to reserve a table.)
« Elle va arriver à huit heures. » (She is going to arrive at eight.)
« On va prendre le métro. » (We are going to take the metro.)
For daily communication, this structure gives you a massive amount of expressive power with very little grammar load. Practice these out loud today. Vous allez adorer cette leçon ! (You are going to love this lesson!)