Verb drill
French future stems: eight verbs, then a mixed drill
Learn ser-, aur-, ir-, fer-, viendr-, pourr-, verr- and saur-. Practise the stems first, then add future endings in eight short sentences.
- A2
- 16 answers
- Checked all at once
- Accents count
- Learn this in the A2 notebook →
In short
Start with eight useful future stems: ser-, aur-, ir-, fer-, viendr-, pourr-, verr-, saur-. Add the same endings to each: -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont. Keep the final r in the stem; fer- + -ons gives ferons.
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| Infinitive | Future stem | A usable form |
|---|---|---|
| être | ser- | je serai |
| avoir | aur- | j’aurai |
| aller | ir- | j’irai |
| faire | fer- | je ferai |
| venir | viendr- | je viendrai |
| pouvoir | pourr- | je pourrai |
| voir | verr- | je verrai |
| savoir | saur- | je saurai |
Demain, je serai disponible et j’aurai le temps de répondre.
Tomorrow, I will be available and will have time to reply.
Location or availability uses être; having time uses avoir.
Nous viendrons à la réunion et nous ferons le point.
We will come to the meeting and take stock.
The two verbs keep their own stems, but both take -ons for nous.
The drill has two rounds. First type each stem with its final hyphen, for example ser-. Then type the complete future verb in a sentence. In the second round, check the subject before choosing the ending: nous takes -ons, while elles takes -ont.
| Subject | Ending | Example with pouvoir |
|---|---|---|
| je | -ai | pourrai |
| tu | -as | pourras |
| il / elle / on | -a | pourra |
| nous | -ons | pourrons |
| vous | -ez | pourrez |
| ils / elles | -ont | pourront |
Two useful written contrasts: je serai means “I will be”; je saurai means “I will know”. Je ferai is the future of faire; adding a final s gives the conditional je ferais. Keep the meaning beside the form when these words get mixed up.
1 · Round 1 · retrieve the eight stems
- être → stem
- avoir → stem
- aller → stem
- faire → stem
- venir → stem
- pouvoir → stem
- voir → stem
- savoir → stem
2 · Round 2 · choose the ending too
- Demain, je disponible. (être · futur simple)
- Après la réunion, nous le temps. (avoir · futur simple)
- Tu au rendez-vous. (aller · futur simple)
- Vous le nécessaire. (faire · futur simple)
- Elles demain. (venir · futur simple)
- Nous participer. (pouvoir · futur simple)
- Vous la différence. (voir · futur simple)
- Demain, elle la réponse. (savoir · futur simple)
Which French verbs have irregular future stems?
A wrong stem sends you back to the infinitive-and-stem pair. A wrong ending sends you back to the subject row. If ser- and saur- were mixed up, write one sentence about where you will be and another about what you will know. Then change je to nous and try both again.