20.1 Irregular Future Stems
For most verbs, the simple future is refreshingly…simple. Some irregular verbs, however, require a change to the stem. Don't worry, though: the simple future endings stay exactly the same!
Here's an example: venir becomes VIENDR- and then we add the endings (‑ai, ‑as, ‑a, ‑ons, ‑ez, ‑ont) to make je viendrai or elles viendront.
There are about thirty irregular verbs in the simple future, but we've gathered the most commonly used ones for you here:
Common Irregular Future Stems
| aller → IR-(to go) | avoir → AUR-(to have) |
| être → SER-(to be) | faire → FER-(to do, to make) |
| voir → VERR-(to see) | pouvoir → POURR-(to be able to) |
| courir → COURR-(to run) | mourir → MOURR-(to die) |
| venir → VIENDR-(to come) | tenir → TIENDR-(to hold) |
| devoir → DEVR-(to have to) | vouloir → VOUDR-(to want) |
| falloir → FAUDR-(to be necessary) | envoyer → ENVERR-(to send) |
| pleuvoir → PLEUVR-(to rain) | savoir → SAUR-(to know) |
You may have noticed that simple future stems—both regular and irregular—always end in ‑R!
Patterns to Notice
These stems do not all follow one rule, but a few similarities can make them easier to remember:
- Venir and tenir add -dr-: viendr-, tiendr-
- Several verbs use a doubled r: verr-, pourr-, courr-, mourr-
- Some very common verbs use short stems that must be learned separately: ir-, aur-, ser-, fer-
20.2 Irregular Verbs in the Future Tense
Once you know the stem, the rest is automatic—the same endings you already learned attach to each irregular stem. Here are a few of the most useful verbs conjugated in full:
Related verbs usually keep the future-stem pattern of the base verb:
- venir → viendr-: revenir → reviendr-; devenir → deviendr-
- tenir → tiendr-: maintenir → maintiendr-; obtenir → obtiendr-
- faire → fer-: refaire → refer-
- voir → verr-: revoir → reverr-
Practice Time!
Master these verb conjugations from Lesson 20