Le futur proche (aller + infinitive)
You already know the present (je mange) and two pasts (j'ai mangé, je mangeais). Time to look forward. The easiest French future is the futur proche — literally 'near future'. The recipe is identical to English's 'I'm going to eat': conjugate aller in the present, then add an infinitive. Je vais manger = I'm going to eat / I'll eat (soon).
The recipe — aller + infinitive
aller in the present: je vais, tu vas, il va, nous allons, vous allez, ils vont. Add any infinitive after it. Je vais manger = I'm going to eat. Tu vas partir = you're going to leave. Il va dormir = he's going to sleep. Nous allons travailler = we're going to work. Vous allez voir = you're going to see. Ils vont arriver = they're going to arrive. Aller does all the work; the second verb stays in its dictionary form.
When to use it
For anything that's about to happen, soon or fairly soon — minutes, hours, days, even months from now. Je vais manger maintenant (I'm going to eat now). On va voir un film ce soir (we're going to see a movie tonight). L'été prochain, nous allons voyager en France (next summer we're going to travel to France). It's the everyday spoken future — French speakers use it far more than the formal futur simple for normal life events.
Time markers — when 'going to' lives
Some words and expressions almost always trigger the futur proche. maintenant (now), bientôt (soon), tout de suite (right away), dans cinq minutes (in five minutes), demain (tomorrow), ce soir (tonight), demain matin (tomorrow morning), la semaine prochaine (next week), le mois prochain (next month), l'année prochaine (next year), après (after / later). La semaine prochaine, je vais voir mes parents.
Negation — ne and pas wrap aller
ne and pas sandwich aller, exactly like with avoir in the passé composé. The infinitive stays untouched at the end. Je ne vais pas manger = I'm not going to eat. Tu ne vas pas partir? = aren't you going to leave? Elle ne va pas venir ce soir = she's not coming tonight. With elision: Je n'ai pas faim, je ne vais pas manger.
Questions
All three question forms work. Rising tone: Tu vas manger? Est-ce que: Est-ce que tu vas manger? Inversion (more formal): Vas-tu manger? Question words go in front: Quand est-ce que tu vas partir? = When are you going to leave? Qu'est-ce que vous allez faire ce soir? = What are you going to do tonight? Où est-ce qu'on va manger? = Where are we going to eat?
A note: the futur simple exists too
French has another future — the futur simple, a one-word form: je mangerai (I will eat), tu mangeras, il mangera. We'll meet it later. The difference is mostly tone and distance: futur simple feels more formal, more written, or further away — used in plans, predictions, and promises. Futur proche is everyday spoken French. For now, just use aller + infinitive for everything in the future. You'll be understood and natural.
