Future Perfect For Intermediate learners
What Is the Future Perfect (Futur antérieur) in French?
The future perfect (futur antérieur) is a French compound tense used to talk about an action that will be completed before another future action or before a specific moment in the future. It corresponds closely to the English future perfect:
"will have + past participle".
Here are some examples:
J'aurai fini avant 20 heures.
I will have finished before 8 p.m.
Quand tu arriveras, j'aurai déjà mangé.
When you arrive, I will already have eaten.
When to Use futur antérieur
The futur antérieur is used in three main situations.
To Show that One Future Action Happens Before Another Future Action
This is the most common use.
Quand tu reviendras, j'aurai fini.
When you come back, I will have finished.
Après qu'il aura terminé, nous partirons.
After he has finished, we will leave.
The "futur antérieur" shows the earlier future action; the futur simple shows the later one.
To Indicate Completion Before a Specific Future Moment
The action will be fully completed before a certain time.
J'aurai terminé le rapport demain matin.
I will have finished the report tomorrow morning.
Elle aura pris sa décision d'ici lundi.
She will have made her decision by Monday.
Common time expressions:
avant (before)
d'ici (by)
quand (when)
après que (after)
To Express a Logical Assumption or Strong Probability
In more formal or written French, futur antérieur can express a logical conclusion about a past event, often based on evidence.
Il n'est pas là : il aura oublié le rendez-vous.
He's not here; he must have forgotten the appointment.
How to Form Futur antérieur
The futur antérieur is formed with two elements:
The futur simple of the auxiliary verb (avoir or être)
The past participle of the main verb
Structure:
subject + avoir / être (futur simple) + past participle
Conjugation of the Auxiliaries (futur simple)
Avoir (most verbs)
Subject | Avoir (futur simple) |
|---|---|
j' | aurai |
tu | auras |
il/ elle / on | aura |
nous | aurons |
vous | aurez |
Ils / elles | auront |
Être (movement & reflexive verbs)
Subject | Être (futur simple) |
|---|---|
je | serai |
tu | seras |
Il / elle / on | sera |
nous | serons |
vous | serez |
Ils / elles | seront |
Look at the examples sentences below:
J'aurai mangé.
I will have eaten.
Nous aurons terminé le travail.
We will have finished the work.
Elle sera partie avant midi.
She will have left before noon.
Ils se seront réveillés tôt.
They will have woken up early.
Agreement of the Past Participle
The futur antérieur follows the same agreement rules as other compound tenses.
with "avoir"
No agreement unless there is a direct object placed before the verb.
J'aurai mangé les pommes. (no agreement)
I will have eaten the apples.
Les pommes que j'aurai mangées étaient délicieuses. (agreement)
The apples that I will have eaten were delicious.
with "être"
The past participle agrees with the subject (gender and number).
Elle sera arrivée tôt.
She will have arrived early.
Ils seront partis avant nous.
They will have left before us.
Elles se seront préparées rapidement.
They will have gotten ready quickly.
Negatives in Futur antérieur
To make a sentence negative, place ne…pas around the auxiliary verb.
Structure:
subject + ne + avoir / être (futur simple) + pas + past participle
Je n'aurai pas fini à temps.
I will not have finished on time.
Ils ne seront pas arrivés avant midi.
They will not have arrived before noon.
Asking Questions in Futur antérieur
Questions are formed like other tenses:
Intonation (spoken French)
Tu auras terminé avant ce soir ?
Will you have finished before tonight?
Est-ce que
Est-ce que tu auras terminé avant ce soir ?
Will you have finished before tonight?
Inversion (formal)
Auras-tu terminé avant ce soir ?
Will you have finished before tonight?
Futur antérieur vs Other Tenses
Tense | Use |
|---|---|
Futur proche | near future |
Futur simple | future action |
Futur antérieur | future completed action |
Je vais finir bientôt.
I'm going to finish soon.
futur proche
Je finirai demain.
I will finish tomorrow.
futur simple
J'aurai fini avant demain.
I will be finished before tomorrow.
futur antérieur
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