le futur antérieur
The future perfect (or le futur antérieur / past future tense) is used to describe actions which will have happened in the future. For example, J’aurai mangé (I will have eaten). The future perfect often appears in sentences with an element of anteriority: Action A will have happened before action B.
Future perfect usages
Example sentences
“Will have” before + time sentences
Tu auras déjà trouvé un nouveau boulot avant juillet. You will have already found a new job before July.
J’aurai appris tous ces verbes avant la fin de l’année. I will have learned all these verbs before the end of the year.
Anteriority examples
These sentences introduce the idea of anteriority: When action A occurs, action B will have already occurred.
Quand elle partira, je serai parti. When she leaves, I’ll have left.
Quand tu arriveras à la maison, j’aurai fini mon repas. When you get home, I’ll have finished my meal.
Probability
These sentences express probability: Action A “must have” occurred.
Il aura encore oublé le rendez-vous ! He must have forgotten the meeting again!
Elle aura encore brûlé le gâteau ! She must have burnt the cake again!
Whether
The following sentences cover the concept of “whether”.
Je me demande si elle sera venue. I wonder whether she came.
Je voudrais savoir s’ils auront fini les devoirs. I’d like to know whether they finished the homework.
Future perfect conjugation chart
For verbs which use avoir (to have) as an auxiliary verb in the passé composé, the future perfect is formed with avoir conjugated in the future tense + past participle.
For verbs which use être (to be) as an auxiliary verb in the passé composé, the future perfect is formed with être conjugated in the future tense + past participle.
| avoir verb | être verb | reflexive verb | |
| parler – to speak | aller – to go | se souvenir – to remember | |
| je/j’ | aurai parlé | serai allé(e) | me serai souvenu(e) |
| tu | auras parlé | seras allé(e) | te seras souvenu(e) |
| il/elle | aura parlé | sera allé(e) | se sera souvenu(e) |
| nous | aurons parlé | serons allé(e)s | nous serons souvenu(e)s |
| vous | aurez parlé | serez allé(e)(s) | vous serez souvenu(e)(s) |
| ils/elles | auront parlé | seront allé(e)s | se seront souvenu(e)s |
More verb tenses
- Future tense
- Present conditional
- Present tense
- Passé composé
- Passé simple
- Present subjunctive
- Past subjunctive
- Pluperfect subjunctive
- Imperfect subjunctive
- Past anterior tense
