1 - Aller + Infinitif = Futur Proche
(To Go + Infinitive = Near Future)
First of all, you need to remember that ‘aller’ means ‘to go’. In English, if we say, “She is going to cry,” we are saying that this will take place some time in the near future. In the same way, the
French will use the verb aller (to go) in front of the infinitive form of the verb.
She is going to cry. = Elle va pleurer.
This is not the same as the future form of the verb. In English, that is expressed as, “She will cry.”
The time of that event is less certain, although we know that it will take place at some time in the future.
To refresh your memory, here is how the verb aller looks for this situation:
Aller (to go) je vais tu vas il/elle va nous allons vous allez ils/elles vont
So, if we wanted to say that Dave is going to sing very soon, we could say, “Dave va chanter.” Or if we wanted to talk about the grade four class and say that they are going to dance, we could say, “Ils vont danser.” If things got really crazy and we wanted to say that we are all going to scream, we could say, “Nous allons crier.”
You’ll notice that the actions that people are going to perform ‘in the future’ are left in their infinitive form. For most of the verbs we know so far, that means that they have an ‘er’ on the end. In the meantime, the verb aller, (the ‘going to’), part of the expression is conjugated to match the person doing the action.
Exercice 1: We are going to try!
Modèle: Jessica is going to jump. _____Jessica va sauter.________________
1.
Suzanne is going to swim. _______________________________________
2.
Kara is going to skate. ______________________________________
3.
You
(just you alone)
are going to eat. _________________________________
4.
You
(all of you)
are going to drink.___________________________________
5.
They are going to have a church. _________________________________
6.
We are going to type. ___________________________________________
7.
I am going to play. _____________________________________________
8.
She is going to steal. ____________________________________________

Exercice 2: Let’s answer the questions.
In each case, ask a friend if they are going to do whatever is indicated by the verb during the coming summer. Answer the question for them.
Modèle: voyager a) Vas-tu voyager?_________________(Are you going to travel?)_ b) Oui, je vais voyager.______________(Yes, I’m going to travel.)_
1. aller en France a) _________________________________________________ b) _________________________________________________
2. rester à la maison a) __________________________________________________
3. étudier b) __________________________________________________ a) __________________________________________________ b) __________________________________________________
4. travailler a) __________________________________________________ b) __________________________________________________
5. visiter des amis
6. aller à Edmonton a) __________________________________________________ b) ___________________________________________________ a) ___________________________________________________ b) ___________________________________________________
Exercice #3: Tell what each person is going to do.
Modèle: Moi lire un livre ______Je vais lire un livre._______________________
1. Nous marcher à la bibliothèque. ______Nous allons marcher à la bibliothèque.________
2. Vous nettoyer la cuisine _____________________________________________
3. Greg partager avec Matt _____________________________________________
4. Derek parler avec Denis
5. Toi
_____________________________________________ travailler au supermarché _____________________________________________
6. Moi laver mes mains
7. Liz et sa mère voyager
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
8. Chau et Kaila faire les devoirs _____________________________________________
9. mes parents écrire une lettre _____________________________________________
10. ma grandmère envoyer de l’argent _____________________________________________
11. ton oncle faire le dîner _____________________________________________
12. Ashleigh placer la salle de classe ______________________________________________

Venir + De + Infinitif = Passé Récent
To Come + from + Infinitive = Recent Past
(in other words, you just came from doing it)
This construction is used to express that something has just happened. In this case, the verb ‘venir’ or ‘to come’ is teamed up with ‘de’ and the infinitive form of the verb. This is much like saying that
Jamie just came from singing. (Jamie vient de chanter.) This is something which happened in the very immediate past and it is different from the past tense of the verb.
To refresh your memory, this is how the verb ‘venir’ looks for this situation.
Venir (to come) je viens tu viens il/elle vient nous venons vous venez ils viennent
Exercice #4 : Why is everyone so tired?
Complete the sentences with the appropriate form of venir de.
Modèle : Mike ___vient de____ jouer le football.
1.
Vous _________________ jouer au tennis.
2.
Winston et Matt __________________ faire du ski.
3.
Tiffany _______________________ jouer au volleyball.
4.
Nous _____________________ étudier.
5.
Je _______________________ danser.
6.
Tu ______________________ préparer tes leçons.
7.
Nous ____________________ parler avec Courtney.
Exercice #5 : Already done
Whenever Madame Martel tells her daughters to do something, they say that they have just done it.
Modèle : Madame Martel : Olive, achète des fruits. Je viens d’acheter des fruits, maman.
1.
Olive, prépare le repas. ________________________________________________________
2.
Olive, téléphone à ta tante. _____________________________________________________
3.
Olive, joue du piano. ___________________________________________________________
4.
Mireille et Denise, cherchez du lait. Nous __________________________________________
5.
Mireille et Denise, achetez du pain. _______________________________________________
6.
Mireille et Denise, faites vos devoirs. ______________________________________________

Exercice #6 : Avant et Après (before and after)
For each set, show that the person is just about to do something and then that they have just done that same something.
Modele : Nous
1. Moi jouer au tennis avant : ______Nous allons jouer au tennis.____________________ après : ______Nous venons de jouer au tennis._________________ finir mes devoirs avant : ___________________________________________________________________ après : ___________________________________________________________________
2. Toi écouter la radio avant : ___________________________________________________________________ après : ___________________________________________________________________
3. Nous prendre des photos avant : ___________________________________________________________________ après : ___________________________________________________________________
4. Vous regarder la télé avant : ____________________________________________________________________ après : ____________________________________________________________________
5. Juanita étudier avant : ____________________________________________________________________ après : ____________________________________________________________________
6. Robyn travailler avant : ____________________________________________________________________ après : ____________________________________________________________________
7. Mike et Matt téléphoner avant : ____________________________________________________________________ après : ____________________________________________________________________
8. Patricia et Tiffany passer un examen avant : ____________________________________________________________________ après : ____________________________________________________________________
9. Monsieur Galatiuk donner un quiz avant : ____________________________________________________________________ après : _____________________________________________________________________

Our first look at the timeline.
In junior high French classes, we only looked at verbs which were in the present tense. With these two new constructions that you’ve just gone through, (aller + infinitive = near future and venir
de + infinitive = recent past) you’ve slightly extended the timeline in which you can use French to explain someone’s actions.
A simplified version of the timeline would look something like this :
Past passé-composé
Recent Past Present Near Future Future venir de +infinitif présent aller +infinitif futur
Now, you’re going to have to be a little more careful and decide when something is happening before you attempt to conjugate the verb for that situation.
Exercice #7 : Let’s try mixing things up a little.
Each of the following sentences is taking place in either the recent past, the present or the near future.
1.
Dana is working for Lisa. _________________________________________________
2.
Charity just ate Tracy’s sandwich. __________________________________________
Don’t forget about possession : Michael’s dog = le chien de Michael so, Tracy’s sandwich = ____________
3.
Jamie is going to smoke. _________________________________________________
4.
Chau just played tennis. __________________________________________________
5.
Stacey just drank a soda. _________________________________________________
6.
Britt is going to eat a potato. ______________________________________________
7.
Billy is listening to Mike. ___________________________________________________
8.
Kaila is playing a game. ___________________________________________________
9.
Miranda is going to play with Derek and Travis. _________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
10.
John is going to travel to Edmonton. _________________________________________
11.
Melissa just arrived from Edmonton. _________________________________________
12.
Elizabeth just cried. _______________________________________________________
13.
Madame Karas just gave an exam. _____________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
14.
We are going to watch the television. ________________________________________
15.
You are going to play. _____________________________________________________
16.
They just watched the game. _______________________________________________
17.
The goat just cried. _______________________________________________________

Reading Assignment #1
Look over these sentences carefully. Refer to your ‘Pronunciation Pointers’ sheet. You will each be asked to read these sentences to me and answer questions about them. (Usually , I will read the sentences once for you so that you can hear them, but this time, I hope that Novalie will agree to read them slowly for you.)
1.
Caroline vient d’écrire à sa correspondante française.
2.
Son amie habite à Nice, sur la Côte d’Azur.
3.
Elle va inviter Caroline à passer deux semaines chez elle.
4.
Le bassin du Mississippi était une colonie française.
5.
De nombreuses familles de la Louisiane parlent encore français comme langue maternelle.
6.
L’Acadie est l’ancien nom de la Nouvelle-Écosse.
7.
Beaucoup d’Acadiens sont venus en Louisiane, où leurs descendants habitent toujours.
8.
Qu’est-ce qu’il y a? Quels sont tes projets?