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:
Alanna is going to jump. _____Alanna va sauter.________________
1. Darcy is going to swim. _______________________________________
2. Kyra is going to skate. ______________________________________
3. You
(just you alone)
4. You
(all of you)
are going to eat. _________________________________
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
1. aller en France
a) Vas-tu voyager?_________________(Are you going to travel?)_
b) Oui, je vais voyager.______________(Yes, I’m going to travel.)_
a) _________________________________________________
b) _________________________________________________
2. rester à la maison
a) __________________________________________________
b) __________________________________________________
3. étudier
a) __________________________________________________
b) __________________________________________________
4. travailler
a) __________________________________________________
b) __________________________________________________
5. visiter des amis
a) __________________________________________________
b) ___________________________________________________
6. aller à Edmonton
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. Nic
partager avec Josh
_____________________________________________
4. Dillon
parler avec Jessie
_____________________________________________
5. Toi
travailler au supermarché _____________________________________________
6. Moi
laver mes mains
_____________________________________________
7. Kim et sa mère
voyager
_____________________________________________
8. Liz et Amber
faire les devoirs
_____________________________________________
9. mes parents
écrire une lettre
_____________________________________________
10. ma grandmère envoyer de l’argent _____________________________________________
11. ton oncle
12. Ashley
faire le dîner
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 : Shandi ___vient de____ jouer le football.
1. Vous _________________ jouer au tennis.
2. Alyssa et Laura __________________ faire du ski.
3. Courtney _______________________ 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
jouer au tennis
avant : ______Nous allons jouer au tennis.____________________
après : ______Nous venons de jouer au tennis._________________
1. Moi
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. Laura
étudier
avant : ____________________________________________________________________
après : ____________________________________________________________________
6. Darcy
travailler
avant : ____________________________________________________________________
après : ____________________________________________________________________
7. Patricia et Tiffany
téléphoner
avant : ____________________________________________________________________
après : ____________________________________________________________________
8. Jessie et Dillon
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
Recent Past
Present
Near Future
Future
passé-composé
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 Jeff. _________________________________________________
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. Jack 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. Monsieur Fotty 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?