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Chapter 9
Looking Forward and Back:
The Immediate Future and Past
In This Chapter
Forming the immediate future
Forming the immediate past
Using prepositions with verbs of coming and going
T
he two types of future tense are the simple future, which I discuss in Chapter 15, and the
immediate future, which I talk about in this chapter. Although the two types of future
tenses can be and are used interchangeably, you use the immediate future to express something that you’re going to do pretty soon in the future, as the name indicates. Similarly to the
immediate future, the immediate past expresses actions that you’ve just done. For example,
I have just taken a test or She has just eaten. In this chapter, I show you how to form the
immediate future and the immediate past.
Creating the Immediate Future Tense
In order to form the immediate future, conjugate the verb aller (to go) in the present tense
and add the infinitive of a verb of your choice. Because aller is an irregular verb, check out
the following conjugations in the present tense to refresh your memory.
aller (to go)
je vais
nous allons
tu vas
vous allez
il/elle/on va
ils/elles vont
Now add an infinitive to form the immediate future. The following examples show you how
to do it.
Je vais lire. (I’m going to read.)
Nous allons sortir. (We are going to go out.)
To construct the immediate future with pronominal verbs, place the pronominal pronoun,
which agrees with the subject, before the infinitive.
Je vais me promener dans le parc. (I’m going to walk in the park.)
Elle va se reposer. (She is going to rest.)
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In order to make the immediate future negative, simply place ne before the conjugated
aller and pas, or any other negative word you want to use, after the conjugated verb.
Nous n’allons pas voyager cet été. (We are not going to travel this summer.)
Now take the time to try it. Work through the following practice problems and conjugate the verb so that the sentence is in the immediate future tense.
Q. Je dors. (I am sleeping.)
A. Je vais dormir. (I am going to sleep.)
1. Il mange.
__________________________________________________________________________________
2. Nous nageons.
__________________________________________________________________________________
3. Tu ne travailles pas.
__________________________________________________________________________________
4. Les clients paient.
__________________________________________________________________________________
5. Elle se maquille.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Creating the Immediate Past Tense
Just like the immediate future (see the previous section), you also have an immediate
past tense, which you use when you’ve just done something. Form the immediate
past tense with the verb venir conjugated in the present tense, the preposition de,
and the infinitive (venir de + infinitive). (Note that the immediate future has no
preposition in front of the infinitive, but the immediate past does). Venir by itself
means to come, but when it’s followed by de + infinitive, it means to have just done
something. I conjugate venir in the present tense for you in the following table.
venir (to come)
je viens
nous venons
tu viens
vous venez
il/elle/on vient
ils/elles viennent
Nous venons d’acheter les billets. (We have just bought the tickets.)
How do you construct the immediate past with pronominal verbs? (Check out
Chapter 5 for a complete discussion on pronominal verbs in the present tense.)
Just place the pronominal pronoun before the infinitive, like so:
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Chapter 9: Looking Forward and Back: The Immediate Future and Past
Je viens de me réveiller. (I just woke up.)
Elle vient de se coucher. (She has just gone to bed.)
In order to make the immediate past negative, simply place ne before the conjugated
verb (venir) and pas, or any other negative word you want to use, after the conjugated verb.
Ils ne viennent pas de manger. (They have not just eaten.)
Transform the following sentences from the present to the immediate past, as in the
example. If the sentence is negative, keep it negative in your answer.
Q. Nous jouons au tennis. (We are playing tennis.)
A. Nous venons de jouer au tennis. (We have just played tennis.)
6. Il se coupe les cheveux.
__________________________________________________________________________________
7. Vous attendez.
__________________________________________________________________________________
8. Je pleure.
__________________________________________________________________________________
9. Je me mets à travailler.
__________________________________________________________________________________
10. Elle se coiffe.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Going and Coming with Aller and Venir
How do you go to the movies or the market and most importantly, how do you come
back from these and other places? Well, you use the same verbs you did to form the
immediate future and the immediate past (see the two previous sections), but they’re
followed by nouns instead of by infinitives. In this section, I show you what prepositions to use to get to where you are going aller (to go) and what prepositions you use
to come back venir (to come).
Going to and coming back
Go anywhere you want to go by adding the preposition à to aller, thus forming aller à
(to go to).
Je vais au cinéma. (I am going to the movies.)
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The preposition à contracts with the definite article le (masculine singular) to form
au and with the plural les to form aux. It doesn’t contract with the feminine singular
la or with the l’.
Tu vas à la banque. (You are going to the bank.)
Now that you can go anywhere in town, how do you get back? You get back with the
verb venir and the preposition de, which means to come (back) from.
Je viens du marché. (I’m coming back from the market.)
Elle vient de l’école. (She’s coming back from school.)
The same types of transformations occur with the preposition de as with the preposition à. The two contractions are de + le, which form du, and de + les, which form des.
Table 9-1 shows you a list of the two prepositions with the definite articles so that
you can keep track of them when you use them.
Table 9-1
Combining Definite Articles and Prepositions
Preposition
Definite Article
Combined Form
à
le
au
à
la
à la
à
l’
à l’
à
les
aux
de
le
du
de
la
de la
de
l’
de l’
de
les
des
Before you work on the practice problems, review this list of places around town that
you can go to and come back from.
l’aéroport (the airport)
l’église (the church)
la banque (the bank)
l’épicerie (the grocery store)
la bibliothèque (the library)
la gare (the train station)
la boîte de nuit (the nightclub)
le grand magasin (the department store)
la boulangerie (the bakery)
l’hôtel (the hotel)
le café (the café)
la librairie (the bookstore)
le centre commercial (the mall)
le lycée (high school)
le cinéma (the movies)
le magasin (the store)
le club (the club)
la maison (the house)
le collège (middle school)
le marché (the market)
l’école (the school)
le musée (the museum)
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Chapter 9: Looking Forward and Back: The Immediate Future and Past
l’opéra (the opera)
le restaurant (the restaurant)
la pharmacie (the pharmacy)
le stade (the stadium)
la piscine (the swimming pool)
le supermarché (the supermarket)
la plage (the beach)
le théâtre (the theater)
la poste (the post office)
Go to the following places and come back by conjugating the verbs aller in the first
sentence and venir in the second sentence. Make sure you add the correct prepositions. Check out the example. I provide the translations in the Answer Key.
Q. Il _________________ le lycée.
__________________________________________________________________________________
A. Il va au lycée. (He is going to high school.)
Il vient du lycée. (He is coming back from high school.)
11. Nous _________________ le magasin.
__________________________________________________________________________________
12. Ils _________________ la pharmacie.
__________________________________________________________________________________
13. Ma sœur _________________ le centre commercial.
__________________________________________________________________________________
14. Papa _________________ la gare.
__________________________________________________________________________________
15. Tu _________________ la librairie.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Going to and coming from
If you want to get out of town and go to Morocco or Australia, for example, you need
the verbs aller and venir again. All you have to do is change the prepositions. To go
to any city, use the preposition à + the name of the city. To come back, use the preposition de + the name of the city. Most islands follow this rule as well.
Je vais à Bruxelles. (I am going to Brussels.)
Je viens de Bruxelles. (I come/am coming from Brussels.)
Je vais à Hawaii. (I am going to Hawaii.)
Je viens d’Hawaii. (I come/am coming from Hawaii.)
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Countries, provinces, and states are divided into masculine, feminine, and plural
nouns. What determines gender for these geographic areas is a matter of spelling.
Aside from some exceptions, countries, provinces, and states that end in an e or
begin with a vowel are considered feminine, and they use the prepositions en (to, in,
at) and de (from). Those that don’t end in an e or that begin with a consonant are considered masculine, and they use the prepositions au (to, in, at) and du (from).
For plural countries like the United States, use aux (to, in, at) and des (from).
Nous allons en France. (We are going to France.)
Nous venons de France. (We are coming from France.)
Tu vas au Canada. (You are going to Canada.)
Tu viens du Canada. (You are coming from Canada.)
Il va aux Pays-Bas. (He is going to the Netherlands.)
Il vient des Pays-Bas. (He’s coming from the Netherlands.)
Table 9-2 puts everything together.
Table 9-2
Prepositions to Use for Going and Coming
Location
Prepositions Examples of
for Going to Going Verbs
or Being in
Prepositions Examples of
for Coming Coming Verbs
from
Cities and
islands
à
de
Je vais à Paris.
Je vais à Tahiti.
Je viens de Paris.
Je viens de Tahiti.
Countries,
en
states,
provinces, and
continents that
end in e or begin
with a vowel
Je vais en Grèce.
de
Je vais en Californie.
Je vais en Normandie.
Je viens de Grèce.
Je viens de Californie.
Je viens de Normandie.
Countries,
states, and
provinces that
begin with a
consonant
Je vais au Canada.
Je vais au Texas.
Je vais au Québec.
Je viens du Canada.
Je viens du Texas.
Je viens du Québec.
au
Plural countries aux
du
Je vais aux États-Unis. des
Je vais aux Pays-Bas.
Je viens des États-Unis.
Je viens des Pays-Bas.
Table 9-2 shows the general rules for verbs of coming and going, but some exceptions
do exist. Some cities have an article in conjunction with the preposition. For example,
if you want to say I am going to or am in New Orleans, Mans, Havre, and Cairo, you
say à la Nouvelle Orléans, au Mans, au Havre, au Caire. And if you’re coming from
these places, de la Nouvelle Orléans, du Mans, du Havre, du Caire. Also, some
countries do end in an e but are considered masculine. For example, if you go to or
are in Mexico, you say au Mexique, and coming back from Mexico is du Mexique.
Form sentences by conjugating the verbs and putting in the correct preposition. I provide the translations in the Answer Key.
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Q. Nous __________________________________ (aller/Irlande).
A. Nous allons en Irlande. (We are going to Ireland.)
16. Mes parents __________________________________ (aller/Tunisie).
17. Tu __________________________________ (aller/Suisse).
18. Nous __________________________________ (venir/Sénégal).
19. Mon assistante __________________________________ (venir/San Francisco).
20. Vous __________________________________ (venir/Chine).
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