These two tenses share one stem and split by their endings. The future (le futur simple) says what will happen; the conditional (le conditionnel) says what would happen. Master the stem, the two sets of endings, and the irregulars, and you unlock both at once — plus their compound "perfect" partners.
IB Diploma French B (HL): this grammar is the backbone of all five prescribed themes — identities, experiences, human ingenuity, social organization and sharing the planet — and, at HL, it also carries you through the two literary works. HL asks for the same structures with greater range and precision.
Work through each screen and answer the questions — some ask you to choose the form, some to produce it. Collect ⭐ and press Start.
The future is built on the infinitive (for -re verbs, drop the final -e) plus one set of endings: -ai / -as / -a / -ons / -ez / -ont:
| je parlerai |
| tu parleras |
| il parlera |
| nous parlerons |
| vous parlerez |
| ils parleront |
| je finirai |
| tu finiras |
| il finira |
| nous finirons |
| vous finirez |
| ils finiront |
| je vendrai |
| tu vendras |
| il vendra |
| nous vendrons |
| vous vendrez |
| ils vendront |
Handy check: the future endings echo the present tense of avoir (ai, as, a, — , — , ont) — a memory hook that never fails.
The conditional keeps the same stem as the future but takes the imperfect endings: -ais / -ais / -ait / -ions / -iez / -aient:
| je parlerais |
| tu parlerais |
| il parlerait |
| nous parlerions |
| vous parleriez |
| ils parleraient |
The one-letter difference: future je parlerai vs conditional je parlerais — the -s is the whole clue. Use the conditional for "would", for politeness (je voudrais), and in the "if" sentence after an imperfect si-clause.
Some very common verbs use an irregular stem for BOTH the future and the conditional. Learn the stem once and it powers both tenses:
| infinitive | stem |
|---|---|
| être | ser- |
| avoir | aur- |
| aller | ir- |
| faire | fer- |
| venir | viendr- |
| pouvoir | pourr- |
| vouloir | voudr- |
| devoir | devr- |
| voir | verr- |
| savoir | saur- |
| falloir | faudr- |
| envoyer | enverr- |
Example: être → ser- gives future je serai ("I will be") and conditional je serais ("I would be").
Tap an infinitive on the left, then its future / conditional stem on the right.
Sort each verb by whether its future / conditional stem is simply the infinitive, or an irregular stem you must learn.
To say something will have happened — finished before another future point — use the future of the auxiliary plus the past participle:
Same participle rules: être verbs and reflexives agree (elle sera partie), just as in the passé composé.
To say what would have happened, use the conditional of the auxiliary plus the past participle:
Exam gold: the pair si + pluperfect → conditional perfect — Si j'avais su, je serais venu ("If I had known, I would have come") — is a reliable IB French B marker.
The future and conditional each belong to a classic si-construction:
Trap: never put the future or conditional directly after si in an "if"-clause — the si-clause takes present, imperfect or pluperfect.
Future: infinitive (−e for -re verbs) + -ai/-as/-a/-ons/-ez/-ont = "will".
Conditional: same stem + -ais/-ais/-ait/-ions/-iez/-aient = "would".
Irregular stems: ser-, aur-, ir-, fer-, viendr-, pourr-, voudr-, devr-, verr-, saur-, faudr-, enverr-.
Compounds: future of aux. + participle = future perfect (j'aurai fini); conditional of aux. + participle = conditional perfect (j'aurais fait).
Cluster 3 turns to the small words that trip everyone up: object pronouns, y and en, and the relatives. Press Finish.
You've built the future and conditional for IB French B. 🎉
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Next in the backbone: pronouns in depth — direct & indirect objects, y, en, and the relatives.