Futur antérieur

B2

Future Anterior

The futur antérieur is used to describe an action that will be completed before another future action or by a certain point in the future. It is formed with the futur simple of the auxiliary verb (avoir or être) plus the past participle of the main verb.

• J’aurai terminé le rapport avant la réunion.
  • I will have finished the report before the meeting.
• Dès que tu auras reçu l’email, appelle-moi.
  • As soon as you have received the email, call me.
• Nous serons partis avant midi.
  • We will have left before noon.

The futur antérieur is often used in complex sentences with time conjunctions like dès que (as soon as), quand (when), or avant que (before) to indicate anteriority in the future. It can also express probability or supposition about the past.

• Il aura oublié.
  • He must have forgotten. Agreement rules are the same as in the passé composé.

Formation

Auxiliary in Futur Simple + Past Participle

Futur Simple of Auxiliary

For most verbs: avoir → j’aurai, tu auras, il/elle aura, nous aurons, vous aurez, ils/elles auront For motion/reflexive verbs: être → je serai, tu seras, il/elle sera, nous serons, vous serez, ils/elles seront

• Past Participle: Same as in passé composé (e.g., parler → parlé, finir → fini, prendre → pris).
• Negation: Place ne...pas around the auxiliary (e.g., Je n’aurai pas fini I won’t have finished).
• Agreement: With avoir, agrees with direct object if preceding; with être, always agrees with subject.

Conjugation Table (with avoir)

Conjugation Table (with être)

Notes

• Commonly used in literary or formal contexts; in spoken French, it’s often replaced by the futur simple for simplicity.
• For more on auxiliaries, see Passé composé with avoir and Passé composé with être.