Futur Antérieur – Future Perfect Tense in French

Key takeaways

• The futur antérieur is the French future perfect tense, used for actions that will have been completed before another future event.
• It is formed with the futur simple of avoir/être + past participle.
• Agreement rules for être verbs are the same as in passé composé.
• It often translates to English “will have done”.
• It’s used both for sequencing future events and for making assumptions about the past.

What Is the Futur Antérieur?

The futur antérieur is a compound tense that shows a future action will already be finished by the time another future action happens. For instance: J’aurai fini mes devoirs quand tu arriveras → I will have finished my homework when you arrive.

It also has a second function: expressing probability about the past. For example: Il aura oublié son sac → He must have forgotten his bag.

How to Form the Futur Antérieur

The structure is straightforward:

Subject + auxiliary in futur simple (avoir/être) + past participle

Most verbs use avoir, while motion and reflexive verbs use être. With être, the participle must agree with the subject (elles seront parties). With avoir, agreement happens only when a direct object precedes.

Conjugation Examples

Regular Verbs

Irregular Verbs

When to Use the Futur Antérieur

1. To mark completion before another future event

• Elle aura terminé le rapport avant midi. → She will have finished the report before noon.
• Quand tu arriveras, j’aurai déjà préparé la table. → When you arrive, I will have already set the table.

2. With time conjunctions

Words like quand, lorsque, dès que, aussitôt que almost always trigger this tense.

• Dès que nous aurons signé le contrat, vous pourrez commencer. → As soon as we have signed, you will be able to start.

3. To express probability about the past

• Il aura perdu ses clés. → He must have lost his keys.
• Ils auront raté le train. → They must have missed the train. 
   CliffsNotes guide to futur antérieur emphasizes how common it is for assumptions, while this FrenchClass article on futur antérieur examples shows authentic uses in different contexts.

1

Futur Antérieur vs. Futur Simple & Passé Composé

• Futur simple → actions that will happen. 
  
  • Je finirai ce livre demain. → I will finish this book tomorrow.
• Passé composé → actions that already happened. 
  
  • J’ai fini ce livre hier. → I finished this book yesterday.
• Futur antérieur → actions that will already have been completed. 
  
  • D’ici demain soir, j’aurai fini ce livre. → By tomorrow night, I will have finished this book.

Common Mistakes

1. Mixing up auxiliaries 
   
   • ❌ Je serai fait mes devoirs.
   • ✅ J’aurai fait mes devoirs.
2. Forgetting agreement with être verbs 
   
   • ❌ Elles seront allé au cinéma.
   • ✅ Elles seront allées au cinéma.
3. Confusing futur antérieur with futur simple 
   
   • ❌ Quand tu arriveras, je préparerai déjà la table.
   • ✅ Quand tu arriveras, j’aurai déjà préparé la table.

Exercises: Practice the Futur Antérieur

1. Fill in the blanks: 
   
   • Quand tu ________ (arriver), j’________ (terminer) mes devoirs.
   • Dès que nous ________ (signer), vous ________ (commencer).
   • Elle ________ (partir) avant que tu ________ (revenir).
2. Translate into French: 
   
   • By tomorrow evening, we will have finished the project.
   • He must have lost his keys.
   • As soon as she has left, I will call you.
3. Correct the mistakes: 
   
   • Ils auront allé au marché. → ________
   • Elle aurai fini avant midi. → ________

Answers

1. arriveras / aurai terminé | aurons signé / pourrez commencer | sera partie / reviennes
2. D’ici demain soir, nous aurons terminé le projet | Il aura perdu ses clés | Aussitôt qu’elle sera partie, je t’appellerai
3. Ils seront allés au marché | Elle aura fini avant midi

Tips for Mastering the Futur Antérieur

• Practice with timelines: what will already be done by a given future point?
• Memorize futur simple auxiliaries (j’aurai, je serai).
• Watch out for time markers: quand, lorsque, dès que, aussitôt que.
• Use it to make assumptions: Il aura oublié, elle aura raté, ils auront compris.

To see where futur antérieur fits in the broader system, check our overview of French verb tenses. And if you’d like strategies that make tense practice effective, our guide on learning French effectively is a great starting point.

Summary

The futur antérieur is the French future perfect tense, showing that an action will be complete before another future action or that something probably happened in the past. It’s built from futur simple auxiliaries + past participle, with the same rules as passé composé.

If you want to master advanced French tenses while practicing real conversation, try using futur antérieur in storytelling or role-play exercises as you learn French with Promova. With consistent practice, choosing between futur simple and futur antérieur will become second nature.