Key Stage 3 languages · Grammar and vocabulary

KS3 languages: talking about the future in French and Spanish

Talking about the future completes the set of time frames students work with in Key Stage 3: present, past and future. They learn to describe plans, hopes and predictions, usually first with a simple “going to” structure and later with a full future tense, and to use time words to make clear when things will happen. It is a short step if the present tense is secure, because the structures build on it.

Talking about the future, explained

The curriculum asks students to identify and use tenses or other structures which convey the present, past and future. The words “or other structures” matter here, because the easiest way to talk about the future in French and Spanish is not a separate tense at all. It is the near future: a form of the verb for “to go” followed by an infinitive. In French, “je vais jouer” means I am going to play, and in Spanish, “voy a jugar” does the same job. Students need only the present of aller or ir and a verb they already know. It is very common in everyday speech, and most students learn it before the full future tense.

The simple future, the one that translates “I will play”, comes next. In French and Spanish, the endings are added to the whole infinitive instead of a stem. French uses -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont, so jouer gives je jouerai, tu joueras, il jouera. Verbs ending in -re drop the final e first, so prendre gives je prendrai. Spanish uses -é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án, so jugar gives jugaré, jugarás, jugará. The endings look familiar because they come from the present tense of avoir in French and haber in Spanish, which is a pleasing pattern to point out.

A short list of verbs has an irregular stem, but the endings stay the same. In French: être is ser- (je serai), avoir is aur- (j’aurai), aller is ir- (j’irai), faire is fer- (je ferai) and voir is verr- (je verrai). In Spanish: tener is tendr- (tendré), hacer is har- (haré), poder is podr- (podré), decir is dir- (diré) and salir is saldr- (saldré). Students learn these as a set, and the rest of the tense then follows the regular pattern. Schools differ on when the full future is introduced.

Other structures also point to the future. The present tense with a time marker (“demain, je vais au cinéma”) is common. Verbs of hope and intention followed by an infinitive, such as j’espère, je voudrais, quiero and pienso, work well in plans and ambitions. Students put these together in realistic tasks: describing next summer’s holiday, planning a party, saying what job they might do. They can then combine tenses, for example contrasting what they did last year with what they will do next year, which is exactly the kind of independent, accurate communication Key Stage 3 builds towards.

Words your child will hear

Near future: The “going to” structure: aller or ir in the present, plus an infinitive.
Simple future: The tense meaning “will”, formed by adding endings to the infinitive or an irregular stem.
Infinitive: The basic form of the verb, such as jouer or jugar.
Irregular stem: A changed base used before the future endings, such as ir- for aller or tendr- for tener.
Time marker: A word or phrase that places the action in time, such as demain, l’année prochaine or mañana.
Intention: A plan or wish for the future, expressed with verbs like j’espère or quiero.
Contrast: Setting two times side by side, for instance last year and next year.

What the National Curriculum says

The programme of study for Key Stage 3 says:

Pupils should be taught to identify and use tenses or other structures which convey the present, past, and future as appropriate to the language being studied
It should enable pupils to understand and communicate personal and factual information that goes beyond their immediate needs and interests, developing and justifying points of view in speech and writing, with increased spontaneity, independence and accuracy.

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Try it: tomorrow and next summer

Write in French: “Tomorrow I am going to visit my grandparents. Next summer I will go to the seaside.”

Look at the English and decide which structure fits each part. “I am going to visit” matches the near future, “going to” plus a verb. “I will go” uses “will”, so it matches the simple future. Using both in one answer also shows range.
Near future: use the present of aller, then the infinitive. For I, that is je vais. To visit a person is rendre visite à, so “to visit my grandparents” is rendre visite à mes grands-parents.
```
je vais + rendre visite à mes
grands-parents
```
Simple future: aller has an irregular stem, ir-. The endings are -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont, so the I form is j’irai.
```
ir- + ai  =  j’irai
```
Add the time markers, “demain” and “l’été prochain”, and the destination, “au bord de la mer” (to the seaside).
Spanish follows the same plan. The near future is voy a plus the infinitive, and Spanish puts a before a person who is visited: visitar a mis abuelos. The simple future of ir is regular: the infinitive ir plus the ending -é gives iré.

French: “Demain, je vais rendre visite à mes grands-parents. L’été prochain, j’irai au bord de la mer.” Spanish: “Mañana voy a visitar a mis abuelos. El verano que viene iré a la costa.”

Common mistakes and how to help

Forgetting to change aller, or dropping it: “je jouer”

Students know that the verb after aller is an infinitive, and they may drop the first verb or leave aller in its dictionary form.

What helps: Conjugate aller or ir first, every time: je vais, tu vas, il va, nous allons, vous allez, ils vont. Say the pair together, “je vais jouer”, until it feels like one chunk.

Building irregular futures with the wrong stem: “j’allerai” or “je faisrai”

Students apply the regular rule of infinitive plus ending, which works for most verbs but not the common ones.

What helps: Learn the short list of irregular stems as a chant: ir-, fer-, ser-, aur-, verr-. In Spanish, tendr-, har-, podr-, dir-, saldr-. Notice that the endings never change, so the only extra work is the stem.

Losing or misplacing the accents in Spanish futures: “jugare” or “jugara”

The stress is on the final syllable, which is not how English words usually work. Without the accent, “jugará” (he will play) becomes “jugara”, which is a different verb form altogether.

What helps: Say it aloud with the stress at the end, then write the accent. All the endings carry an accent except -emos. Check accents as a final proofreading step.

Translating “will” as a separate word, as in “je veux jouer”

English uses a separate word, “will”, so students look for one. In French and Spanish the tense is in the ending, and veux means “I want”, not “I will”.

What helps: Show that the English word “will” disappears into the verb ending. Compare “I will play” with “I play” and notice the only change is at the end: je jouerai against je joue.

How to help at home

Plan something together. Ask your teenager to talk about next weekend, or the next holiday, in the language: where they are going, what they will do, who will come. Try to include both a near-future sentence and a simple-future one.
Predict the week. At the start of the week, ask for five predictions in the language, such as what the weather will be, what will be for dinner, or who will win a match. The more playful the predictions, the more likely they are to be remembered.
Past and future side by side. Ask for two sentences about the same topic, one about last year and one about next year: “L’année dernière, je suis allé(e) en Espagne. L’année prochaine, j’irai en France.” This contrast is a good habit for longer answers.
Irregular stems on the fridge. Write the irregular stems on a piece of paper and stick it up. Pick one each day and ask your teenager to say the I form and the we form, and then to put the verb in a short sentence.

Builds on

Key Stage 2: Building vocabulary
Key Stage 2: Using a bilingual dictionary
Key Stage 2: Masculine, feminine and neuter nouns
Key Stage 2: High-frequency verbs
Key Stage 2: Patterns and building sentences
Key Stage 2: Comparing a language with English