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formation
The future perfect (futur antérieur) is formed with the simple future of the auxiliary (either être or avoir), plus the past participle of the main verb.
The choice between être and avoir as an auxiliary is the same as in the passé composé.
Future perfect = auxiliary in the future + past participle of main verb
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| finir 'to finish' |
| j'aurai fini, I will have finished |
nous aurons fini, we will have finished |
| tu auras fini, you will have finished |
vous aurez fini, you will have finished |
il, elle / on aura fini,
he, she (it) / one will have finished |
ils / elles auront fini,
they will have finished |
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| partir 'to leave' |
| je serai parti(e), I will have left |
nous serons parti(e)s, we will have left |
| tu seras parti(e), you will have left |
vous serez parti(e)(s), you will have left |
il, elle / on sera parti(e),
he, she (it) / one will have left |
ils / elles seront parti(e)s,
they will have left |
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Note that with the auxiliary être, the past participle
agrees in number and gender with the subject.
usage
The futur antérieur is used for an action that precedes, or will be completed before, another action in the future.
While the futur is expressed in English by 'will' + main verb (will finish), the futur antérieur is usually translated as 'will have' + past participle of verb (will have finished). For example:
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| Corey et Joe-Bob n'auront pas appris le futur antérieur avant la fin du semestre. |
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Corey and Joe-Bob will not have learned the future perfect before the end of the semester. |
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Negation is formed as usual by placing ne / n' ... pas around the conjugated verb, which in this case is the auxiliary:
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| Corey et Joe-Bob n'auront certainement pas compris le futur antérieur avant la fin du semestre. |
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Corey and Joe-Bob will not have understood the future perfect before the end of the semester. |
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conjunctions
The futur antérieur is used similarly in French and English.
However, French uses the future perfect after certain conjunctions like quand and lorsque (when) or dès que and aussitôt que
(as soon as) where English would use the present tense.
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| Quand Tammy aura reçu son diplôme,Tex et elle iront en France. |
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When Tammy gets her degree, she and Tex go to France. |
| Dès que Tex et Tammy se seront mariés, ils auront beaucoup de petits tatous. |
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As soon as Tex and Tammy get married, they will have lots of little armadillos. |
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In the examples above, the subordinate clauses starting with quand and dès que are in the future perfect because the action
of the subordinate clause will be performed prior to the action in the main clause.
Listen to the dialogue:
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| Tex et Tammy sont à une soirée. Ils se disputent. |
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Tex and Tammy are at a party. They are having a quarrel. |
| Tammy: Tex, quand tu auras fini de draguer toutes mes copines, je voudrais te dire deux mots! |
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Tammy: Tex, when you're done hitting on all my girl-friends, I would like to have a word with you! |
| Tex: Tammy, on parlera dès que tu te seras calmée!
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Tex: Tammy, we'll talk when you've calmed down! |
| Tammy: Tu es insupportable! Je ne partirai que lorsque tu te seras excusé! |
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Tammy: You are unbearable! I will not leave until you've apologized! |
| Tex: Mais je m'amuse bien! On parlera de tout ça quand la soirée sera terminée. |
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Tex: But I am having fun! We'll talk about all this when the party is over. |
| Tammy: Quand tu auras bien bu, ce sera trop tard. |
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Tammy: When you have drunk too much, it will be too late. |
| Tex: Bon, d'accord, je viens. |
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Tex: OK, I am coming. |
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