Félicitations — you have reached the final lesson of Unit 10 and of the A1 course! This lesson brings everything together: the present tense for habits and desires, the near future (aller + infinitive) for plans, and the passé composé for completed past actions. You will also learn a beautiful cluster of vocabulary for talking about hopes, dreams, and projects for the future. Camille and Lucas are spending an evening in Paris reflecting on how far they have come and dreaming about what comes next. You have done exactly the same — and you should be proud!
Learning tips
- The three time frames you have learned at A1 are: present (je parle — I speak / I am speaking), near future (je vais parler — I am going to speak), and passé composé (j'ai parlé — I spoke / I have spoken). Using all three confidently makes you sound like a real French speaker.
- 'Espérer + infinitive' expresses a hope or wish: J'espère améliorer mon français (I hope to improve my French). It is always followed directly by the infinitive, not 'que' at A1 level.
- 'Se souvenir de' (to remember) is a reflexive verb. In the present: je me souviens de (I remember). In the near future: je vais me souvenir de. In the passé composé: je me suis souvenu(e) de. Notice it uses être in the passé composé because it is reflexive.
- The time expressions 'l'année prochaine' (next year), 'la semaine prochaine' (next week), 'bientôt' (soon), and 'un jour' (one day / someday) all signal future plans and pair naturally with the near future structure.
Warm-up & Active Recall
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| déjà | already |
| pas encore | not yet |
| une fois | once / one time |
| deux fois | twice / two times |
| l'année dernière | last year |
| l'expérience | the experience |
| explorer | to explore |
| oublier | to forget |
| connaître | to know (a person or place) |
| savoir | to know (a fact / how to do something) |
Dialog
It's an evening in Paris — perhaps the last scene of the whole A1 journey. Camille and Lucas sit over coffee and share their dreams and plans for the future: Lucas wants to learn Spanish and travel to Spain; Camille wants to improve her English and work in London one day. They also look back fondly on how they started. The dialog mixes all three tenses naturally, exactly the way a real conversation in French flows.
Vocabulary
Active words
| Word | IPA | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| l' l'année prochaine | /la.ne pʁɔ.ʃɛn/ | next year | Literally 'the next year'. 'Prochain/prochaine' (next, upcoming) follows the noun: l'année prochaine, le mois prochain, la semaine prochaine. |
| la semaine prochaine | /la sə.mɛn pʁɔ.ʃɛn/ | next week | Feminine noun with adjective. Compare with 'la semaine dernière' (last week). The pattern: dernier = past, prochain = future. |
| bientôt | /bjɛ̃.to/ | soon | Adverb of time. 'Bientôt' suggests the near future — something that will happen in the coming days or weeks. 'À bientôt!' = See you soon! |
| un jour | /œ̃ ʒuʁ/ | one day / someday | Used for future dreams and hopes without a specific date: 'Un jour, je vais parler français parfaitement.' Can also mean 'one day' in the past narrative sense. |
| le projet | /lə pʁɔ.ʒɛ/ | the project / plan | Masculine noun. 'Avoir un projet' = to have a plan. 'Un projet de voyage' = a travel plan. Very common in both professional and personal contexts. |
| le rêve | /lə ʁɛv/ | the dream | Masculine noun. 'Mon rêve, c'est de...' (My dream is to...) is a very natural structure. 'Rêver de' = to dream of/about. |
| espérer | /ɛs.pe.ʁe/ | to hope | Regular -er verb (with spelling change: espérer, j'espère). Always followed by infinitive at A1: J'espère réussir (I hope to succeed). |
| apprendre | /a.pʁɑ̃dʁ/ | to learn | Irregular verb. Also means 'to teach' in some contexts ('apprendre quelque chose à quelqu'un'). 'Apprendre le français' = to learn French. |
| améliorer | /a.me.ljɔ.ʁe/ | to improve | Regular -er verb. 'Améliorer son niveau' = to improve one's level. Closely related to 'meilleur' (better) and 'le mieux' (the best). |
| se souvenir | /sə su.və.niʁ/ | to remember | Reflexive verb: se souvenir de. Present: je me souviens de. Near future: je vais me souvenir de. Note: takes être in the passé composé: je me suis souvenu(e) de. |
Passive words
| Word | IPA | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| le but | /lə by/ | ||
| l' l'objectif | /lɔb.ʒɛk.tif/ | ||
| réussir | /ʁe.y.siʁ/ | ||
| progresser | /pʁɔ.ɡʁɛ.se/ | ||
| la motivation | /la mɔ.ti.va.sjɔ̃/ | ||
| l' l'avenir | /la.və.niʁ/ |
Useful chunks
| Word | Translation |
|---|---|
| j'espère + infinitif | I hope to + infinitive |
| je vais + infinitif | I'm going to + infinitive |
| je me souviens de | I remember |
Grammar: A1 tense consolidation — contrasting aller + infinitive (near future), present tense (habits/facts), and passé composé (completed past actions)
| Temps | Structure | Exemple | Usage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Présent | sujet + verbe | j'apprends le français | habitude, fait général |
| Présent | sujet + verbe | j'espère réussir | désir / intention présente |
| Futur proche | aller + infinitif | je vais apprendre l'espagnol | plan futur certain |
| Futur proche | aller + infinitif | la semaine prochaine, je vais commencer | action future planifiée |
| Passé composé | avoir/être + participe | j'ai appris beaucoup | action passée terminée |
| Passé composé | avoir/être + participe | je me suis souvenu de lui | état passé terminé |
You have now learned three key tenses at A1 level and it is time to see them working together. The present tense describes habits, general facts, and ongoing states: j'apprends le français (I learn French / I am learning French); j'espère réussir (I hope to succeed — present desire). The near future (aller + infinitive) describes plans and intentions that are certain or very likely: je vais apprendre l'espagnol (I am going to learn Spanish); la semaine prochaine, je vais commencer (next week I am going to start). The passé composé (avoir or être + past participle) describes completed past actions: j'ai appris beaucoup (I have learned a lot / I learned a lot); je me suis souvenu(e) de lui (I remembered him — using être because it is reflexive). The choice of tense tells your listener when in time the action sits. In a single real conversation, all three can appear: 'L'année dernière j'ai appris le français (passé composé), maintenant j'apprends l'espagnol (présent), et l'année prochaine je vais apprendre le portugais (futur proche).' That one sentence uses all three tenses — and you now know all of them!
Exercises
Fill in the Blanks
Complete each sentence with the correct French word. The English clue in brackets tells you what is needed.
- L' prochaine, je vais voyager en Espagne. (year)(the French noun for 'year' — begins with a vowel)
- Mon , c'est de parler cinq langues un jour. (dream)(the masculine French noun for 'dream')
- J' améliorer mon français bientôt. (espérer, présent)(the correct present-tense form of 'espérer' for 'je')
- La prochaine, je commence un nouveau cours. (week)(the French noun for 'week')
- Je me de mon premier jour à Paris. (se souvenir, présent)(the correct present-tense reflexive form of 'se souvenir' for 'je')
Grammar Application
Rewrite each sentence in the tense indicated: near future, passé composé, or present.
- Mettez au futur proche : je / apprendre / l'espagnol → (je + aller + apprendre + l'espagnol → futur proche)
- Mettez au passé composé : elle / améliorer / son accent → (elle + améliorer + son accent → passé composé with avoir)
- Mettez au présent : nous / espérer / réussir → (nous + espérer + réussir → present tense, regular -er with spelling change)
- Mettez au futur proche : ils / se souvenir / de ce moment → (ils + aller + se souvenir + de ce moment → futur proche, reflexive)
- Mettez au passé composé : tu / apprendre / beaucoup → (tu + apprendre + beaucoup → passé composé with avoir, irregular participle)
Translate into French
Translate each sentence into French, choosing the correct tense: present, near future, or passé composé.
- Next year, I'm going to learn Spanish.
- My dream is to work in Paris one day.
- I hope to improve my French soon.
- I remember my first French lesson.
- Next week, she is going to start a new project.
Build Your Own Sentence
Write 2–3 French sentences about your own language-learning journey, using at least one of each tense: present, near future (aller + infinitive), and passé composé.
Takeaway
You now control three tenses in French: present for habits and facts, aller + infinitive for near-future plans, and passé composé for completed past actions — that is the complete A1 tense toolkit, and it will carry you far.