Talking about future education and employment in French

• Use the near future tense to talk about what you are going to do.

• The conditional tense expresses what would, could or should happen.

• Higher Tier - Use the simple future tense to talk about things that will happen.

• This guide contains a video as well as listening and reading practice.

Watch the video where Adnane chats to a couple of friends, who discuss their future plans.

Useful phrases for talking about starting sixth form or college include:

Did you know

Le baccalauréat, often shortened to le bac is the French equivalent A-levels although students in study more subjects at this level.

The equivalent of year 11 in French is seconde and the equivalent of year 12 is première.

The near future tense is the most common way of talking about future plans.

How to form the near future tense

It is formed by using the correct part of the present tense of aller (to go), followed by the infinitive.

Look at the table to check you know how to conjugate the verb aller.

For example:

Je vais faire un stage la semaine prochaine. - I’m going to do work experience next week.

Nous allons er nos examens en mai. - We are going to take our exams in May.

Tu vas aller en ? - Are you going to go to ?

Find out more about how to use and form the near future tense in the Future phrases in French guide.

Click or tap on the Start button to a listen to a French radio phone-in about plans for the future. Listen to each caller and answer the questions.

Useful phrases for talking about part-time jobs and work experience include:

Useful verbs for talking about jobs and work experience include:

All Foundation Tier vocabulary listed in this guide can be found on the vocabulary sheet below.

The conditional is used to express what would, could or should happen.

The most common form of the conditional uses the verb vouloir - to want to. For example:

• Je voudrais - I would like

• Tu voudrais - You (singular informal) would like

• Il/elle/on voudrait - He/she/one, we would like

The conditional with vouloir is often used with the infinitive of a verb to say what someone would like to do.

For example:

Je voudrais faire un apprentissage à l’avenir. - I would like to do an apprenticeship in the future.

Tu voudrais aller à la fac ? - Would you like to go to university?

Have a look at the Conditional in French guide for more on how to form and use the conditional.

You are researching universities in and come across an article in which two students in terminale , the final year of school, describe their intentions.

Marco

Choisir une carrière, ce n’est pas facile. Je voulais être médecin mais j’ai trouvé que les études étaient trop longues. On reçoit un bon salaire, bien sûr, mais je travaillerais dur et mes parents devraient payer beaucoup d’argent pour me soutenir. Leurs parents ont fait la même chose quand ils étudiaient, mais je ne veux pas leur demander de faire ça pour moi. Alors, ce qui m’intéresse maintenant, c’est l’informatique. Je voudrais faire un apprentissage pour devenir technicien informatique parce qu’on peut gagner de l’argent en même temps que d’avoir une formation.

Lola

Pour moi, aller à la fac est un but important. Je voudrais devenir scientifique et pour réussir dans ce métier, il faut avoir un diplôme universitaire. Je trouverai un emploi à mi-temps pour pouvoir payer mon logement puisque je vais étudier à Lille, loin de chez moi. Je travaillerai comme serveuse ou vendeuse, je ferai ce qu’il faudra pour gagner de l’argent. Mes parents ne sont pas allés à la fac. Ils m’encouragent mais ils ne peuvent pas me soutenir financièrement.

Decide who says each of the following statements, Marco (M), Lola (L) or both Marco and Lola (M and L).

Click or tap on the image below for a list of useful vocabulary to use when describing future education and work.

Different professions

Useful verbs for talking about jobs and work experience include:

All vocabulary listed in this guide can be found on the vocabulary sheet below.

The simple future describes what will happen in of predictions and future plans.

To form the simple future of regular er verbs, take the infinitive and add the following endings:

For example:

Nous gagnerons plus d’argent à l’avenir. - We will earn more money in the future.

Elle travaillera pendant les examens. - She will work during the exams.

Irregular verbs

Some very common verbs are irregular in the simple future. This means that they are not formed using the infinitive, but the endings added are the same as for regular verbs.

High frequency irregular verbs include:

• être - to be

• avoir - to have

• aller - to go

The simple future is only used at Higher Tier. Find out more about how to form and use this tense in the Simple future in French guide.

The conditional can be used with a variety of different verbs.

For example:

J’étudierais la psychologie si c’était possible. (I would study psychology if it was possible.)

Ce serait super ! (It would be great!)

Forming the conditional of regular er verbs

The conditional is formed by adding the imperfect tense ending to the infinitive for regular er verbs.

Forming the conditional of irregular verbs

The four common irregular verbs avoir (to have), être (to be), aller (to go) and faire (to do/make) all have irregular stems in the conditional, but the same endings.

The conditional is often used with ‘if’ clauses and the imperfect to say what you would do if the circumstances were different.

For example:

S’il avait plus d’argent, il irait en Australie. - If he had more money, he would go to Australia.

Si c’était plus facile, je ferais plus de travail. - If it was easier, I would do more work.

Find out more about forming the conditional with regular and irregular verbs (Higher Tier) in the Conditional in French guide.

Click or tap on the image below for a list of Higher Tier useful vocabulary to use when describing future education and work.

Now you have revised the important vocabulary and key grammar points for talking about future education and employment why not have a look at the Describing tourist attractions guide?