The Futur antérieur takes this form:
Il aura eu froid cet hiver-là.
He will have been cold that winter.
Vous aurez eu une belle vie après tout.
You will have had a good life after all.
Au moins, ils auront été ensemble.
At least, they will have been together.
Tu auras été mon meilleur ami.
You will have been my best friend.
Elle aura fait un beau scandale!
She will have made quite a scandal!
Au moins, j'aurai fait l'amour une fois.
At least, I will have made love once.
Ils auront pris le bus à la place.
They will have taken the bus instead.
J'aurai pris mon déjeuner à cette heure-là.
I will have had my lunch at that time.
Notice that the Futur antérieur follows this construction:
Verb avoir in the Futur + eu/été/fait/pris etc. (past participles)
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
Examples and resources
Elle aura pris son temps.
She will have taken her time.
J'aurai pris mon déjeuner à cette heure-là.
I will have had my lunch at that time.
Tu auras trop bu pour conduire.
You will have drunk too much to drive.
Ils auront pris le bus à la place.
They will have taken the bus instead.
Tu auras pris le train d'ici là.
You will have taken the train by then.
avoir
Il aura eu froid cet hiver-là.
He will have been cold that winter.
Vous aurez eu une belle vie après tout.
You will have had a good life after all.
être
Tu auras été mon meilleur ami.
You will have been my best friend.
Au moins, ils auront été ensemble.
At least, they will have been together.
faire
Elle aura fait un beau scandale!
She will have made quite a scandal!
Au moins, j'aurai fait l'amour une fois.
At least, I will have made love once.
prendre
Q&A
Paul
Kwiziq community member
1 June 2018
2 replies
Tu auras pris le train d'ici là : You will have taken the train by then.
By then : d'ici là.
Is that a colloquialism?
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
1/06/18
Bonjour Paul !
Yes it is :)
They'll be married by then.
Tu penses avoir fini ce rapport d'ici jeudi.
You think you'll have finished this report by Thursday.
Bonne journée !
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
1/06/18
Cher Paul,
You'll be happy to know that thanks to you, we now have a lesson on the use of d'ici + [duration/point in time] :)
Have a look !
https://progress.lawlessfrench.com/revision/grammar/by-point-in-time-d-ici
Merci et bonne journée !
Laura
Kwiziq language super star
1/09/16
Bonjour Saleh, Thanks for your message.
That is not a mistake. As you may know, avoir froid means "to be cold"
This applies to all tenses:
- Il avait froid = He was cold.
- Il aura froid = He will be cold.
- Il aura eu froid = He will have been cold.
etc.
Laura
Kwiziq language super star
16/01/16
Bonjour Opeyemi, En français, "to be cold" = avoir froid, pas "être froid." C'est le cas pour tous les temps, y compris le futur antérieur qu'on voit ici, donc on dit il aura eu froid.
Randy
Kwiziq community member
2 August 2018
3 replies
I'm puzzled by this tense. Is it typically used in conversation, or is it more frequently found in books?
Chris
Kwiziq community member
3 August 2018
3/08/18
Cécile
Kwiziq language super star
4 August 2018
4/08/18
Hi Randy,
This tense is not as frequent as some of the others you have been studying but it denotes an action in the future which is prior to another action in the future. e.g.
Nous vous téléphonerons quand nous serons arrivés = We'll call you when we get there
1st action in the future = nous serons arrivés
2nd action in the future = nous vous téléphonerons
The 1st action uses the futur antérieur because it will happen before the 2nd action which is also in the future.
The problem I think is that in English after expressions of time like 'when', 'as soon as' etc.. the present tense is used. But this is not the case in French.
Take a look at the following lesson with lots of examples if things are still unclear -
https://progress.lawlessfrench.com/revision/grammar/using-le-futur-anterieur-after-quand-lorsque-apres-que-une-fois-que-to-express-when-after-ive-done-in-sentences-in-future-tense
Hope this helps!
Randy
Kwiziq community member
4 August 2018
4/08/18