116 - How to Conjugate “Pouvoir” (To Be Able To) In French (Future Tense)

 
 

In this episode, you'll learn to conjugate the French verb "pouvoir" (to be able to) in the simple future tense. (I will be able to, you will be able to...)

After the lesson, head over to the French Made Easy Exercise Library to practice!

If you’d prefer to listen on the go, listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Links & Cheat Sheet

Transcript

Intro: Welcome to the French Made Easy podcast, where I give you all the basics you need to speak French clearly and confidently. I'm your host, Mathilde, and I'm a French teacher, mumpreneur, and bread and cheese lover. Join me as I dive into all things French for beginners, and deliver to you bite-sized and easy-to-follow lessons every Tuesday. Let's get started, "on commence"!

Hello everyone, bonjour tout le monde. 🧡 Welcome back to the French Made Easy podcast, this is episode number 116, numéro 116!

Today, we are continuing our series on important verbs conjugated in the future tense. 

In this episode, we'll learn to conjugate the French verb "pouvoir" which means "can/to be able to" in the simple future tense.

If you're not yet familiar with the present tense of "pouvoir", I recommend checking out episode number 31. It's important to understand the present tense conjugation before moving on to the future tense.

And as always, if you're new to the podcast, please ensure you have your lesson's cheat sheet ready, so you can see the spelling of the words while you listen. When you finish this episode, visit the French Made Easy 

Exercise Library to download the lesson's exercises and practice what you've learned. You'll find all the necessary download links in the episode notes.

Okay, now let's get into the simple future tense conjugation of "pouvoir". 

Here's how it goes, please repeat after me:

  • je pourrai (I will be able to) 

  • tu pourras (you will be able to, singular informal) 

  • il pourra (he will be able to) 

  • elle pourra (she will be able to) 

  • on pourra (we will be able to, informal) 

  • nous pourrons (we will be able to) 

  • vous pourrez (you will be able to, plural or singular formal) 

  • ils pourront (they will be able to, masculine) 

  • elles pourront (they will be able to, feminine)

Now, let's look at some example sentences:

  • Je pourrai t'aider avec les préparatifs de la fête. 🎉 (I will be able to help you with the party preparations.)

  • Est-ce que tu pourras t'occuper de mon chat la semaine prochaine? 🐱 (Will you be able to take care of my cat next week?)

  • Elle pourra finir son projet avant la date limite. 📝 (She will be able to finish her project before the deadline.)

  • On pourra partir en vacances au ski cet hiver. ⛷️ (We will be able to go on a ski holiday this winter.)

  • Si les billets sont disponibles, nous pourrons prendre le train pour Paris mercredi matin. 🚄 (If tickets are available, we'll be able to take the train to Paris on Wednesday morning.)

  • Est-ce que vous pourrez assister à la réunion tout à l'heure? 🕓 (Will you be able to attend the meeting later?)

  • Ils pourront participer à la compétition le mois prochain. 🏅 (They will be able to participate in the competition next month.)

Let's recap':

  • je pourrai (I will be able to)

  • tu pourras (you will be able to, singular informal)

  • il / elle pourra (he/she will be able to)

  • on pourra (we will be able to, informal)

  • nous pourrons (we will be able to)

  • vous pourrez (you will be able to, plural or singular formal)

  • ils / elles pourront (they will be able to, masculine & feminine)

Et voilà! That's it for today's lesson. I hope you enjoyed it. Don't forget to head over to the FME Exercise Library to reinforce what you've learned today. I look forward to chatting with you in the next episode! À bientôt. 💋

Mathilde KienComment