C. Reading / D. Writing · Reading and Writing in French: Real Texts for Real Readers

Le futur proche: Reading Schedules and Writing Invitations

C2 C1 D1 D3About 45 minutes

Learning goals

I can talk about plans with aller + a verb: je vais jouer.
I can use time words like demain, ce soir, samedi prochain.
I can read times written the French way, like 14 h 30.
I can find the important information in a schedule and an invitation.
I can write an invitation with all its parts.

Words to know

le futur proche
The near future: aller + a verb in the infinitive. Je vais nager = I'm going to swim.

un horaire
A schedule: a list of activities and times.

une invitation
A card or message that asks someone to come to an event.

demain
Tomorrow.

prochain / prochaine
Next: samedi prochain (next Saturday), la semaine prochaine (next week).

h
Short for heure(s) in written times: 14 h 30 = 2:30 p.m.

What are you going to do?

Plans, parties, festivals: lots of texts talk about the future. In English we say I'm going to swim. French does the same thing! It's called the futur proche (the near future).

The recipe: aller (from the big-verbs lesson) + a verb that ends in -er, -ir or -re (the infinitive).

A garden party table with a chocolate birthday cake, colourful plates and balloons. — Nous allons fêter mon anniversaire! An invitation uses the futur proche to tell guests what is going to happen. AI-generated image

Person	aller	+ infinitive	Meaning
je	vais	jouer	I'm going to play
tu	vas	manger	you're going to eat
il / elle / on	va	patiner	he / she is going to skate; we're going to skate
nous	allons	danser	we're going to dance
vous	allez	faire du ski	you're going to ski
ils / elles	vont	regarder un film	they're going to watch a movie

The futur proche: only aller changes. The second verb stays in the infinitive.

Only aller changes in the futur proche. The second verb stays in the infinitive (nager, jouer, manger).

Negative plans

Put ne ... pas around aller (the conjugated verb), not around the infinitive: Je ne vais pas nager. (I'm not going to swim.) Nous n'allons pas jouer dehors.

Time words for plans

ce soir (tonight), demain (tomorrow), samedi prochain (next Saturday), la semaine prochaine (next week), cette fin de semaine (this weekend, Canadian French; ce week-end in France), l'été prochain (next summer).

Reading times the French way

Schedules, posters and invitations in French often use the 24-hour clock. After 12 h (noon), keep counting: 13 h, 14 h, 15 h... To change to the time you know, take away 12.

9 h = 9:00 a.m.
12 h = noon
13 h 30 = 1:30 p.m. (13 − 12 = 1)
19 h 15 = 7:15 p.m. (19 − 12 = 7)

Write h in lowercase, with a space on each side: 14 h 30.

To read a French schedule after noon, take away 12: 15 h is 3 p.m. and 13 h 30 is 1:30 p.m.

Heure	Activité
10 h	Glissade sur la butte (sliding on the hill)
11 h	Concours de sculptures sur neige
12 h	Dîner : soupe aux pois et chocolat chaud
13 h 30	Tire sur la neige (avec des adultes)
15 h	Partie de hockey : les parents contre les élèves !

Horaire du Festival d'hiver de l'école des Érables, le samedi 5 décembre 2026.

Worked example

Let's read the festival schedule

Use the schedule above. (1) What time is lunch? (2) What happens at 13 h 30? (3) What will the parents do at 15 h?

Scan for the word Dîner. In Canadian French, le dîner is lunch (the noon meal). It is at 12 h = noon.
Find 13 h 30. Take away 12: 1:30 p.m. The activity is Tire sur la neige = maple taffy on snow, made with adults because the syrup is very hot.
Find 15 h = 3:00 p.m. Partie de hockey : les parents contre les élèves = a hockey game: parents against students. (une partie = a game, common in Canadian French.)

(1) Lunch is at noon. (2) Maple taffy on snow at 1:30 p.m. (3) They will play hockey against the students at 3 p.m.

Worked example

Let's read an invitation

Read Sam's invitation. What do you need to know to go to the party?

Tu es invitée à ma fête !

Chère Zoé,

Je vais avoir onze ans ! Viens fêter avec moi.

Quand : le samedi 14 novembre 2026, de 14 h à 17 h

Où : chez moi, 25, rue des Pins

Qu'est-ce qu'on va faire ? On va jouer à des jeux, on va faire des bricolages et on va manger du gâteau au chocolat !

Apporte : tes pantoufles

Réponds-moi avant le 7 novembre, s'il te plaît.

Ton ami, Sam

Purpose: to invite Zoé to a birthday party. Features: a title, a greeting (Chère Zoé with -e because Zoé is a girl), Quand, Où, Qu'est-ce qu'on va faire, what to bring, a reply date and a closing.
Quand: Saturday, November 14, 2026, from 14 h (2 p.m.) to 17 h (5 p.m.).
Futur proche: Je vais avoir onze ans, On va jouer... on va faire... on va manger.
Apporte : tes pantoufles = bring your slippers. (In many Canadian homes, people take off their boots at the door!)
Reply: before November 7. Sam writes Ton ami because he is a boy (Ton amie for a girl).

Zoé needs to go to 25, rue des Pins on Saturday, November 14, 2026, from 2 to 5 p.m., bring slippers, and answer Sam before November 7.

Just for fun

A cat's whole schedule, written in the futur proche:

9 h : Je vais dormir. 13 h : Je vais dormir. 16 h : Je vais manger... et puis je vais dormir. 😺

Hands-on activity

Plan a family event

You need: paper, pencil crayons, a calendar.

Choose a real or pretend event: a movie night, a snow day picnic, a games afternoon.
Write an invitation with: a title, Cher / Chère..., Quand (day, date and time in 24-hour style, like 19 h), Où, Qu'est-ce qu'on va faire ? (3 things with on va + verb), Apporte, a reply date, a closing.
Make a little horaire (schedule) for the event with 3 times.
Give the invitation to a family member and ask them to answer in French: Oui, je vais venir ! or Désolé(e), je ne vais pas venir.

Your turn

Write I'm going to swim in French.

Write We're going to watch a movie with nous.

Fill in: Elles ___ danser.

What time is 16 h in the time you know?

Write 8:45 p.m. the French way.

On the festival schedule, what happens at 11 h?

What must Zoé bring to the party?

More practice: warm-up

What does demain mean?

What does ce soir mean?

Which verb changes in the futur proche: aller or the second verb?

What is 12 h?

In Canadian French, what meal is le dîner?

More practice: on your own

Make negative: Je vais jouer dehors.

Change to the futur proche: Tu manges une pomme.

The festival ends at 16 h 30. How long is it from the hockey game (15 h) to the end?

Why does Sam write Chère Zoé and not Cher Zoé?

Write Next Saturday, we're going to ski. (with on)

Challenge

Read the schedule. Zoé arrives at 12 h 45 and must leave at 14 h. Which activities can she do? Explain.

Write 3 sentences about your plans for next weekend: one with je, one with nous or on, and one negative.

Zoé answers Sam's invitation. Write her short reply saying yes, she is going to come, and she is going to bring a game.

Check your understanding

Quiz

How do you say I'm going to play?

What time is 18 h 30?

Which sentence is negative and correct?

What is the purpose of an invitation?

On an invitation, Où tells you...

Nous ___ faire du patin demain.

For parents and teachers

Big idea: The curriculum asks Grade 5 students to identify the purpose and features of text forms (C2), such as schedules and invitations; to understand them using reading strategies like scanning (C1); to write for a purpose and audience (D1); and to use French conventions in their writing (D3), such as the 24-hour clock with h, the day-before-month date order, and Cher / Chère.

Facts used: Tire sur la neige (maple taffy on snow) is a sugar-shack treat made by pouring very hot boiled maple syrup on clean snow. It needs adults because the syrup is extremely hot.

Common difficulties:

Je vais joue. The second verb must stay in the infinitive (-er).
Je vais ne pas... Put ne ... pas around aller.
Reading 24-hour times. Practise with real bus or TV schedules: subtract 12 after noon.

Canadian French used: le dîner (lunch), une partie de hockey, la fin de semaine. In France, le déjeuner is lunch and le dîner is supper, so readers of French from different places may see different words for the same meal.