Life Plans & Wishes
Life Plans & Wishes
Talking about future goals and wishes draws together several tenses already learned — futur simple for plans, conditionnel for wishes — giving this lesson a natural role as a B1 review-and-apply topic.
Grammar Comparison
Grammar Comparison
j'aimerais/je voudrais + infinitif (wish) vs. j'ai l'intention de + infinitif (firm plan)
J'aimerais voyager davantage. vs. J'ai l'intention de déménager l'année prochaine.
I'd like to travel more (a wish). vs. I intend to move next year (a concrete plan).
English similarly distinguishes softer wishes ('I'd like to...') from firmer intentions ('I'm planning to...', 'I intend to...'), so the register logic transfers directly. Just note that j'ai l'intention de always takes de before the infinitive, unlike the English 'intend to', which uses 'to' rather than 'of' — a small but easy detail to get backwards when translating word for word.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| j'aimerais | zhem-RAY | I'd like |
| je voudrais | zhuh voo-DRAY | I would like |
| j'ai l'intention de | zhay lan-tahn-see-OHN duh | I intend to |
| un projet | uhn proh-ZHEH | a project/plan |
| un objectif | uhn ob-zhek-TEEF | a goal |
| un rêve | uhn rev | a dream |
| réaliser un rêve | ray-ah-lee-ZAY uhn rev | to make a dream come true |
| envisager de | ahn-vee-zah-ZHAY duh | to consider/envisage |
| espérer | es-pay-RAY | to hope |
| à long terme | ah lohn term | in the long term |
| à court terme | ah koor term | in the short term |
| se fixer un but | suh feek-SAY uhn bu | to set oneself a goal |
| atteindre un objectif | ah-tan-druh uhn ob-zhek-TEEF | to reach a goal |