Is Le Futur Antérieur mandatory or context dependant after Après que?

Question

"I will watch TV with you after I finish my work" has an immediate, present tense meaning in English. Is the simple future (finirai) allowable here or is Le Futur Antérieur the only allowable tense after "quand," "lorsque," and "après que."

Answer

Bonjour John,

It depends on the French verb. A state-of-being verb like être needs to be in the future, while an action verb needs to be in the future perfect.

Answer

Merci Laura,
 That's a good rule of thumb but the lessons are confusing. They allow some contextual wiggle room for action verbs in the Futur (English present tense)  instead of the Futur Antèrieur (present progressive) when conjugated with être. This sentence from the lesson on Futur with Quand for example:

Quand tu viendras, tu verras la nouvelle cuisine.
When you come, you will see the new kitchen.
The English present progressive "have come" as "Quand tu sera venu,,," would probably be correct also depending on the desired meaning.

The lesson on Futur Antérieur has this sentence:
Quand elle sera arrivée chez nous, la fête commencera.
When she's arrived at our place, the party will start.

Following the first example using "venir" it should be correct to say "When she arrives..." instead of "When she has arrived..." as:
Quand elle arrivera chez nous, la fête commencera.

Is there an exception or special rule for verbs conjugated with être in these lessons?

Answer

Dear John,

As you noticed, the être verbs seem to behave a bit differently: the reason is that in French, they 'feel' like simple future even when they are in Le Futur Antérieur.
But there is a nuance between saying 'Quand elle sera arrivée' and 'Quand elle arrivera': in the first case, the actions are sequential (i.e. once she's arrived), whereas in the second case they are simultaneous (i.e. the minute she arrives...).

I hope this clarifies the question for you !