diff --git a/dspy/adapters/base.py b/dspy/adapters/base.py
index d9b72f2ff..b5a96485a 100644
--- a/dspy/adapters/base.py
+++ b/dspy/adapters/base.py
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 from dspy.utils.callback import with_callbacks
 
+
 class Adapter(ABC):
     def __init__(self, callbacks=None):
         self.callbacks = callbacks or []
@@ -22,19 +23,26 @@ def __call__(self, lm, lm_kwargs, signature, demos, inputs):
 
         try:
             for output in outputs:
-                output_logprobs = None
-
                 if isinstance(output, dict):
-                    output, output_logprobs = output["text"], output["logprobs"]
+                    output_text = output["text"]
+                else:
+                    output_text = output
+
+                if output_text:
+                    # Output text, e.g., response["choices"][0]["message"]["content"] can be None when tool calls are
+                    # used.
+                    value = self.parse(signature, output_text)
+                    if not set(value.keys()) == set(signature.output_fields.keys()):
+                        raise ValueError(f"Expected {signature.output_fields.keys()} but got {value.keys()}")
+                else:
+                    value = {}
+
+                if isinstance(output, dict) and "logprobs" in output:
+                    value["logprobs"] = output["logprobs"]
 
-                value = self.parse(signature, output)
+                if isinstance(output, dict) and "tool_calls" in output:
+                    value["tool_calls"] = output["tool_calls"]
 
-                assert set(value.keys()) == set(signature.output_fields.keys()), \
-                    f"Expected {signature.output_fields.keys()} but got {value.keys()}"
-                
-                if output_logprobs is not None:
-                    value["logprobs"] = output_logprobs
-                
                 values.append(value)
 
             return values
diff --git a/dspy/adapters/json_adapter.py b/dspy/adapters/json_adapter.py
index 7eed644f9..fcc90b85a 100644
--- a/dspy/adapters/json_adapter.py
+++ b/dspy/adapters/json_adapter.py
@@ -58,10 +58,21 @@ def __call__(self, lm, lm_kwargs, signature, demos, inputs):
         values = []
 
         for output in outputs:
-            value = self.parse(signature, output)
-            assert set(value.keys()) == set(
-                signature.output_fields.keys()
-            ), f"Expected {signature.output_fields.keys()} but got {value.keys()}"
+            if isinstance(output, dict):
+                output_text = output["text"]
+            else:
+                output_text = output
+
+            if output_text:
+                # Output text, e.g., response["choices"][0]["message"]["content"] can be None when tool calls are used.
+                value = self.parse(signature, output_text)
+                if not set(value.keys()) == set(signature.output_fields.keys()):
+                    raise ValueError(f"Expected {signature.output_fields.keys()} but got {value.keys()}")
+            else:
+                value = {}
+
+            if isinstance(output, dict) and "tool_calls" in output:
+                value["tool_calls"] = output["output_tool_calls"]
             values.append(value)
 
         return values
diff --git a/dspy/clients/lm.py b/dspy/clients/lm.py
index e4e5bbcee..4154bf751 100644
--- a/dspy/clients/lm.py
+++ b/dspy/clients/lm.py
@@ -86,7 +86,13 @@ def __init__(
             ), "OpenAI's o1-* models require passing temperature=1.0 and max_tokens >= 5000 to `dspy.LM(...)`"
 
     @with_callbacks
-    def __call__(self, prompt=None, messages=None, **kwargs):
+    def __call__(self, prompt=None, messages=None, tools=None, **kwargs):
+        if tools is not None and not litellm.supports_function_calling(self.model):
+            raise ValueError(
+                f"The model {self.model} does not support function calling, but tools were provided. Please use a "
+                "model that supports function calling."
+            )
+
         # Build the request.
         cache = kwargs.pop("cache", self.cache)
         messages = messages or [{"role": "user", "content": prompt}]
@@ -99,19 +105,33 @@ def __call__(self, prompt=None, messages=None, **kwargs):
             completion = cached_litellm_text_completion if cache else litellm_text_completion
 
         response = completion(
-            request=dict(model=self.model, messages=messages, **kwargs),
+            request=dict(model=self.model, messages=messages, tools=tools, **kwargs),
             num_retries=self.num_retries,
         )
+
+        output_text = [c.message.content if hasattr(c, "message") else c["text"] for c in response["choices"]]
+        output_logprobs = None
+        output_tool_calls = None
         if kwargs.get("logprobs"):
-            outputs = [
-                {
-                    "text": c.message.content if hasattr(c, "message") else c["text"],
-                    "logprobs": c.logprobs if hasattr(c, "logprobs") else c["logprobs"],
-                }
-                for c in response["choices"]
+            output_logprobs = [c.logprobs if hasattr(c, "logprobs") else c["logprobs"] for c in response["choices"]]
+        if tools:
+            output_tool_calls = [
+                c.message.tool_calls if hasattr(c, "message") else c["tool_calls"] for c in response["choices"]
             ]
+
+        outputs = []
+        if output_logprobs is None and output_tool_calls is None:
+            # If no logprobs or tool_calls are provided, return the text only as a list instead of a dict for
+            # backward compatibility.
+            outputs = output_text
         else:
-            outputs = [c.message.content if hasattr(c, "message") else c["text"] for c in response["choices"]]
+            for i, text in enumerate(output_text):
+                output = {"text": text}
+                if kwargs.get("logprobs"):
+                    output["logprobs"] = output_logprobs[i]
+                if tools:
+                    output["tool_calls"] = output_tool_calls[i]
+                outputs.append(output)
 
         # Logging, with removed api key & where `cost` is None on cache hit.
         kwargs = {k: v for k, v in kwargs.items() if not k.startswith("api_")}
diff --git a/dspy/predict/predict.py b/dspy/predict/predict.py
index 0e15137b3..97dfacd78 100644
--- a/dspy/predict/predict.py
+++ b/dspy/predict/predict.py
@@ -106,6 +106,9 @@ def forward(self, **kwargs):
             missing = [k for k in signature.input_fields if k not in kwargs]
             print(f"WARNING: Not all input fields were provided to module. Present: {present}. Missing: {missing}.")
 
+        if "tools" in kwargs:
+            config["tools"]  = kwargs.pop("tools")
+
         import dspy
         adapter = dspy.settings.adapter or dspy.ChatAdapter()
         completions = adapter(lm, lm_kwargs=config, signature=signature, demos=demos, inputs=kwargs)
diff --git a/dspy/predict/predict_with_tools.py b/dspy/predict/predict_with_tools.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..6f79b2f09
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dspy/predict/predict_with_tools.py
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+from dspy.predict.predict import Predict
+
+
+class PredictWithTools(Predict):
+    """Predict with tool calling support.
+
+    This class is a thin wrapper around the Predict class that explicit has tool calling support.
+    """
+    def __init__(self, signature, callbacks=None, tools=None, tool_choice="auto", **configs):
+        """Initialize the PredictWithTools class.
+
+        Args:
+            signature (str): The signature of `PredictWithTools`.
+            callbacks (list): The callbacks that are called before and after the Predict call.
+            tools (list): The list of tools to use. For more details, please refer to
+                https://platform.openai.com/docs/api-reference/chat/create#chat-create-tools
+            tool_choice (str): The tool choice strategy, defaults to "auto". For more details, please refer to
+                https://platform.openai.com/docs/api-reference/chat/create#chat-create-tool_choice
+            **configs: Additional configurations.
+        """
+        super().__init__(signature, callbacks, **configs)
+        self.tools = tools
+        self.tool_choice = tool_choice
+
+    def __call__(self, tools=None, tool_choice="auto", **kwargs):
+        """Call the PredictWithTools class.
+
+        This method performs prediction using the configured language model, with the ability
+        to invoke tools if specified. It can either return tool calling instructions or
+        direct prediction results.
+
+        Args:
+            tools (list, optional): List of available tools for the LLM to choose from.
+                If provided, overrides the `tools` set during initialization.
+            tool_choice (str, optional): Strategy for tool selection, defaults to "auto".
+                If provided, overrides the `tool_choice` set during initialization.
+            **kwargs: Additional arguments passed to the underlying Predict class.
+
+        Returns:
+            dspy.Prediction: One of two types:
+                - Tool calling scenario: Contains a single field 'tool_calls' with a list
+                  of tool invocations and their arguments.
+                - Direct prediction: Contains fields as specified by self.signature.
+        """
+        kwargs["tools"] = tools or self.tools
+        kwargs["tool_choice"] = tool_choice or self.tool_choice
+
+        return super().__call__(**kwargs)
diff --git a/tests/clients/test_lm.py b/tests/clients/test_lm.py
index 77a942727..8b2c96803 100644
--- a/tests/clients/test_lm.py
+++ b/tests/clients/test_lm.py
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 import litellm
 import pydantic
 import pytest
+import os
 
 import dspy
 from tests.test_utils.server import litellm_test_server, read_litellm_test_server_request_logs
@@ -156,3 +157,36 @@ def test_lm_text_calls_are_retried_for_expected_failures(
 
     request_logs = read_litellm_test_server_request_logs(server_log_file_path)
     assert len(request_logs) == expected_num_retries + 1  # 1 initial request + 1 retries
+
+
+def test_tools_rejected_for_non_function_models(litellm_test_server):
+    api_base, server_log_file_path = litellm_test_server
+
+    with mock.patch("dspy.clients.lm.litellm.supports_function_calling", return_value=False):
+        lm = dspy.LM(
+            model="openai/dspy-test-model",
+            api_base=api_base,
+            api_key="fakekey",
+            model_type="chat",
+        )
+        with pytest.raises(ValueError):
+            lm("query", tools=[{"type": "function", "function": {}}])
+
+
+@pytest.mark.skipif("OPENAI_API_KEY" not in os.environ, reason="OpenAI API key is not set")
+def test_lm_tool_calls_are_returned():
+    openai_lm = dspy.LM(model="openai/gpt-4o-mini")
+    tools = [
+        {
+            "type": "function",
+            "function": {
+                "name": "get_weather",
+                "parameters": {
+                    "type": "object",
+                    "properties": {"location": {"type": "string"}},
+                },
+            },
+        }
+    ]
+    outputs = openai_lm("what's the weather in Paris?", tools=tools)
+    assert "tool_calls" in outputs[0]
diff --git a/tests/predict/test_predict.py b/tests/predict/test_predict.py
index 828507db9..c1bf9f68a 100644
--- a/tests/predict/test_predict.py
+++ b/tests/predict/test_predict.py
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 import dspy
 from dspy import Predict, Signature
 from dspy.utils.dummies import DummyLM
+import os
 
 
 def test_initialization_with_string_signature():
@@ -344,3 +345,22 @@ def test_load_state_chaining():
     new_instance = Predict("question -> answer").load_state(state)
     assert new_instance is not None
     assert new_instance.demos == original.demos
+
+@pytest.mark.skipif("OPENAI_API_KEY" not in os.environ, reason="OpenAI API key is not set")
+def test_predict_tool_calls_are_returned():
+    tools = [
+        {
+            "type": "function",
+            "function": {
+                "name": "get_weather",
+                "parameters": {
+                    "type": "object",
+                    "properties": {"location": {"type": "string"}},
+                },
+            },
+        }
+    ]
+    with dspy.context(lm=dspy.LM("openai/gpt-4o-mini")):
+        predict = Predict("question -> answer")
+        outputs = predict(question="what's the weather in Paris?", tools=tools)
+        assert "tool_calls" in outputs
diff --git a/tests/predict/test_predict_with_tools.py b/tests/predict/test_predict_with_tools.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..73885e617
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/predict/test_predict_with_tools.py
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+import os
+
+import pytest
+
+import dspy
+from dspy.predict.predict_with_tools import PredictWithTools
+
+
+@pytest.mark.skipif("OPENAI_API_KEY" not in os.environ, reason="OpenAI API key is not set")
+def test_basic_predict_with_tools():
+    tools = [
+        {
+            "type": "function",
+            "function": {
+                "name": "get_weather",
+                "parameters": {
+                    "type": "object",
+                    "properties": {"location": {"type": "string"}},
+                },
+            },
+        }
+    ]
+    with dspy.context(lm=dspy.LM("openai/gpt-4o-mini")):
+        predict = PredictWithTools("question -> answer", tools=tools)
+        outputs = predict(question="what's the weather in Paris?", tools=tools)
+        assert "tool_calls" in outputs
\ No newline at end of file