Aller (to go) – present tense
Je vais, tu vas, il va…
Aller means to go. It's completely irregular, even though it ends in -er, and it's one of the most useful verbs you'll learn.
Conjugation
| aller | |
|---|---|
| je | vais |
| tu | vas |
| il / elle / on | va |
| nous | allons |
| vous | allez |
| ils / elles | vont |
- Je vais à la gare.I'm going to the station.
- Où vas-tu ?Where are you going?
- On va au restaurant ce soir.We're going to the restaurant tonight.
- Nous allons en France.We're going to France.
- Ils vont à l'école à pied.They walk to school.
Aller for "how are you?"
French uses aller to ask how someone is:
- Comment allez-vous ?How are you? (formal)
- Comment vas-tu ?How are you? (informal)
- Ça va ? – Ça va bien, merci !How's it going? – Fine, thanks!
- Je vais bien.I'm well.
Aller + infinitive = going to
Just like English, aller + an infinitive talks about the near future:
- Je vais manger.I'm going to eat.
That's covered in detail in Near future.
Aller almost always needs a place: Je vais au cinéma. Saying just Je vais sounds incomplete. To say "I'm off!", use J'y vais ! (see Adverbial pronoun y).
Practice
- Je _____ au travail.
Show the answer
vais
- Tu _____ bien ?
Show the answer
vas
- On _____ au cinéma ?
Show the answer
va
- Nous _____ à Paris.
Show the answer
allons
In the app, this lesson is taught one idea at a time with the examples read aloud, followed by questions that explain the rule when you get one wrong. It then comes back for review on later days until you've mastered it.