Skip to content
fluentbyear

FRENCH VERB

aller

to go

  • #6 most used
  • Irregular -er verb
  • Past participle: allé
  • Present participle: allant

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

  1. je I go
  2. tu you go
  3. il, elle, on he/she goes
  4. nous we go
  5. vous you go
  6. ils, elles they go

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

  1. je I went
  2. tu you went
  3. il, elle, on he/she went
  4. nous we went
  5. vous you went
  6. ils, elles they went

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. je I used to go
  2. tu you used to go
  3. il, elle, on he/she used to go
  4. nous we used to go
  5. vous you used to go
  6. ils, elles they used to go

Future

Futur simple · plans; in speech, “je vais parler” is just as common

  1. je I will go
  2. tu you will go
  3. il, elle, on he/she will go
  4. nous we will go
  5. vous you will go
  6. ils, elles they will go

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

  1. je I would go
  2. tu you would go
  3. il, elle, on he/she would go
  4. nous we would go
  5. vous you would go
  6. ils, elles they would go

Present subjunctive

Subjonctif présent · wishes, doubts, “il faut que …”

  1. je (that) I go
  2. tu (that) you go
  3. il, elle, on (that) he/she go
  4. nous (that) we go
  5. vous (that) you go
  6. ils, elles (that) they go

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

  1. tu go!
  2. nous go! (let’s)
  3. vous go! (plural, or formal)

How to use aller

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    Je vais au marché, tu viens avec moi ?

    I'm going to the market, are you coming with me?

  2. Past

    On est allés au cinéma hier soir.

    We went to the cinema last night.

  3. Imperfect

    Tous les étés, on allait chez ma tante en Bretagne.

    Every summer we went to my aunt's in Brittany.

  4. Future

    J'irai à la pharmacie en rentrant.

    I'll go to the pharmacy on my way home.

  5. Conditional

    J'irais bien à Nice ce week-end.

    I'd happily go to Nice this weekend.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Il faut que j'aille chercher les enfants à cinq heures.

    I have to go pick up the kids at five.

  7. Imperative

    Va te coucher, il est tard.

    Go to bed, it's late.

Good to know

  • Ça va ? is how are you; ça va is fine, I'm OK.
  • Aller + infinitive is the easy future : je vais partir, I'm going to leave.

Where you hear aller

The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.

French · Beginner Level 1

  • Je vais au marché. I'm going to the market.
  • Hier, je suis allée au parc. Yesterday I went to the park.
  • Demain, je vais aller à la boulangerie. Tomorrow I'm going to go to the bakery.

French · Beginner Level 2

  • Je vais au marché. I'm going to the market.
  • Hier, je suis allée au parc. Yesterday I went to the park.
  • Demain, je vais aller à la boulangerie. Tomorrow I'm going to go to the bakery.
1
Welcome to Paris

Beginner Level 1 · allez-vous · Ça va.

Free 4
Do You Want a Coffee?

Beginner Level 1 · Ça va ?

Needs a subscription 6
Nice Day, Isn't It?

Beginner Level 1 · vous allez · je vais · tu vas

Needs a subscription 7
I'm Hungry

Beginner Level 1 · on va

Needs a subscription 8
I'm Lost

Beginner Level 1 · vous allez

Needs a subscription 10
How Was Your Day?

Beginner Level 1 · On y va !

Needs a subscription 13
What Time Is It?

Beginner Level 1 · y aller

Needs a subscription 19
At the Pharmacy

Beginner Level 1 · ne va pas ?

Needs a subscription 25
The Boat Trip

Beginner Level 1 · je suis allée · je suis allé

Needs a subscription 1
Back in Lyon

Beginner Level 2 · Allez !

Free 10
The Housewarming

Beginner Level 2 · ils sont allés

Needs a subscription 12
A Day in My Life

Beginner Level 2 · Allons-y !

Needs a subscription

And 8 more lessons.

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: irregular -er verb.