{"id":3452,"date":"2020-01-30T17:58:06","date_gmt":"2020-01-30T17:58:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clozemaster.com\/blog\/?p=3452"},"modified":"2020-08-31T14:53:41","modified_gmt":"2020-08-31T14:53:41","slug":"french-aller-conjugation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clozemaster.com\/blog\/french-aller-conjugation\/","title":{"rendered":"Making Sure You Know the French \u201cAller\u201d Conjugation"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Comment allez-vous?<\/em> It\u2019s one of the first phrases you\u2019ll hear when you\u2019re learning French. If you\u2019re looking for a less formal version there\u2019s also comment vas-tu<\/em>? And if you want to get even more casual you can simply ask the well known \u00e7a va<\/em>?<\/p>\n

You might be asking what these basic phrases all have in common and it\u2019s simple. They all use the very important verb aller<\/em>.<\/strong> In a basic sense, the verb aller <\/em>means \u2018to go\u2019 and just like its English counterpart, it gets used a lot as the French language\u2019s favorite verb of motion. Simply put, aller <\/em>is a must-know verb with a whole lot of different expressions and phrases that come with it. In fact there\u2019s a separate tense in French that requires you to know the verb aller<\/em>!<\/p>\n

With all that in mind, this article is going to give you a thorough rundown of the verb aller<\/em>, so that you\u2019ll be ready to use it like a native speaker.<\/p>\n

<\/a>The Present Tense of Aller<\/em><\/h2>\n

To begin, we\u2019ve laid out the conjugation of aller<\/em> for le pr\u00e9sent<\/em> (the present tense).<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Singular<\/strong><\/td>\nPlural<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Je vais<\/td>\nI go<\/td>\nNous allons<\/td>\nWe go<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tu vas<\/td>\nYou go<\/td>\nVous allez<\/td>\nYou go<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Il va<\/td>\nHe goes<\/td>\nIls vont<\/td>\nThey go<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Elle va<\/td>\nShe goes<\/td>\nElles vont<\/td>\nThey go<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
On va<\/td>\nWe go\/one goes<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

You may have noticed that conjugation of aller<\/em> is highly irregular<\/strong>. In fact, the forms vais, vas, va<\/em> and vont<\/em> actually derive from different words than allons<\/em> and allez<\/em>. Like the verb \u00eatre, <\/em>you have to practice these forms until you have them mastered.<\/p>\n

Here are some examples of aller<\/em> in the present tense:<\/p>\n

Je vais <\/strong><\/span>en cours
\n\u2018I\u2019m going to class\u2019 (highschool or university)<\/p>\n

Tu vas<\/strong><\/span> au magasin
\n\u2018You\u2019re going to the store\u2019<\/p>\n

Elle va<\/strong><\/span> au Canada
\n\u2018She\u2019s going to Canada\u2019<\/p>\n

Jusqu\u2019ici tout va<\/span> <\/strong>bien
\n\u2018So far, everything\u2019s going well\u2019<\/p>\n

Nous y allons<\/span> <\/strong>tous les jours
\n\u2018We go there every day\u2019<\/p>\n

Vous allez<\/strong> <\/span>\u00e0 la boulangerie
\n\u2018You\u2019re going to the bakery\u2019<\/p>\n

Tous les fleuves vont<\/strong><\/span> \u00e0 la mer
\n\u2018All rivers go to the sea\u2019<\/p>\n

In the majority of situations, you can think of aller<\/em> the same way you think of the verb \u2018to go\u2019 in English. Because \u2018go\u2019 implies movement or direction, the verb is often followed by the preposition<\/span> chez <\/em>or en<\/em> or \u00e0\/au <\/em>in the same way we use the preposition \u2018to\u2019 in English.<\/p>\n

Je vais \u00e0<\/span> la mairie
\n\u2018I\u2019m going to<\/span> the town hall\u2019<\/p>\n

Il va au<\/span> concert
\n\u2018He\u2019s going to<\/span> the concert\u2019<\/p>\n

Mes amies vont aux<\/span> Etats-Unis
\n\u2018My friends are going to<\/span> the US\u2019<\/p>\n

Vous allez en<\/span> Belgique en voiture
\n\u2018You\u2019re going to<\/span> Belgium by car\u2019<\/p>\n

Nous allons chez<\/span> ma tante
\n\u2018We\u2019re going to<\/span> my aunt\u2019s house<\/span>\u2019<\/p>\n

Of course, aller <\/em>has many other uses as well, many of which are very common. One of the most common ways you\u2019ll hear aller<\/em> used is to make statements or questions about the status or conditions of things.<\/p>\n

Il va bien
\n\u2018He’s doing well\u2019<\/p>\n

\u00c7a va ?
\n\u2018How\u2019s it going?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u00c7a va
\n\u2018It\u2019s going well\u2019<\/p>\n

Notre syst\u00e8me va mal
\n\u2018Our system isn’t going well\u2019<\/p>\n

Comment vas-tu?
\n\u2018How are you?\u2019<\/p>\n

When the verb aller<\/em> is reflexive it\u2019s also used to say \u2018go away\u2019 with the preposition en<\/em><\/span>:<\/p>\n

Je m\u2019en<\/span> vais
\nI\u2019m going away\/leaving<\/p>\n

Va-t\u2019en<\/span>
\nGo away! (informal)<\/p>\n

Allez-vous-en<\/span>
\nGo away!<\/p>\n

Ils s\u2019en<\/span> vont
\nThey\u2019re leaving<\/p>\n

<\/a>Aller<\/em> Conjugation in the Imperfect<\/h2>\n

Of course there\u2019s so much more to aller<\/em> than just le pr\u00e9sent<\/em>, so let\u2019s dive into the imperfect tense. As we\u2019ve mentioned in previous articles, you\u2019ll use l\u2019imparfait<\/em> to discuss ongoing actionS that haVE already come to an end. This form usually translates to \u2018used to\u2019<\/strong> or \u2018was\/were<\/strong>.\u2019<\/p>\n

Unlike the present conjugation, the conjugation of aller<\/em> in the imperfective is much more consistent in its forms. There\u2019s only one stem – all-<\/em> and the verb endings are all very regular.<\/p>\n

J\u2019allais <\/strong><\/span>en cours
\n\u2018I was going to class\u2019<\/p>\n

Tu allais<\/strong><\/span> au magasin
\n\u2018You were going to the store\u2019<\/p>\n

Il allait <\/strong><\/span>\u00e0 la banque
\n\u2018He was going to the bank\u2019<\/p>\n

Elle allait <\/strong><\/span>au th\u00e9\u00e2tre
\n\u2018She was going to the theatre\u2019<\/p>\n

Nous y allions <\/strong><\/span>tous les jours
\n\u2018We used to go there every day\u2019<\/p>\n

Vous alliez<\/strong><\/span> \u00e0 la boulangerie
\n\u2018You were going to the bakery\u2019<\/p>\n

Elles y allaient<\/strong><\/span> \u00e0 pied
\n\u2018They were going on foot\u2019<\/p>\n

You should be aware that because of French grammar rules about elision, the je-form (allais<\/em>) and the pronoun become a single word. This happens with other je-forms as well, so be aware.<\/p>\n

je + allais = je allais > j\u2019allais<\/p>\n

<\/a>The Future Conjugation of Aller<\/em><\/h2>\n

We\u2019ve discussed the present and the past, so onto the future. The simple future tense of aller<\/em> uses the verb stem ir-<\/strong> and adds on the regular endings<\/span>.<\/p>\n

J\u2019irai<\/span><\/strong> en cours
\n\u2018I will go to class\u2019<\/p>\n

Tu iras<\/span><\/strong> au magasin
\n\u2018You WILL go to the store\u2019<\/p>\n

Il ira<\/span><\/strong> \u00e0 la banque
\n\u2018He will go to the bank\u2019<\/p>\n

Il ira <\/span><\/strong>au th\u00e9\u00e2tre
\n\u2018She will go to the theatre\u2019<\/p>\n

Nous y irons<\/span><\/strong> demain
\n\u2018We will go there tomorrow\u2019<\/p>\n

Vous irez <\/span><\/strong> \u00e0 la boulangerie
\n\u2018You will go to the bakery\u2019<\/p>\n

Elles iront<\/span><\/strong> \u00e0 pied
\n\u2018They will go on foot\u2019<\/p>\n

<\/a>The Verb Aller<\/em> in the Conditional Form<\/h2>\n

When you want to talk about what would be<\/em>, French uses a different verb form called le conditionnel <\/em>(the conditional). Often the word si<\/em> (if) can be seen nearby, but not always. The conditional uses the same stem (ir-)<\/strong> as the future and is followed by the regular endings for the tense. You might recognize these endings<\/span> because they\u2019re the same as the endings for l\u2019imparfait<\/strong>, but attached to a different verb stem<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

J\u2019irais<\/span><\/strong> en cours si…
\n\u2018I would go to class if…\u2019<\/p>\n

Tu irais<\/span><\/strong> au magasin
\n\u2018You would go to the store\u2019<\/p>\n

Il irait<\/span><\/strong> \u00e0 la banque
\n\u2018He would go to the bank\u2019<\/p>\n

Elle irait <\/span><\/strong>au th\u00e9\u00e2tre si…
\n\u2018She would go to the theatre if..<\/p>\n

Nous y irions<\/span><\/strong> demain si…
\n\u2018We would go there tomorrow if…\u2019<\/p>\n

Vous iriez <\/span><\/strong> \u00e0 la boulangerie
\n\u2018You would go to the bakery\u2019<\/p>\n

Elles iraient<\/span><\/strong> \u00e0 pied
\n\u2018They would go on foot\u2019<\/p>\n

<\/a>Using Aller<\/em> as a Helping Verb<\/h2>\n

One of the most important things to know about the verb aller<\/em> is that it can also be used as an auxiliary verb to form the compound future. This form looks almost word for word like the English phrase \u2018going to\u2019. The verb aller<\/span> (to go) is followed by the infinitive<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Je vais<\/span> faure cuire<\/span> le poulet
\nI\u2019m going<\/span> to cook<\/span> the chicken<\/p>\n

Tu vas<\/span> aller<\/span> au magasin
\nYou\u2019re going<\/span> to go<\/span> to the store<\/p>\n

Il va<\/span> visiter<\/span> sa famille
\nHe\u2019s going<\/span> to visit<\/span> his family<\/p>\n

Elle va<\/span> \u00eatre<\/span> tremp\u00e9e
\nShe\u2019s going<\/span> to get<\/span> soaked<\/p>\n

Nous allons<\/span> presenter<\/span> l\u2019idee
\nWe\u2019re going<\/span> to present<\/span> the idea<\/p>\n

Vous allez<\/span> travailler<\/span> pour nous
\nYou\u2019re going<\/span> to work<\/span> for us<\/p>\n

Ils vont<\/span> venir<\/span>
\nThey\u2019re going<\/span> to come<\/span><\/p>\n

Elles vont<\/span> partir<\/span>
\nThey\u2019re going<\/span> to leave<\/span><\/p>\n

You\u2019re more likely to encounter the true future tense (le futur simple<\/em>) in texts and higher registers. However, in casual speech the compound future is much more commonly heard.<\/p>\n

<\/a>The Compound Tenses of Aller<\/em><\/h2>\n

Up until now, we\u2019ve only mentioned about half the tenses of the aller<\/em> conjugation. However, there are several other tenses that use an auxiliary verb\/helping verb, like the compound future we just mentioned.<\/p>\n

<\/a>The Verb Aller<\/em> in the Pass\u00e9 Compos\u00e9<\/h3>\n

Of all the compound tenses in French, you will encounter the pass\u00e9 compos\u00e9 <\/em>the most often.<\/em> This is used to talk about past events, the same way that English uses the simple past (e.g. he went<\/span>, you said<\/span>, they came<\/span>). While the imperfect is used to refer to ongoing events, the pass\u00e9 compos\u00e9<\/em> normally refers to single events.<\/p>\n

For the verb aller<\/em>, the pass\u00e9 compos\u00e9<\/em> is conjugated using the auxiliary verb \u00eatre<\/span> instead of avoir<\/em>. This is followed by the past participle of aller<\/em> – all\u00e9<\/em><\/span>.<\/p>\n

Unlike the verbs that use avoir<\/em>, the past participle of aller<\/em> must match the gender and number of the subject.<\/p>\n