If you learn one French verb early, aller should be near the top of the list.
It means “to go,” but French speakers also use it to talk about future plans, ask how someone is doing, and form everyday expressions such as vas-y.
The catch? Aller is irregular, so its forms do not look much like a typical French verb ending in -er.
Fortunately, you do not need to memorize every possible tense at once. Start with the forms and patterns you are most likely to use.
Start with the Present Tense
The present tense of aller is essential:
- je vais — I go / I’m going
- tu vas — you go / you’re going
- il / elle / on va — he / she / we go
- nous allons — we go
- vous allez — you go
- ils / elles vont — they go
For example:
Je vais au travail.
“I’m going to work.”
Nous allons au restaurant.
“We’re going to the restaurant.”
Since the forms are irregular, it is best to learn them as a group rather than trying to apply a regular -er pattern.
Aller + Destination
When aller means “to go,” it is often followed by a word showing where someone is going.
You will commonly see:
à — to
au — to the
à la — to the
aux — to the, plural
chez — to someone’s home or place of business
For example:
Je vais à Paris.
“I’m going to Paris.”
Elle va chez le médecin.
“She’s going to the doctor.”
You will also see en and au with countries:
Nous allons en France.
“We’re going to France.”
Ils vont au Canada.
“They’re going to Canada.”
These small words are worth learning together with aller, since they appear constantly in travel and everyday conversation.
Use Aller to Talk About the Near Future
One of the most useful things about aller is that it helps form the futur proche, or near future.
The structure is simple:
aller + infinitive
It works much like English “going to.”
Je vais étudier ce soir.
“I’m going to study tonight.”
On va manger bientôt.
“We’re going to eat soon.”
You do not need to conjugate the second verb. Only aller changes.
This makes the near future one of the easiest ways for beginners to start talking about plans.
Past Aller: Je suis allé
To talk about a completed trip or movement in the past, French commonly uses the passé composé.
With aller, the helping verb is être, not avoir.
Je suis allé au musée.
“I went to the museum.”
Elle est allée à Lyon.
“She went to Lyon.”
Because aller uses être, the past participle can change to agree with the subject:
allé — masculine singular
allée — feminine singular
allés — masculine or mixed plural
allées — feminine plural
This is one of the main reasons aller is useful to learn early: it introduces you to a common pattern used by several movement verbs.
Imparfait: Talking About Where You Used to Go
When you want to describe a repeated habit or an ongoing situation in the past, use the imperfect.
Some key forms are:
j’allais — I used to go / I was going
tu allais — you used to go
il / elle allait — he / she used to go
nous allions — we used to go
vous alliez — you used to go
ils / elles allaient — they used to go
For example:
Quand j’étais enfant, j’allais souvent à la plage.
“When I was a child, I often went to the beach.”
Instead of memorizing the imperfect only as another conjugation table, connect it with situations involving habits and background information.
“How Are You?” Also Uses Aller
One of the most common French expressions uses aller in a way that may surprise English speakers.
Ça va ?
“How are you?” / “How’s it going?”
Possible answers include:
Ça va bien.
“I’m doing well.”
Ça va.
“I’m okay.”
Ça ne va pas.
“I’m not doing well.” / “Something’s wrong.”
You can also ask:
Comment allez-vous ?
“How are you?”
This is more formal and uses the vous allez form of aller.
So when learning aller, you are not just learning how to talk about movement.
Vas-y! — A Very Useful Expression
Another phrase you will hear frequently is:
Vas-y !
Literally, it is related to “go there,” but its meaning changes depending on context.
It can mean:
“Go ahead!”
“Go for it!”
“Come on!”
For example, if someone is hesitating before asking a question, you might say:
Vas-y !
“Go ahead!”
The plural or formal version is:
Allez-y !
These expressions are common in spoken French and are much more useful than some of the less frequent aller conjugations beginners encounter in grammar charts.
What About the Future and Conditional?
Once you are comfortable with the basics, two useful forms to recognize are:
j’irai — I will go
j’irais — I would go
Notice that both use the irregular stem ir-.
For example:
J’irai demain.
“I’ll go tomorrow.”
J’irais avec toi.
“I would go with you.”
The endings are different, but the shared ir- stem makes the forms easier to recognize.
The Most Useful Aller Forms to Learn First
Rather than trying to memorize every tense at once, prioritize the forms you will actually use.
Start with the present:
je vais, tu vas, il va, nous allons, vous allez, ils vont
Then learn these patterns:
aller + infinitive — “going to do something”
être + allé — “went”
Ça va ? — “How’s it going?”
Vas-y ! — “Go ahead!”
Once these feel familiar, forms such as j’allais, j’irai, and j’irais become much easier to add.
Final Thoughts
Aller may be irregular, but its usefulness makes it one of the easiest French verbs to practice regularly.
You can use it to say where you are going, describe future plans, talk about past trips, ask how someone is feeling, and encourage someone to “go ahead.”
Instead of memorizing a long conjugation chart in one sitting, learn aller through the expressions you actually need. The more often you hear phrases such as je vais, ça va, and vas-y, the faster this irregular verb will start to feel completely normal.
