{"id":2179,"date":"2026-10-21T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-21T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/?p=2179"},"modified":"2026-10-09T06:11:17","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T06:11:17","slug":"how-to-use-french-aller-conjugation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/french\/how-to-use-french-aller-conjugation\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Use Aller in French: More Than Just \u201cTo Go\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you learn one French verb early, aller<\/strong> should be near the top of the list.<\/p>\n

It means \u201cto go,\u201d but French speakers also use it to talk about future plans, ask how someone is doing, and form everyday expressions such as vas-y<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The catch? Aller<\/em> is irregular, so its forms do not look much like a typical French verb ending in -er<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, you do not need to memorize every possible tense at once. Start with the forms and patterns you are most likely to use.<\/p>\n

Start with the Present Tense<\/h2>\n

The present tense of aller<\/em> is essential:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • je vais<\/strong> \u2014 I go \/ I\u2019m going<\/li>\n
  • tu vas<\/strong> \u2014 you go \/ you\u2019re going<\/li>\n
  • il \/ elle \/ on va<\/strong> \u2014 he \/ she \/ we go<\/li>\n
  • nous allons<\/strong> \u2014 we go<\/li>\n
  • vous allez<\/strong> \u2014 you go<\/li>\n
  • ils \/ elles vont<\/strong> \u2014 they go<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    For example:<\/p>\n

    Je vais au travail.<\/strong>
    \n\u201cI\u2019m going to work.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Nous allons au restaurant.<\/strong>
    \n\u201cWe\u2019re going to the restaurant.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Since the forms are irregular, it is best to learn them as a group rather than trying to apply a regular -er<\/em> pattern.<\/p>\n

    Aller + Destination<\/h2>\n

    When aller<\/em> means \u201cto go,\u201d it is often followed by a word showing where someone is going.<\/p>\n

    You will commonly see:<\/p>\n

    \u00e0<\/strong> \u2014 to
    \nau<\/strong> \u2014 to the
    \n\u00e0 la<\/strong> \u2014 to the
    \naux<\/strong> \u2014 to the, plural
    \nchez<\/strong> \u2014 to someone\u2019s home or place of business<\/p>\n

    For example:<\/p>\n

    Je vais \u00e0 Paris.<\/strong>
    \n\u201cI\u2019m going to Paris.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Elle va chez le m\u00e9decin.<\/strong>
    \n\u201cShe\u2019s going to the doctor.\u201d<\/p>\n

    You will also see en<\/strong> and au<\/strong> with countries:<\/p>\n

    Nous allons en France.<\/strong>
    \n\u201cWe\u2019re going to France.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Ils vont au Canada.<\/strong>
    \n\u201cThey\u2019re going to Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n

    These small words are worth learning together with aller<\/em>, since they appear constantly in travel and everyday conversation.<\/p>\n

    Use Aller to Talk About the Near Future<\/h2>\n

    One of the most useful things about aller<\/em> is that it helps form the futur proche<\/strong>, or near future.<\/p>\n

    The structure is simple:<\/p>\n

    aller + infinitive<\/strong><\/p>\n

    It works much like English \u201cgoing to.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Je vais \u00e9tudier ce soir.<\/strong>
    \n\u201cI\u2019m going to study tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

    On va manger bient\u00f4t.<\/strong>
    \n\u201cWe\u2019re going to eat soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

    You do not need to conjugate the second verb. Only aller<\/em> changes.<\/p>\n

    This makes the near future one of the easiest ways for beginners to start talking about plans.<\/p>\n

    Past Aller: Je suis all\u00e9<\/h2>\n

    To talk about a completed trip or movement in the past, French commonly uses the pass\u00e9 compos\u00e9<\/em>.<\/p>\n

    With aller<\/em>, the helping verb is \u00eatre<\/strong>, not avoir<\/em>.<\/p>\n

    Je suis all\u00e9 au mus\u00e9e.<\/strong>
    \n\u201cI went to the museum.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Elle est all\u00e9e \u00e0 Lyon.<\/strong>
    \n\u201cShe went to Lyon.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Because aller<\/em> uses \u00eatre<\/em>, the past participle can change to agree with the subject:<\/p>\n

    all\u00e9<\/strong> \u2014 masculine singular
    \nall\u00e9e<\/strong> \u2014 feminine singular
    \nall\u00e9s<\/strong> \u2014 masculine or mixed plural
    \nall\u00e9es<\/strong> \u2014 feminine plural<\/p>\n

    This is one of the main reasons aller<\/em> is useful to learn early: it introduces you to a common pattern used by several movement verbs.<\/p>\n

    Imparfait: Talking About Where You Used to Go<\/h2>\n

    When you want to describe a repeated habit or an ongoing situation in the past, use the imperfect.<\/p>\n

    Some key forms are:<\/p>\n

    j\u2019allais<\/strong> \u2014 I used to go \/ I was going
    \ntu allais<\/strong> \u2014 you used to go
    \nil \/ elle allait<\/strong> \u2014 he \/ she used to go
    \nnous allions<\/strong> \u2014 we used to go
    \nvous alliez<\/strong> \u2014 you used to go
    \nils \/ elles allaient<\/strong> \u2014 they used to go<\/p>\n

    For example:<\/p>\n

    Quand j\u2019\u00e9tais enfant, j\u2019allais souvent \u00e0 la plage.<\/strong>
    \n\u201cWhen I was a child, I often went to the beach.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Instead of memorizing the imperfect only as another conjugation table, connect it with situations involving habits and background information.<\/p>\n

    \u201cHow Are You?\u201d Also Uses Aller<\/h2>\n

    One of the most common French expressions uses aller<\/em> in a way that may surprise English speakers.<\/p>\n

    \u00c7a va ?<\/strong>
    \n\u201cHow are you?\u201d \/ \u201cHow\u2019s it going?\u201d<\/p>\n

    Possible answers include:<\/p>\n

    \u00c7a va bien.<\/strong>
    \n\u201cI\u2019m doing well.\u201d<\/p>\n

    \u00c7a va.<\/strong>
    \n\u201cI\u2019m okay.\u201d<\/p>\n

    \u00c7a ne va pas.<\/strong>
    \n\u201cI\u2019m not doing well.\u201d \/ \u201cSomething\u2019s wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

    You can also ask:<\/p>\n

    Comment allez-vous ?<\/strong>
    \n\u201cHow are you?\u201d<\/p>\n

    This is more formal and uses the vous allez<\/strong> form of aller<\/em>.<\/p>\n

    So when learning aller<\/em>, you are not just learning how to talk about movement.<\/p>\n

    Vas-y! \u2014 A Very Useful Expression<\/h2>\n

    Another phrase you will hear frequently is:<\/p>\n

    Vas-y !<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Literally, it is related to \u201cgo there,\u201d but its meaning changes depending on context.<\/p>\n

    It can mean:<\/p>\n

    \u201cGo ahead!\u201d
    \n\u201cGo for it!\u201d
    \n\u201cCome on!\u201d<\/p>\n

    For example, if someone is hesitating before asking a question, you might say:<\/p>\n

    Vas-y !<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u201cGo ahead!\u201d<\/p>\n

    The plural or formal version is:<\/p>\n

    Allez-y !<\/strong><\/p>\n

    These expressions are common in spoken French and are much more useful than some of the less frequent aller<\/em> conjugations beginners encounter in grammar charts.<\/p>\n

    What About the Future and Conditional?<\/h2>\n

    Once you are comfortable with the basics, two useful forms to recognize are:<\/p>\n

    j\u2019irai<\/strong> \u2014 I will go
    \nj\u2019irais<\/strong> \u2014 I would go<\/p>\n

    Notice that both use the irregular stem ir-<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    For example:<\/p>\n

    J\u2019irai demain.<\/strong>
    \n\u201cI\u2019ll go tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

    J\u2019irais avec toi.<\/strong>
    \n\u201cI would go with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

    The endings are different, but the shared ir-<\/em> stem makes the forms easier to recognize.<\/p>\n

    The Most Useful Aller Forms to Learn First<\/h2>\n

    Rather than trying to memorize every tense at once, prioritize the forms you will actually use.<\/p>\n

    Start with the present:<\/p>\n

    je vais, tu vas, il va, nous allons, vous allez, ils vont<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Then learn these patterns:<\/p>\n

    aller + infinitive<\/strong> \u2014 \u201cgoing to do something\u201d
    \n\u00eatre + all\u00e9<\/strong> \u2014 \u201cwent\u201d
    \n\u00c7a va ?<\/strong> \u2014 \u201cHow\u2019s it going?\u201d
    \nVas-y !<\/strong> \u2014 \u201cGo ahead!\u201d<\/p>\n

    Once these feel familiar, forms such as j\u2019allais<\/em>, j\u2019irai<\/em>, and j\u2019irais<\/em> become much easier to add.<\/p>\n

    Final Thoughts<\/h2>\n

    Aller<\/em> may be irregular, but its usefulness makes it one of the easiest French verbs to practice regularly.<\/p>\n

    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 \u201cgo ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Instead of memorizing a long conjugation chart in one sitting, learn aller<\/em> through the expressions you actually need. The more often you hear phrases such as je vais<\/strong>, \u00e7a va<\/strong>, and vas-y<\/strong>, the faster this irregular verb will start to feel completely normal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Master French aller conjugation with this complete guide covering present, past, future, and subjunctive forms, plus real example sentences.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2195,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-french"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t