French verb Aller conjugation is one of the three most commonly used verb forms in French. Its meaning is simple ‘to go’ but its importance lies in the fact that you can use it in the present tense to create a sense of what you are going to do in the future, so it is of invaluable value to you. In French, it is much more irregular as a verb than in English, but despite its irregularity, it is well worth the effort to learn it carefully, especially the forms in the present tense.
Throughout this article, you will be exposed to some of the more common uses of the verb Aller. It is a highly irregular verb. Therefore, it does not follow a particular pattern when it comes to its conjugation. In fact, the verb does not always begin with a capital ‘A’, so you might not recognize some of the different tense forms right away. It is one of only a few verbs whose stem does not come from its infinitive form that has a future tense stem
There are three different ways in which Aller can be used.
- It can be translated into its simplest form as ‘to go’ and it is the most commonly used verb of motion in the French language. You will find this word in many phrases that are linked to your social or routine activities, for instance, Je vais au bureau (I go to the office) and Nous allons au cinéma (We’re going to the cinema).
- In many cases, it is used to make statements or to ask questions about the status or condition of something. Example: Comment vas-tu? (How are you?), and Il va bien (He’s fine).
- In addition to this, it is often used in conjunction with active verbs to build a compound future tense (a form of the future tense which implies ‘going to’ rather than ‘will’).
As you now know, this is an irregular verb, and you will find that some of its forms may seem a little difficult to understand. We will review the conjugation of Aller in the indicative mood now. Here are some examples of Aller conjugation:
Conjugation Of Aller (Present, Past & Future Tense) In French
There is no doubt that the French verb aller (“to go”) is one of the most frequently used verbs in the French language.
Pronunciation
It is very important that you pronounce this verb correctly. When speaking formal French, there are many liaisons present in the spoken conjugation, such as:
- The pronunciation of Nous allons is Nous Z-allons.
- The pronunciation of Vous allez is Vous Z-allez.
The most common mistake beginners make is to incorrectly use the words Je va instead of Je vais. If you want to master the use of aller as a French person would, both in terms of pronunciation and in terms of speed, you should try training with audio recordings.
Tener- “to be”: Spanish Verb Conjugation In Present, Past, Future Tenses
Compound Tenses
There are also some verbs that use the auxiliary verb être to form their passé-composé (past compound) and other compound tenses. There is a similar situation with aller, and it does not translate literally into English.
Je suis allé(e) = I went, I did go, I have gone
This is something that’s quite difficult for English speakers to master, so make sure that you study this thoroughly before you attempt to do so.
An Understanding
Why do we write the word allé, allée, allés, or allées? In this sense, because it takes être as an auxiliary verb, the past participle allé agrees with the subject, just as an adjective does.
- Anne est allée. (Anne is a girl; add an e for the feminine.)
- Pierre et Paul sont allés. (Masculine plural; add an s to the main verb.)
- Anne et Marie sont allées. (Feminine, so add an e; plural, so add an s.)
Any extra E or S will be silent, therefore allé will always be pronounced the same as aller andallez.
French conjugation of verb Aller in the present tense (Présent)
There are two types of present tenses in English – the Present Simple and the Present Continuous. It is important to note that in French, there is only one tense – Le Présent. French must be easy, right?
There are two meanings for the present tense below, and you can see the two different meanings in English.
French: Je vais
Translation In English: I go, I am going
French: Tu vas
Translation In English: You go, you are going
French: Il/elle va
Translation In English: He/she goes, he/she is going
French: Nous allons
Translation In English: We go, we are going
French: Vous allez
Translation In English: You go, you are going
French: Ils/elles vont
Translation In English: They go, they are going
French conjugation of verb Aller in the Imparfait
In the case of the imperfect, it is used to create a sense of something that continued to happen in the past. In English, we would say, ‘I used to do something’ or ‘I used to do something’.
French: J’allais
Translation In English: I was going
French: Tu allais
Translation In English: You were going
French: Il / elle allait
Translation In English: He/she was going
French: Nous allions
Translation In English: We were going
French: Vous alliez
Translation In English: You were going
French: Ils / elles allaient They were going
Repetir Conjugation – Definition & Preterite
French conjugation of verb Aller in the Futur
There are two important things to keep in mind here:
- The future tense stem of this verb does not come from its infinitive form, making it one of only a few verbs with a future tense stem.
- This form of the Simple Future (which we are not covering specifically) uses ALLER in the present tense along with the infinitive of the verb that tells us what action is being carried out to convey the meaning of the verb “to go”. Example: Je vais travailler ce soir (I’m going to work this evening).
French: J’irai
Translation In English: I will go
French: Tu iras
Translation In English: You will go
French: Il / elle ira
Translation In English: He / she will go
French: Nous irons
Translation In English: We will go
French: Vous irez
Translation In English: You will go
French: Ils / elles iront
Translation In English: They will go
French conjugation of verb Aller in the Passé Composé
A variety of verbs can be conjugated with the suffix etre in the compound past tenses, but ALLER is one of the few. This makes it slightly more difficult to learn and use but there is still a pattern to it. In most cases, you are not able to hear the different endings of the past participle, but the differences do play a part in writing nevertheless.
French: Je suis allé(e)
Translation In English: I went
French: Tu es allé(e)
Translation In English: You went
French: Il est allé
Translation In English: He went
French: Elle est allée
Translation In English: She went
French: Nous sommes allé(e)s
Translation In English: We went
French: Vous êtes allé(e)(s)
Translation In English: You went
French: Ils sont allés
Translation In English: They went
French: Elles sont allées
Translation In English: They went
It is likely that you have already worked out that the addition of the letter ‘e’ signifies that the subject is feminine, and the ‘s’ that it is plural.
French conjugation of verb Aller in the Passé Simple
French: J’allai
Translation In English: I went
French: Tu allas
Translation In English: You went
French: Il / elle alla
Translation In English: He/she went
French: Nous allâmes
Translation In English: We went
French: Vous allâtes
Translation In English: You went
French: Ils / elles allèrent
Translation In English: They went
Dormir Conjugation – Spanish, French, Preterite
French conjugation of verb Aller in the Plus-que-Parfait
French: J’étais allé(e)
Translation In English: I had gone
French: Tu étais allé(e)
Translation In English: You had gone
French: Il était allé
Translation In English: He had gone
French: Elle était allée
Translation In English: She had gone
French: Nous étions allé(e)s
Translation In English: We had gone
French: Vous étiez allé(e)(s)
Translation In English: You had gone
French: Ils étaient allés
Translation In English: They had gone
French: Elles étaient allées
Translation In English: They had gone
French conjugation of verb Aller in the Passé Antérieur
French: Je fus allé(e)
Translation In English: I had gone
French: Tu fus allé(e)
Translation In English: You had gone
French: Il fut allé
Translation In English: He had gone
French: Elle fut allée
Translation In English: She had gone
French: Nous fûmes allé(e)s
Translation In English: We had gone
French: Vous fûtes allé(e)(s)
Translation In English: You had gone
French: Ils furent allés
Translation In English: They had gone
French: Elles furent allées
Translation In English: They had gone
French conjugation of verb Aller in the Futur Antérieur
French: Je serai allé(e)
Translation In English: I will have gone
French: Tu seras allé(e)
Translation In English: You will have gone
French: Il sera allé
Translation In English: He will have gone
French: Elle sera allée
Translation In English: She will have gone
French: Nous serons allé(e)s
Translation In English: We will have gone
French: Vous serez allé(e)(s)
Translation In English: You will have gone
French: Ils seront allés
Translation In English: They will have gone
French: Elles seront allées
Translation In English: They will have gone
How To Use Divertir And Divertirse Conjugation In Spanish?
French conjugation of verb Aller in the Subjunctive mood (Subjonctif)
Aller in Present Subjunctive (Subjonctif Présent)
French: que j’aille that
Translation In English: I go
French: que tu ailles
Translation In English: that you go
French: qu’il / elle aille
Translation In English: that he / she goes
French: que nous allions
Translation In English: that we go
French: que vous alliez
Translation In English: that you go
French: qu’ils / elles aillent
Translation In English: that they go
Imperfect Subjunctive (Subjonctif Imparfait)
French: que j’allasse
Translation In English: that I was going
French: que tu allasses
Translation In English: that you were going
French: qu’il / elle allât
Translation In English: that he / she was going
French: que nous allassions
Translation In English: that we were going
French: que vous allassiez
Translation In English: that you were going
French: qu’ils / elles allassent
Translation In English: that they were going
How To Use Irse Verb Conjugation (Preterite, Subjuntive) In Spanish?
Past Subjunctive (Subjonctif Passé)
French: que je sois allé(e)
Translation In English: that I went
French: que tu sois allé(e)
Translation In English: that you went
French: qu’il soit allé
Translation In English: that he went
French: qu’ elle soit allée
Translation In English: that she went
French: que nous soyons allé(e)s
Translation In English: that we went
French: que vous soyez allé(e)(s)
Translation In English: that you went
French: qu’ils soient allés
Translation In English: that they went
French: qu’elles soient allées
Translation In English: that they went
Past Perfect Subjunctive (Plus-que-Parfait)
French: que je fusse allé(e)
Translation In English: that I had gone
French: que tu fusses allé(e)
Translation In English: that you had gone
French: qu’il fût allé
Translation In English: that he had gone
French: qu’elle fût allée
Translation In English: that she had gone
French: que nous fussions allé(e)s
Translation In English: that we had gone
French: que vous fussiez allé(e)(s)
Translation In English: that you had gone
French: qu’ils fussent allés
Translation In English: that they had gone
French: qu’elles fussent allées
Translation In English: that they had gone
How to Conjugate the French Verb Lire?: Definition & Examples
French conjugation of verb Aller in the Conditional Mood (Conditionnel)
Present Conditional (Conditionnel Présent)
French: J’irais
Translation In English: I would go
French: Tu irais
Translation In English: You would go
French: Il / elle irait
Translation In English: He/she would go
French: Nous irions
Translation In English: We would go
French: Vous iriez
Translation In English: You would go
French: Ils / elles iraient
Translation In English: They would go
Past Conditional (Conditionnel Passé)
French: Je serais allé(e)
Translation In English: I would have gone
French: Tu serais allé(e)
Translation In English: You would have gone
French: Il serait allé
Translation In English: He would have gone
French: Elle serait allée
Translation In English: She would have gone
French: Nous serions allé(e)s
Translation In English: We would have gone
French: Vous seriez allé(e)(s)
Translation In English: You would have gone
French: Ils seraient allés
Translation In English: They would have gone
French: Elles seraient allées
Translation In English: They would have gone
Participe
Conjugation in Présent allant
Conjugation in Passé allé(e)(s)
Conjugation in Passé Composé etant allé(e)(s)
French conjugation of verb Aller in the Imperative Mood (Impératif)
Conjugation in Présent
- (tu) vas
- (nous) allons
- (vous) allez
Conjugation in Passé
- (tu) sois allé(e)
- (nous) soyons allé(e)s
- (vous) soyez allé(e)(s)
French conjugation of verb Aller in the Infinitive Mood (Infinitif)
Conjugation in Présent aller
Conjugation in Passé être aller
Present Participles in Spanish: Principles, Examples & More
How to Memorize French conjugation of verb Aller
Practice using the most useful tenses (present, imparfait, passé composé), and get used to using them in context. Once you have mastered them, you can move on to the rest of them. Remember, practice makes perfect when you are learning a new language.
In addition to the many elisions, liaisons, and modern glidings that are used with French verbs, the written form may lead you to erroneously pronounce them. In the event that you do not have a study partner to practice with, you can use an audio guide as an alternative. The course will teach you how to conjugate verbs correctly and how to pronounce them correctly.
FAQs
How do you use Aller?
I’m going to leave. Nous allions manger. We were going to eat. As above, you can’t say Je vais. to mean “I’m going to.” You have to follow it with an infinitive, such as je vais le faire.
Why is Aller so irregular?
There are a few basics to keep in mind with aller. First, it’s an irregular verb, so it doesn’t follow typical conjugation patterns. You just have to memorize its many forms. Second, the very common passé composé tense of aller uses the auxiliary verb être.
What is le passé composé?
The passé composé is a compound tense formed with the present tense of the auxiliary (avoir or être, see auxiliaries) and the past participle: Elle a acheté des livres aujourd’hui. (She bought some books today.) Ils sont partis en Corse pour les vacances. (They have left for Corsica for vacation.)
What is the tu form of Aller?
Tu vas – You go, you are going.
Is Aller être or avoir?
In most instances the auxiliary verb used is avoir. However, several intransitive verbs, like aller (to go), require the auxiliary être instead.
Conclusion
Since Aller is one of the three most commonly used verbs in French, you should spend a lot of time learning how to conjugate Aller. You will reap lots of rewards when you do so. In spite of the fact that this is one of the most irregular verb forms, it is true that the more verbs you study, the more you will notice patterns that will enable you to easily memorize even highly irregular verbs such as Aller.
I think you would have been wrong if you thought that learning verbs meant memorizing them by rote and chanting your way through them. As long as you use the audio drills every single day, you will be able to easily and naturally become accustomed to them in your memory.
Acostarse Conjugation – Spanish Verb