Aller is the verb to go. It is the only irregular verb in the otherwise tame -er class — and the irregularity is severe: its present tense pulls forms from three different Latin verbs (vado, ambulare, ire), giving us the wild paradigm vais — vas — va — allons — allez — vont. On top of motion, aller powers the futur proche (je vais partir — "I'm going to leave"), which in spoken French is more frequent than the simple future. It also drives the daily greeting (ça va ?), expresses how clothing fits (cette robe te va bien), and is one of the maison-d'être verbs that takes être as its auxiliary in compound tenses.
This page is the verb-reference entry: every paradigm, every compound tense, the major uses with examples, and the idioms. Use it as a lookup. The detail pages cover individual topics in depth.
The simple tenses
These are the tenses formed without an auxiliary — the basic conjugational paradigms. Aller's simple tenses split into three stem families: vai-/va-/vont (present and impératif), all- (imparfait, passé simple, present participle), and ir- (futur and conditionnel).
Présent de l'indicatif
The most irregular paradigm in French. The forms come from three historical sources, but you do not need to memorize the etymology — only the shapes.
| Person | Form | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| je | vais | /vɛ/ |
| tu | vas | /va/ |
| il / elle / on | va | /va/ |
| nous | allons | /nu‿zalɔ̃/ |
| vous | allez | /vu‿zale/ |
| ils / elles | vont | /vɔ̃/ |
The 3pl vont is one of only four French verbs whose present 3pl ends in -ont (the others are ont, sont, font). The nous and vous forms revert to a regular -er pattern on the stem all-.
Je vais à la boulangerie, tu veux quelque chose ?
I'm going to the bakery, do you want anything?
On va au cinéma ce soir, ça te dit ?
We're going to the cinema tonight, are you up for it?
Ils vont rarement au restaurant en semaine.
They rarely go out to eat on weekdays.
Imparfait
Built on the regular stem all- (from nous allons) plus the standard imparfait endings. Fully predictable.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| j' | allais |
| tu | allais |
| il / elle / on | allait |
| nous | allions |
| vous | alliez |
| ils / elles | allaient |
Quand j'étais étudiant, j'allais en cours à vélo tous les jours.
When I was a student, I used to ride my bike to class every day.
On allait souvent à la plage le dimanche en été.
We often used to go to the beach on Sundays in summer.
Passé simple (literary)
Regular -er paradigm on the stem all-. Used in literary writing, biographies, and historical narration.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| j' | allai |
| tu | allas |
| il / elle / on | alla |
| nous | allâmes |
| vous | allâtes |
| ils / elles | allèrent |
The circumflex on allâmes and allâtes is obligatory and historically marks a lost -s- (compare with eûmes, fûmes, parlâmes). Without it, the form would be ambiguous with the imparfait allions/alliez.
Il alla aussitôt prévenir son frère de la nouvelle.
He went at once to inform his brother of the news. (literary)
Nous allâmes ensuite nous reposer dans le jardin.
We then went to rest in the garden. (literary)
Futur simple
Stem ir- (from Latin ire) — completely unrelated to aller on the surface. Endings are the regular futur endings -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| j' | irai |
| tu | iras |
| il / elle / on | ira |
| nous | irons |
| vous | irez |
| ils / elles | iront |
The ir- stem is one of the most surprising irregularities in French — it preserves a Latin verb (ire) that has otherwise vanished from the language. The same ir- stem appears in the conditionnel.
Demain, j'irai chercher les enfants à l'école.
Tomorrow I'll go pick up the kids from school.
On ira en Italie cet été, c'est décidé.
We're going to Italy this summer, it's decided.
Conditionnel présent
Same ir- stem as the futur, with the imparfait endings.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| j' | irais |
| tu | irais |
| il / elle / on | irait |
| nous | irions |
| vous | iriez |
| ils / elles | iraient |
Si on avait le temps, on irait jusqu'à Bordeaux.
If we had time, we'd go all the way to Bordeaux.
J'irais bien faire un tour, tu viens ?
I'd like to go for a walk, are you coming?
Subjonctif présent
Two stems: aill- (1sg, 2sg, 3sg, 3pl — based on the same root as vais/vas/va) and all- (1pl, 2pl). This split mirrors the present-indicative pattern of strong vs weak forms.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| (que) j' | aille |
| (que) tu | ailles |
| (qu')il / elle / on | aille |
| (que) nous | allions |
| (que) vous | alliez |
| (qu')ils / elles | aillent |
Note that the 1pl/2pl forms allions/alliez are identical to the imparfait — context disambiguates. The subjunctive forms always appear after a trigger like que, il faut que, bien que, etc.
Il faut que tu ailles voir un médecin sans tarder.
You have to go see a doctor without delay.
Je ne veux pas qu'elle aille toute seule à cette heure-ci.
I don't want her to go alone at this time of night.
Impératif
Three forms. Note that the tu form is va (no final -s), but takes an -s before the pronoun y to ease pronunciation: vas-y (go on / go ahead).
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| (tu) | va |
| (nous) | allons |
| (vous) | allez |
Va te coucher, il est tard.
Go to bed, it's late.
Vas-y, tu peux le faire.
Go for it, you can do it.
Allons-y, on est en retard.
Let's go, we're late.
Allez, courage, c'est presque fini.
Come on, hang in there, it's almost over.
Participles and gérondif
- Participe passé: allé (agrees with the subject in compound tenses, since aller takes être as auxiliary)
- Participe présent: allant
- Gérondif: en allant
En allant à la poste, je suis tombé sur un vieil ami.
On my way to the post office, I bumped into an old friend.
The participle allé agrees with the subject when aller is in a compound tense: je suis allé(e), nous sommes allés/allées. This is the maison-d'être agreement rule.
The compound tenses
Aller is one of the maison-d'être verbs — its compound tenses use être as the auxiliary, and the past participle agrees with the subject in gender and number.
Passé composé
être (présent) + allé(e)(s)
| Person | Form | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| je | suis allé(e) | I went / I've gone |
| tu | es allé(e) | you went |
| il | est allé | he went |
| elle | est allée | she went |
| on | est allé(e)(s) | we went / one went |
| nous | sommes allé(e)s | we went |
| vous | êtes allé(e)(s) | you went |
| ils | sont allés | they went (m.) |
| elles | sont allées | they went (f.) |
On est allés à Lyon le week-end dernier.
We went to Lyon last weekend.
Elle est allée chercher du pain, elle revient dans cinq minutes.
She went to get bread, she'll be back in five minutes.
Plus-que-parfait
être (imparfait) + allé(e)(s)
J'étais déjà allé à Tokyo deux fois avant ce voyage.
I'd already been to Tokyo twice before that trip.
Futur antérieur
être (futur) + allé(e)(s)
Quand tu rentreras, je serai déjà allé faire les courses.
When you get back, I'll already have gone shopping.
Conditionnel passé
être (conditionnel) + allé(e)(s)
Sans cette grève, on serait allés en Bretagne comme prévu.
Without that strike, we'd have gone to Brittany as planned.
Subjonctif passé
être (subjonctif) + allé(e)(s)
Je suis content qu'elle soit allée voir ses parents.
I'm glad she went to see her parents.
The four core uses
1. Motion: physical movement to a place
The literal core meaning. Aller expresses motion toward a destination. The destination is introduced by a preposition that depends on the type of place: à + city, en + feminine country or continent, au + masculine country, aux + plural country, chez + person.
| Preposition | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| à | cities, indefinite places | aller à Paris, aller à l'école |
| en | feminine countries, continents, regions | aller en France, en Asie, en Bretagne |
| au | masculine countries | aller au Japon, au Canada |
| aux | plural countries | aller aux États-Unis, aux Pays-Bas |
| chez | at someone's place | aller chez le médecin, chez mes parents |
Je vais à Paris une fois par mois pour le travail.
I go to Paris once a month for work.
On va au Japon en avril, c'est notre premier voyage là-bas.
We're going to Japan in April, it's our first trip there.
Tu vas chez le dentiste cet après-midi ?
Are you going to the dentist this afternoon?
2. Futur proche: aller + infinitive
This is the most-used way to express future events in spoken French. Aller (in the present) + infinitive expresses a planned or imminent future action. The translation is "going to" — and unlike English, French does not insert a preposition between aller and the infinitive.
Je vais partir vers six heures.
I'm going to leave around six.
On va manger dans cinq minutes, viens à table.
We're going to eat in five minutes, come to the table.
Tu vas adorer ce film, j'en suis sûr.
You're going to love this film, I'm sure of it.
The futur proche is so dominant that in casual speech it has almost completely displaced the simple future for events within hours or days. The simple future (je partirai) is reserved for more distant or formal contexts. Compare:
- Je vais lui téléphoner (informal, immediate plan — most natural for "I'm going to call him")
- Je lui téléphonerai (more deliberate, often a commitment — "I'll call him")
3. Health and well-being: ça va, comment ça va
The verb behind the most common French greeting. "How are you?" in French does not use être — it uses aller.
Salut, ça va ? — Ça va, et toi ?
Hi, how's it going? — Good, and you?
Comment vas-tu aujourd'hui ?
How are you today? (formal / written)
Mon père va beaucoup mieux depuis l'opération.
My father is doing much better since the operation.
Ça va pas du tout en ce moment au boulot.
Things are not going well at all at work right now. (informal)
The same verb does literal and idiomatic work: ça va literally means "it goes" — the metaphor is that life is a journey. Aller bien means "to be doing well," aller mal means "to be unwell." For physical illness specifically, you can also say je ne me sens pas bien, but ça va pas / ça va mal is the natural casual register.
4. Clothing fit and abstract direction
Aller + indirect object means "to suit / fit (someone)" when describing clothes, colors, or hairstyles.
Cette robe te va vraiment bien.
That dress really suits you.
Le bleu marine ne lui va pas du tout.
Navy blue doesn't suit him at all.
It also expresses abstract direction or progression — "to lead to," "to go as far as," "to extend to."
Cette route va jusqu'à Bordeaux.
This road goes all the way to Bordeaux.
Son enthousiasme va jusqu'à l'obsession.
His enthusiasm goes as far as obsession.
High-frequency aller idioms
- aller chercher (someone/something) — to go and get / pick up (je vais chercher les enfants)
- aller voir — to go and see / visit (je vais voir mes parents ce week-end)
- s'en aller — to leave / go away (je m'en vais, à demain)
- y aller — to go there / get going (j'y vais !)
- allons donc ! — come on now! / really? (skeptical exclamation)
- aller de soi — to go without saying (ça va de soi)
- aller au fait — to get to the point (allons droit au fait)
- ça va sans dire — that goes without saying
Bon, j'y vais, à demain !
Right, I'm off, see you tomorrow!
Je vais chercher les enfants à seize heures trente.
I'm picking the kids up at four-thirty.
Elle s'en est allée sans dire au revoir.
She left without saying goodbye.
Comparison with English
Three friction points:
- No preposition before the infinitive. English says "going to leave"; French says aller partir, never aller à partir. The preposition is part of the English infinitival particle "to," not part of the futur-proche construction.
- Compound tenses use être. Je suis allé, never j'ai allé. The participle agrees with the subject — elle est allée, ils sont allés. This is the maison-d'être agreement rule.
- "How are you?" uses aller, not être. Comment ça va, not comment es-tu. Aller is also the verb for clothing fit (cette robe te va) and for general well-being (il va bien).
The motion meaning otherwise lines up cleanly with English to go, including the same elasticity (aller au cinéma = "go to the cinema," aller mieux = "go better / improve").
Common Mistakes
Mistake 1: Adding a preposition before the infinitive in the futur proche.
❌ Je vais à partir demain.
Wrong — futur proche is aller + bare infinitive, no preposition.
✅ Je vais partir demain.
I'm going to leave tomorrow.
Mistake 2: Using avoir as auxiliary in compound tenses.
❌ J'ai allé au marché.
Wrong — aller is a maison-d'être verb. Use être.
✅ Je suis allé au marché.
I went to the market.
Mistake 3: Forgetting subject agreement with the participle.
❌ Elle est allé en Espagne.
Wrong — with être as auxiliary, the participle agrees: elle est allée.
✅ Elle est allée en Espagne.
She went to Spain.
Mistake 4: Using être for "how are you?"
❌ Comment es-tu aujourd'hui ?
Wrong for the daily greeting — French uses aller (to go), not être.
✅ Comment vas-tu aujourd'hui ? / Ça va ?
How are you today?
Mistake 5: Using the wrong preposition with countries.
❌ Je vais à Japon.
Wrong — masculine country takes au, not à.
✅ Je vais au Japon.
I'm going to Japan.
❌ Je vais en États-Unis.
Wrong — plural country takes aux.
✅ Je vais aux États-Unis.
I'm going to the United States.
Key takeaways
Aller is the verb to go — and far more. It is the only irregular verb in the -er class, with a present-tense paradigm (vais — vas — va — allons — allez — vont) drawn from three different Latin roots. Its futur and conditionnel use the surprising stem ir-.
The four core uses are motion (je vais à Paris), futur proche (je vais partir — going to), health and well-being (ça va, je vais bien), and clothing fit / abstract direction (cette robe te va). The futur proche dominates spoken French; you will use it constantly.
In compound tenses, aller takes être as auxiliary and the participle agrees with the subject: je suis allé(e), elles sont allées. The construction je vais + infinitive expresses an imminent or planned future without any preposition between the two verbs.
Memorize the paradigms cold; reread the idiom list; use the page as a lookup. Aller is one of the verbs you cannot avoid in French — and after être and avoir, it is the third pillar of the present-tense system.
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