Have you ever meant to run an errand, but life got in the way? To express what you "were going to" do, use the verb aller (to go) in the imperfect tense (l'imparfait), followed by the infinitive of the intended action.
| Subject | Aller (Imparfait) |
|---|---|
| je / j' | allais |
| tu | allais |
| il / elle / on | allait |
| nous | allions |
| vous | alliez |
| ils / elles | allaient |
| I was going to withdraw money, but the ATM is out of order. | J'allais retirer de l'argent, mais le distributeur est en panne. |
| We were going to look for an ATM, but we got lost. | Nous allions chercher un distributeur, mais nous nous sommes perdus. |
Explaining the setback
This structure is almost always paired with an excuse. You will usually see it followed by a conjunction like mais (but) or par contre (however) to explain exactly why the action didn't happen.
| the setback | le contretemps |
| He was going to mail the package, but he had a setback. | Il allait poster le colis, mais il a eu un contretemps. |
| swamped | débordé |
| I was going to do the laundry, but I am really swamped! | J'allais faire la lessive, mais je suis vraiment débordé ! |
Missed schedules and appointments
Use this exact same pattern to explain away missed appointments, closing times, or postponed plans.
| You were going to see the dentist, but you postponed the appointment. | Tu allais voir le dentiste, mais tu as reporté le rendez-vous. |
| They were going to drop by there before closing, but they had a problem. | Ils allaient y passer avant la fermeture, mais ils ont eu un problème. |
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