Learn French: Je vais au cinéma demain. - I am going to the movie theater tomorrow.

Je vais au cinéma demain.

I am going to the movie theater tomorrow.

Breakdown of Je vais au cinéma demain.

le cinéma

the movie theater / the cinema

to the / at the (masculine singular)

aller

to go

Questions & Answers about Je vais au cinéma demain.

Why is it vais? Isn't the verb for 'to go' aller?

Yes, the dictionary form of the verb is aller, but it is highly irregular. Je vais is the matched form for 'I go' or 'I am going'. Because it doesn't follow normal verb rules, you just have to memorize this form!

Does Je vais mean 'I go' or 'I am going'?

It means both! French doesn't have a separate tense for actions happening right now like English does with 'am -ing'. You use the regular present tense Je vais whether you mean 'I go to the movies every week' or 'I am going to the movies tomorrow'.

Why is the word au used before cinéma?

The word au is a mandatory combination of à (to) and le (the). Because cinéma is a masculine word, you might expect to say à le cinéma, but French requires those two words to always blend together into au.

Can I use the present tense Je vais with a future word like demain (tomorrow)?

Yes! Just like in English, you can use the French present tense to talk about a planned event in the near future, as long as you include a time word like demain to make the timing clear.