Learn French: Mes amis vont à la mer. - My friends are going to the sea.

Vont is the form of the verb aller (to go) that matches with ils or elles (they). Because Mes amis (my friends) is a plural group, it acts just like ils, so we use the "they" form of the verb.

The English translation says "are going", but where is the word for "are" in French?

In French, you do not need a separate word for "are" when talking about an action happening right now. The present tense covers both versions in English! The single word vont translates to both "go" and "are going".

How do you pronounce Mes amis?

You pronounce it like "may zah-mee". Normally, the "s" at the end of Mes (my) is silent. But because the next word, amis, starts with a vowel, that "s" wakes up and makes a "z" sound to connect the two words. This linking sound is called a liaison.

Why do we say à la here?

The word à means "to" or "at". In French, you usually need to include "the" before a noun. Since mer (sea) is a feminine word, we use the feminine "the", which is la, giving us à la mer (to the sea).