Learn French: Je vais à l'université demain. - I am going to the university tomorrow.

Je vais à l'université demain.

I am going to the university tomorrow.

Breakdown of Je vais à l'université demain.

at / to / in (general locations) / about (what one thinks about / reacts to)

Questions & Answers about Je vais à l'université demain.

Why is it à l' here instead of a combined word like au?

This lesson teaches that à + le makes au. However, université starts with a vowel, so its article becomes l' instead of le or la. The preposition à never merges with l', so they simply stay separate as à l'.

Why isn't there a word for 'am' to make 'am going'?

French does not have a direct equivalent to the English 'am doing' form. The single phrase Je vais means both 'I go' and 'I am going'. You never need to add the French word for 'am' (suis) before an action verb like this.

Can I use the present tense Je vais for something happening demain (tomorrow)?

Yes! Just like in English, you can use the present tense in French to talk about planned future events. Adding a time word like demain is enough to show that the action is happening in the future.

Is the 's' at the end of vais silent here?

Not in this sentence. Usually, the 's' in vais is silent. But because the very next word (à) starts with a vowel, you link the words together when speaking. This connection is called a liaison, and it makes the 's' sound like a 'z' (pronounced roughly as 'vay-zah').