Je vais au magasin avec Marie.

I am going to the store with Marie.

Breakdown of Je vais au magasin avec Marie.

• je: I
• Marie: Marie
• avec: with
• aller: to go
• le magasin: the store
• au: to the

Questions & Answers about Je vais au magasin avec Marie.

Why do we say au magasin instead of à le magasin?

In French, when à (meaning "to" or "at") is followed by le (the masculine definite article), they contract into au. So à le magasin becomes au magasin.

How is vais pronounced in Je vais?

Vais sounds a bit like "veh" in English. The "ai" in French often makes an "eh" sound. So Je vais is pronounced approximately as "zhuh veh."

Why is the verb aller conjugated as vais here?

Aller ("to go") is an irregular verb. In the present tense:
• Je vais (I go)
• Tu vas (You go)
• Il/Elle va (He/She goes)
• Nous allons (We go)
• Vous allez (You all/You formal go)
• Ils/Elles vont (They go)

Could we say Je vais dans le magasin?

You could, but it changes the meaning. Dans le magasin suggests going inside the store, while au magasin means going to the store, generally implying you are heading there, not necessarily focusing on the inside aspect.

Does avec Marie have any special grammatical rules?

Not particularly. Avec simply means "with". So avec Marie is just "with Marie." There's no contraction or special change required for avec plus a name.