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Nous allons au café après le boulot.

Nous allons au café après le boulot.
We are going to the café after work.
FromLesson 28inHardcore French

Breakdown of Nous allons au café après le boulot.

nous
we
aller
to go
après
after
au
to the
le boulot
the work
le café
the café

Questions & Answers about Nous allons au café après le boulot.

What does au mean here, and why can’t I say à le?
  • Au is the mandatory contraction of à + le: à + le → au, à + les → aux.
  • No change with feminine or vowel-starting nouns: à la, à l’.
  • Never write à le in standard French.
When would I use aux instead of au?
  • With a plural noun: aux = à + les.
  • Examples: aux toilettes, aux États-Unis, or (rarely) aux cafés if you truly mean several cafés.
Why is it au café and not à un café or dans un café?
  • Au café is the idiomatic way to say you’re going to (some) café; the definite article can be generic.
  • Dans un café emphasizes being inside a café or meeting in some café: e.g., “Shall we meet in a café?”
  • À un café is uncommon with movement; prefer dans un café or stick with au café.
Is café masculine? How can I tell?
  • Yes, café is masculine: le café / un café / au café.
  • There’s no foolproof gender rule, though many -é nouns are masculine. Best to learn it with the noun.
Does aller here express the near future, or just movement?
  • Here aller is the main verb “to go”: you’re going to a place.
  • Near future uses aller + infinitive: Nous allons boire un café (“We’re going to drink a coffee”).
Can I say Nous allons aller au café?
  • It’s grammatically fine (“We’re going to go to the café”) but clunky in everyday speech.
  • More natural: On va au café (informal) or, for a planned/distant future, Nous irons au café.
Why use Nous instead of On?
  • Nous is standard/written and a bit formal.
  • In spoken French, on is the usual “we”: On va au café après le boulot.
  • Remember: on takes third-person singular: on va, not on allons.
Can I start with the time phrase: Après le boulot, nous allons au café?
  • Yes. Fronting time expressions is common. In writing, add a comma after the fronted phrase.
Why is the article le required in après le boulot?
Is boulot informal? What’s a neutral alternative?
  • Boulot is casual. Neutral: travail → après le travail.
  • Slangier: taf. Choose based on the register you want.
How is the sentence pronounced? Any liaisons?
  • Nous allons has a liaison: sounds like “noo zah-lohn.”
  • au like “oh”; café like “ka-fay.”
  • après le: the weak le often becomes very light in fast speech.
  • boulot: “boo-loh” (final t silent).
Does the present tense here mean a one-off plan or a habit?
  • It can be either; context decides.
  • For a habit, add an adverbial: Nous allons au café après le boulot tous les jours / le vendredi.
How do I make this a question or a negative?
What if I mean a more distant or planned future?
Does au mean “to” or “at”?
  • À can mean either; the verb tells you which:
    • With movement verbs (e.g., aller): “to” → aller au café.
    • With location verbs (e.g., être): “at” → être au café.
Does au café refer to a specific café?
  • Not necessarily. The definite article can be generic.
  • To be specific, add detail: au café du coin (“at the local café”) or name it.
How do I say we’re going there to drink coffee?
Can après be followed by a clause?
  • Yes: après que
  • If the subject is the same, use the infinitive perfect: Après avoir fini le boulot, nous allons au café.
AI Language TutorTry it ↗
“How does grammatical gender work in French?”
Every French noun is either masculine or feminine, and this affects the articles and adjectives used with it. "Le" is used with masculine nouns and "la" with feminine ones. Adjectives also change form to match — for example, "petit" (masc.) becomes "petite" (fem.).

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