Nous allons dîner chez elle ce soir.

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Breakdown of Nous allons dîner chez elle ce soir.

• aller: to go
• ce soir: tonight
• dîner: to have dinner

Questions & Answers about Nous allons dîner chez elle ce soir.

Why does French use allons dîner here instead of a simple future form like dînerons?

Nous allons dîner is the near future: aller + infinitive. It often sounds natural when talking about something planned or expected to happen soon.

So:

• Nous allons dîner chez elle ce soir = we’re going to have dinner at her place tonight
• Nous dînerons chez elle ce soir = we will have dinner at her place tonight

Both are correct. The version with aller + infinitive is very common in everyday French and often feels a bit more immediate or conversational.

Why is dîner in the infinitive form?

Because after aller in this future construction, French uses an infinitive.

Pattern:

• aller + infinitive

Examples:

• Je vais partir = I’m going to leave
• Nous allons manger = We’re going to eat
• Ils vont arriver = They’re going to arrive

So in Nous allons dîner, allons is the conjugated verb, and dîner stays in the infinitive.

Does dîner always mean to have dinner?