The verb "to go" and how to conjugate it
The verb "aller" is one of the most frequent and versatile verbs in French. It is used to talk about movement, future projects, or even in common expressions like “aller à” to form the near future. But behind its apparent simplicity, it hides an irregular conjugation that must be mastered fully. In this article, we take a look at its main forms in the present, past, and future, with concrete examples to better understand how to use it in different contexts.
In English, the verb “aller” is used very often. In French, it mostly corresponds to “to go”, which means to move from one place to another, as in the following examples:
Nous devons aller au magasin à 15h. → We must go to the shops at 3 p.m
La femme va tous les jours à la piscine avant le travail. → The woman goes swimming every day before work.
At Wall Street English, our English courses will help you learn how to conjugate the verb “to go” in the main tenses and use it naturally in your English sentences.
The Verb “aller” in the Present
Here's how "aller" is conjugated in the present tense in French:
Je vais
Tu vas
Il va
Nous allons
Vous allez
Ils vont
Examples:
L’enfant va chez lui pour jouer. → The child goes to his house to play.
Nous allons au zoo tous les ans. → We go to the zoo every year.
The Verb “aller” in the Future
Near Future in French
Quick reminder: In French, to talk about the near future, we conjugate aller in the present followed by an infinitive verb.
Example:
Je vais téléphoner à mon amie pour les devoirs.
Note ! In English, we use be + going to + verb (infinitive)
Examples:
Maria is going to go play in the park this afternoon. → Maria va jouer dans le parc cet après-midi.
They are going to read a new book. → Ils vont lire un nouveau livre.
She is going to ride her bike tonight. → Elle va faire du vélo ce soir.
Using the verb "aller" to Express the Future
Don’t worry about the future in French!
Just add the verb “aller” between the subject and the verb:
Je vais aller
Tu vas aller
Il va aller
Nous allons aller
Vous allez aller
Ils vont aller
Examples:
Vont-ils aller au festival de musique si leur voiture est en panne ? → Will they go to the music festival if their car doesn’t work?
Ils iront au restaurant avec leurs enfants. → They will go to the restaurant with their children.
The Verb “aller” in the Simple Past
When using the simple past, you just conjugate the verb.
Be careful: "aller" is an irregular verb and requires the verb “être” before it in the past.
Je suis allé
Tu es allé
Il est allé
Nous sommes allés
Vous êtes allés
Ils sont allés
Examples:
Il est sorti pour trouver un dentiste. → He went out to find a dentist.
Les chiens sont sortis mais sont vite rentrés. → The dogs went out but quickly came back in.
The Verb “aller” in the Present Perfect and Past Perfect
The present perfect and past perfect are both used to talk about past events, but with a nuance:
Present Perfect: an action that started in the past and is still connected to the present
Past Perfect: an action that happened before another past event
Conjugation Table:
Tense Conjugation
Present Perfect: I have gone, You have gone... Past Perfect: I had gone, You had gone...
Examples:
Ils sont rentrés. → They have/they’ve gone inside.
Vous étiez partis quand je suis arrivé. → You had gone away when I arrived.
Sentence Constructions with “Aller”
Most often with go, we use “aller” to indicate the destination:
Martin va au travail avec son camarade de classe. → Martin is going to work with his classmate.
Je vais au magasin pour du lait. → I’m going to the shops for some milk.
Les enfants vont dans le parc pour jouer. → The children are going to the park to play.