In this French grammar lesson, you will learn about aller conjugation in the present tense.
In this lesson you will learn about:
- how aller is conjugated in French,
- how aller is used in French,
- how aller is pronounced in French,
- how aller is used in sentences in French,
- how you can quiz yourself on aller conjugation in the present tense
- how aller conjugation in the present tense Anki files can be downloaded.
Please refer to the French A1 Curriculum to get a better overview of French grammar, if you are curious about this fits in French A1.
By the end of the lesson you will know all about aller conjugation in the present tense!
Table of Contents
Aller Conjugation in the Present Tense
| je | vais |
| tu | vas |
| il/elle/on | va |
| nous | allons |
| vous | allez |
| ils/elles | vont |
Usage of Aller
This section on aller conjugation will show you how aller is used in French, as well as the rules for contractions.
Aller means “to go” and is an irregular verb.
Aller is used to indicate that one is going somewhere. This is similar to how “to go” is used in English.
Je vais à l’université.
I am going to university.
You may notice that after the “vais” there is the letter “à“.
This means “to”.
When you want to say that you are going somewhere you must use:
- aller + à
However, this “à” may change its form depending on which article comes after it.
There are three important rules to take into account when you want to use aller
- If the article after “à” is la then nothing changes.
la plage
the beach
Je vais à la plage
I am going to the beach
As you can see plage is feminine so it uses the article la.
à + la = à la
- If the article after “à” is le then this contracts to au.
le cinéma
the cinema
Je vais au cinéma ce soir
I am going to the cinema this evening
The noun cinéma is masculine in French so it takes the article le. As the article after “à” is le, it contracts to au.
à + le = au
- If the article after “à” is les then this transforms into aux.
les toilettes
the toilet
Je vais aux toilettes
I’m going to the bathroom
The noun toilettes is plural here so it takes the articles les. When “à” is followed by les, it transforms into aux.
à + les = aux
Here are the contractions again to have a better overview:
à + la = à la
à + le = au
à + les = aux
It is fine if you don’t remember everything at once.
As you proceed, you will encounter a lesson on contractions.
In that lesson this concept will be explained in much more detail.
For now all that matters is that you understand that contractions happen, if you want to say that you are going somewhere.
Pronunciation of Aller Conjugations
In this section on aller conjugation in the present tense we will focus on pronunciation.
There are 2 important rules to take into account when you want to pronounce an aller conjugation in the present tense.
- The tu and il/elle/on form of the verb have the same pronunciation. It is just the “va” part that gets pronounced.
Tu vas
Il va
These verbs are pronounced in the same exact way.
You don’t pronounce the letters in red.
- If the first letter of the verb is a vowel or a silent “h“, then you must perform a liaison. This happens in the nous, and vous form. This means that the final “s” of nous, and vous, will have a “z” sound.
Nous allons
Vous allez
Please note how the final “s” in all of the subject pronouns sounds like a “z”
Example Sentences with Aller Conjugations
The final section of this lesson on aller conjugation in the present tense is about seeing aller in action.
This is valuable because you can improve your understanding of aller conjugation in the present tense through examples.
Je vais à l’école.
I am going to school.
Je vais à la plage.
I am going to the beach.
Je vais à l’université.
I am going to the university.
Je vais au cinéma ce soir.
I am going to the cinema this evening.
Je vais aux toilettes.
I am going to the bathroom.
Où vas-tu ?
Where are you going?
On y va!
Let’s go!
Nous allons au zoo.
We are going to the zoo.
Vous allez maintenant ?
You are going now?
Ils vont au cinéma.
They are going to the cinema.
Quiz Yourself on Aller Conjugation in the Present Tense
It’s not enough to just read this lesson.
You should test your knowledge to see if you really understood everything, and to be able to repeat the material.
It is also for this reason that it is recommended to download the Anki Decks and practice them.
At the end of every lesson you can do a small test.
You will see the sentences of the previous chapter. It is up to you to give the correct answer.
You will either need to fill in the blanks, choose the correct multiple choice option, or both.
Once you are done the correct answer will be shown.
You can redo the quiz as many times as you want!
Anki File for Aller Conjugation in the Present Tense
It is important to do the Anki exercises for this lesson so that you can better remember what you just studied.
By downloading the Anki File for French A1, you can practice every French A1 lesson that is on Language Atlas.
You can also choose to just get the Anki File for French A1 Verbs. This only has the verbs for French A1.
If you don’t know why you should use Anki, or if you don’t know what Anki is, then please click here.
Anki can be downloaded from here.
