One of the most used verbs in French, and one of the least regular.
Aller conjugation looks like it belongs to three different verbs: je vais, nous allons, j'irai. Aller means to go, it is one of the most frequent verbs in French, and it is irregular in almost every tense.
Below you will find each common tense of aller in tables or lists, why the passé composé uses être, how aller builds the near future, and the mistakes learners make most often.
The present tense is the one you will use most, and the most irregular. Only nous and vous keep the all- of the infinitive.
| Subject | Aller | Example |
|---|---|---|
| je | vais | Je vais au travail à pied. |
| tu | vas | Tu vas bien ? |
| il, elle, on | va | Elle va chez le médecin. |
| nous | allons | Nous allons à la plage. |
| vous | allez | Vous allez trop vite. |
| ils, elles | vont | Ils vont au cinéma ce soir. |
Aller also asks and answers how someone is: Comment ça va ? Ça va bien, merci.
The present of aller followed by an infinitive gives the near future, the futur proche. It works like going to in English:
Only aller is conjugated; the second verb stays in the infinitive. In the negative, ne and pas go around aller: Je ne vais pas venir. Je vais aller is correct too, and common: Je vais aller à la banque.
Aller is a verb of movement, so its passé composé uses être, not avoir: je suis allé, never j'ai allé. Because the auxiliary is être, the past participle allé agrees with the subject.
The guide to être conjugation gives the present of être you need here. In speech you will also hear j'ai été à Paris for I went to Paris; in writing, je suis allé à Paris is the standard form.
The imparfait is regular: the stem all- with the usual endings.
Use it for habits and backgrounds in the past: Le dimanche, nous allions chez mes grands-parents. With an infinitive, it means you were about to do something: J'allais partir quand tu as appelé.
The plus-que-parfait combines the imparfait of être and allé: j'étais allé, elles étaient allées. To choose between these forms and the passé composé, see the overview of French past tenses.
The future does not start with all- at all: its stem is ir-, followed by the future endings.
The conditional uses the same ir- stem with the imparfait endings: j'irais, tu irais, il irait, nous irions, vous iriez, ils iraient. J'irai (I will go) and j'irais (I would go) sound almost alike, so the meaning of the sentence decides. The guide to the French future tense explains when to use it instead of the futur proche.
The present subjunctive has its own stem, aill-, except for nous and vous:
Il faut que j'aille à la poste. The imperative has three forms: va, allons, allez. Va takes no s, except before y: Vas-y, said to encourage someone or to tell them to go ahead.
Aller is built on several old Latin verbs, which is why its stems look so different. Four of them cover every tense:
| Stem | Where it appears | Example |
|---|---|---|
| v- | present: je, tu, il and ils | je vais, ils vont |
| all- | present with nous and vous, imparfait, past participle | nous allons, j'allais, allé |
| ir- | future and conditional | j'irai, j'irais |
| aill- | subjunctive, except nous and vous | que j'aille |
In literature you will also meet the passé simple, on the all- stem: il alla, ils allèrent.
Je vais, nous allons, ils vont in the present; je suis allé with être and an agreeing participle; j'allais, j'irai, j'irais, que j'aille. Add an infinitive to the present and you have the futur proche. These forms are easy to read and easy to miswrite, which is why hearing them in a dictation, as Apostrophe· has you do, helps fix the spelling.
What is aller in the present tense?
Je vais, tu vas, il va, nous allons, vous allez, ils vont. Only nous and vous keep the all- of the infinitive.
Is aller conjugated with être or avoir in the passé composé?
With être: je suis allé, elle est allée, ils sont allés. The past participle agrees with the subject.
What is the future tense of aller?
J'irai, tu iras, il ira, nous irons, vous irez, ils iront. The stem is ir-, the same as in the conditional, j'irais.
How do you form the futur proche with aller?
Conjugate aller in the present and add an infinitive: je vais manger, nous allons partir. It is the everyday way to talk about the near future.
Why is it vas-y and not va-y?
The imperative va takes an s before y, so the two words are easy to say together. Without y, it stays va: va à l'école.
Apostrophe· reads you a sentence, corrects it word by word, and explains the exact rule behind each mistake.
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