Learn French Conjugation: The Irregular Verb Aller

Conjugation

Why Aller Matters

Aller is the third most frequent verb in French, after être and avoir. Its primary meaning is to go, and it appears in almost every conversation about movement, destinations, or plans.

The verb is irregular. Its stems shift between forms, and the pattern cannot be predicted from the infinitive. It also plays a second role: combined with an infinitive, aller builds the near future tense, which makes it one of the most useful verbs in the language.

Aller in the Present Tense

Pronoun	Form	Pronunciation	English
je	vais	vay	I go
tu	vas	vah	you go (informal)
il / elle / on	va	vah	he, she, one goes
nous	allons	ah-lon	we go
vous	allez	ah-lay	you go (formal or plural)
ils / elles	vont	von (nasal)	they go

Expressing Destinations with Aller

Aller is followed by the preposition à when the destination is a city, a place, or a building. The two words contract when the destination includes a definite article.

Je vais à Paris. — I am going to Paris
Je vais au marché. — I am going to the market
Nous allons aux États-Unis. — We are going to the United States
Elle va à la boulangerie. — She is going to the bakery

The feminine article la does not contract, so à la boulangerie keeps the preposition and article separate. Only le and les trigger contractions to au and aux.

The Near Future with Aller

The most distinctive feature of aller is its role as an auxiliary for the near future. Conjugated in the present tense and followed by an infinitive, it expresses an imminent or planned action.

Je vais manger. — I am going to eat
Tu vas partir. — You are going to leave
Nous allons travailler. — We are going to work
Ils vont arriver. — They are going to arrive

The construction corresponds to the English going to and covers the same range of contexts. Only the conjugated aller changes with the subject, while the infinitive stays the same for every pronoun.

Stem Irregularities and Liaison

The verb uses three distinct stems across the six forms. Vais, vas, and va share the v- stem. Allons and allez use the infinitive stem all-. Vont returns to the v- stem without the vowel ending of the singular forms.

The plural pronouns also trigger obligatory liaison when the verb begins with a vowel. Nous allons is pronounced noo-zal-on, and vous allez is pronounced voo-zal-ay. The s in nous and vous links to the vowel-initial stem, following the same pattern that governs vous avez and nous aimons.

Examples

Je vais à Paris.

Vais is the first-person singular form. The destination takes à because Paris has no article.

Tu vas au marché.

Vas is the second-person singular form. À contracts with le to form au.

Il va à la boulangerie.

Va is the third-person singular form. Feminine la does not contract with à.

Nous allons aux États-Unis.

Allons uses the infinitive stem. The plural destination triggers the contraction aux.

Vous allez à Lyon.

Allez is the second-person plural or formal form. The verb keeps the infinitive stem.

Ils vont à l'école.

The Irregular Verb Aller (Le verbe aller au présent)

What you’ll learn

Conjugation

Why Aller Matters

Aller in the Present Tense

Expressing Destinations with Aller

The Near Future with Aller

Stem Irregularities and Liaison

Watch out for these

Examples

Exercises

What you’ll learn

Conjugation

Why Aller Matters

Aller in the Present Tense

Expressing Destinations with Aller

The Near Future with Aller

Stem Irregularities and Liaison

Examples

Exercises

Related lessons