4.2 The Verb Aller

The verb aller is irregular in the present tense. In the nous and vous forms liaison occurs; the “s” of the pronoun is linked to the following vowel sound and pronounced like a [z].

The Singular Form of the Verb Aller
Person French English
1st person Je vais I go
2nd person Tu vas You go
3rd person Il va
Elle va
On va		 He/it goes
She/it goes
One/we goes
The Plural Form of the Verb Aller
Person French English
1st person Nous allons We go
2nd person Vous allez You go (formal or plural)
3rd person Ils vont
Elles  vont		 They (masculine) go
They (feminine) go

To Go Somewhere

To express that you are going somewhere in French, you must use the correct form of the present tense of the verb aller and the preposition à:

aller + à + place

The  preposition à must change form before the masculine definite or plural definite article that accompanies the noun (place). The various combinations of à + aller are as follows:

  • aller + à (no definite article) + city
Nous allons à Toronto.
  • aller + à la + feminine, singular place
Tu vas à la bibliothèque.
  • aller + au (à + le) + masculine, singular place
On va au café.
  • aller + à l’+ place that begins with a vowel or a silent h
Vous allez à l’aéroport.
  • aux + plural place, masculine or feminine
Maria va aux Etats-Unis.

Exercice 3: Let’s go!

Part One

Decide which of the above à + aller + place combinations you need for each place below.

Modèle: église / aller à l’église
  1. aéroport
  2. hôtel
  3. magasin
  4. salon
  5. banque
  6. cinéma
  7. pharmacie
  8. cuisine
  9. parc
  10. marché
  11. bibliothèque
  12. supermarché
  13. café
  14. classe
  15. Paris
  16. gare
  17. théâtre
  18. restaurant

Part Two

Translate each sentence. Use the correct form of aller and the preposition à.

Modèle: You (formal) are going to the hospital. / Vous allez a l’hopital.
  1. We are going to the movies.
  2. They are going to the bank.
  3. I am going to the university.
  4. Is she going to the park?
  5. You (familiar, singular) are going to the pharmacy.
  6. Claude and I are going to Paris.
  7. He is going to the café.
  8. You (plural) are going to the restaurant.
  9. Paul and I are going to the library.
  10. Marie, Claire, Anne and Luc are going to the airport.
  11. They are going to the office.
  12. Marie and Michel are going to Quebec City.

Exercice 5: Où vont-ils ?

Conjugate the verb and combine the elements qui et où (who and where) with the correct form of the preposition à to indicate in a phrase (sentence) where each person is going. Remember that the preposition à must change form before the masculine definite or plural definite article.

Fill in the Blanks

Où vont-ils?
QUI OÙ PHRASE
Jacques la banque Jacques va à la banque.
Nous la gare [Blank – Phrase #1]
Tu l’université [Blank – Phrase #2]
Mes frères l’école [Blank – Phrase #3]
Je la mosquée [Blank – Phrase #4]
Vous le restaurant [Blank – Phrase #5]
Charles et Sylvie la bibliothèque [Blank – Phrase #6]
Ma mère et moi l’église [Blank – Phrase #7]
Luc Montréal [Blank – Phrase #8]
Mon père le café [Blank – Phrase #9]
Je le musée [Blank – Phrase #10]
Christophe et Paul le supermarché [Blank – Phrase #11]
Tu le jardin public [Blank – Phrase #12]
Yasmine la librairie [Blank – Phrase #13]
Ton ami et toi le cinéma [Blank – Phrase #14]

This section includes content derived from Liberté, originally released under CC BY-NC-SA.

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Introduction to French Copyright © 2017 by Rita Palacios Ph.D. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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