4.4 The Verb Aller
Vocabulary
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.
| 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 goes/we go |
| 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:
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
- aller + à la + feminine, singular place
- aller + au (à + le) + masculine, singular place
- aller + à l’+ place that begins with a vowel or a silent h
- aux + plural place, masculine or feminine
Exercise 3: Let’s go!
Part A
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Part B
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Part C
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Exercise 4: 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.
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This section includes content derived from Liberté, originally released under CC BY-NC-SA.
