Le verbe aller et le futur proche
Read. Notice aller + infinitive expresses something about to happen — like English 'going to'.
Je vais à Paris demain. Nous allons manger au restaurant ce soir. Ils vont travailler tôt. Tu vas venir avec nous ? Elle va chez le médecin cet après-midi.
Demain, je vais visiter la Tour Eiffel. C'est un monument célèbre. Nous allons prendre beaucoup de photos. J'espère que le temps sera beau. Après cela, nous allons nous promener dans les rues de Paris. Il y a beaucoup de choses à voir et à faire. Je suis très excité !
1.Where am I going tomorrow?
2.What are we going to do tonight?
3.What is she going to do this afternoon?
4.What are we going to take many of in Paris?
5.How do I feel about the trip?
aller is irregular — learn the six forms. Then use aller + infinitive to talk about the near future.
aller (to go) is one of the most irregular French verbs — its forms don't look like the infinitive at all, so just memorise them. Once you know aller, you unlock the futur proche (near future): aller (conjugated) + infinitive = "going to [do something]". This is the easiest way to talk about the future in French — much simpler than the full future tense you'll learn later. The key rule: the second verb always stays in the infinitive, and there's no extra word for "to" — "je vais manger" is complete, don't add à.
| Pronoun | aller | English |
|---|---|---|
| je | vais | I go / am going |
| tu | vas | you go |
| il / elle / on | va | he/she/one goes |
| nous | allons | we go |
| vous | allez | you go |
| ils / elles | vont | they go |
Je vais manger.
I'm going to eat.
aller (conjugated) + infinitive — the formula for futur proche.
Nous allons voyager en France.
We're going to travel to France.
Ils vont arriver bientôt.
They're going to arrive soon.
Je vais à Paris.
I'm going to Paris.
aller + place uses à/en/chez — full lesson at A1-12.
The second verb NEVER conjugates — it always stays in the infinitive (-er/-ir/-re form).
English says 'going TO eat' — French has no extra word here. aller + infinitive is complete on its own.
aller is irregular — its stem doesn't come from the infinitive the way regular -er verbs do.
aller + place needs the right preposition
à + city (à Paris), en + feminine country (en France), au + masculine country (au Japon), chez + person (chez le médecin). Full lesson at A1-12 — for now, notice the pattern.
aller also means 'to feel' in fixed expressions
Comment ça va ? / Ça va bien — aller is used idiomatically for wellbeing, unrelated to movement or the future.
The negative sandwich wraps aller, not the infinitive
Je ne vais pas manger (correct) — not je vais ne pas manger. Only the conjugated verb (aller) goes inside ne...pas.
Match each pronoun to its form of aller.
Tap an answer below, then tap the question it belongs to — or tap a question first to pick its slot. Tap a filled slot to send the answer back.
Complete with the correct form of aller + the infinitive shown.
Put the words in the correct order.
Say three things you're going to do this weekend and where you're going, using aller + infinitive.