Aller conjugation in French

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The French verb aller means to go and is one of the most common verbs in the French language. The conjugation of aller in the present tense is: Je vais (I go), tu vas (You go, familiar), il, elle va (He, she goes), nous allons (We go), vous allez (You go, plural and formal) and ils, elles vont (They go).

Aller (to go) - French verb - Conjugation tables in 12 tenses with 100+ audio clips.

Aller is also one of the top irregular verbs in French. This means that the conjugation pattern of aller in the present tense is different to other regular verbs in the -er verb category. Aller is used in sentences having to do with “going”, expressions and greetings such as “ça va?” (How’s it going) and the near future tense where it’s used as an auxiliary verb.

Aller conjugation charts

Present tense aller

The following table shows aller conjugated in the present tense. In French, “Je vais” translates to “I go” and “I am going”.

Aller conjugation - present tense	English	Example sentence	English
Je vais	I go	Je vais à l'école.	I go to the school.
Tu vas	You go (familiar)	Tu vas au magasin.	You go to the store.
Il, elle, on va	He, she, one goes	Elle va au travail.	She goes to work.
Nous allons	We go	Nous allons au parc.	We go to the park.
Vous allez	You go (plural, formal)	Vous allez à la bibliothèque.	You go to the library.
Ils, elles vont	They go	Ils vont au restaurant.	They go to the restaurant.

Passé composé

When conjugated in the passé composé, aller uses the auxiliary verb être. This is because aller is an intransitive verb, meaning that the the subject and the object are one in the same.

Aller passé composé	English	French example	English
Je suis allé(e)	I went	Je suis allé à l'université.	I went to the university.
Tu es allé(e) (familiar)	You went	Tu es allé à Paris.	You went to Paris.
Il, elle, on est allé(e)	He she, one went	Il est allé au Canada.	He went to Canada.
Nous sommes allé(e)s	We went	Nous sommes allés au magasin.	We went to the store.
Vous êtes allé(e)(s) (plural, formal)	You went	Vous êtes allés en France.	You (plural) went to France.
Ils, elles sont allé(e)s	They went	Elles sont allées au magasin.	They went to the store.

Imperfect tense

In the imparfait (imperfect tense), j’allais translates to both “I used to go” and “I was going”. This is in contrast to the passé composé where “Je suis allé” indicates “I went” at a specific moment in time.

Aller imperfect	English	French example	English
J'allais	I used to go, was going	J'allais à l'église quand j'étais un enfant.	I used to go to church when I was a child.
Tu allais (familiar)	You used to go, were going	Tu allais à l'école avec ton frère.	You used to go to school with your brother.
Il, elle allait	He, she, one used to go, was going	Elle y allait trois fois par an.	She used to go three times per year.
Nous allions	We used to go, were going	Nous allions en France aux années 80.	We used to go to France in the 1980s.
Vous alliez (plural, fomral)	You used to go, were going	Vous alliez au restaurant avant la pandémie.	You used to go to the restaurant before the pandemic.
Ils, elles allaient	They used to go, were going	Ils y allaient de temps en temps.	They used to go (there) from time to time.

Le futur proche

The futur proche, or near future tense is used to express actions in the future which are expected to occur will occur with a high level of certainty. The futur proche is compound tense, meaning that it is formed with to components: The present tense of aller as an auxiliary verb and the infinitive of aller. Hence, “Je vais aller” translates to both “I’m going to go” and “I will go”.

Aller near future	English	French example	English
Je vais aller	I'm going to go	Je vais aller aux toilettes.	I'm going go to the bathroom.
Tu vas aller (informal)	You're going to go	Tu vas aller à la banque.	You're going to go to the bank.
Il, elle, on va aller	He, she one is going to go	Elle va aller au magasin.	She's going to go to the store.
Nous allons aller	We're going to go	Nous allons aller au concert.	We're going to go to the concert.
Vous allez aller (plural, formal)	You're going to go	Vous allez aller à l'école.	You're going to go to school.
Ils, elles vont aller	They're going to go	Ils vont aller à l'église.	They're going to go to church.

Simple future

The futur simple, or simple future is another French future tense. The difference between the futur simple and the futur proche is that the futur simple suggests a slightly less degree of certainty. It is called the futur “simple” because it is only comprised of one word and not two like the futur proche. To conjugated aller in the futur simple, add the appropriate endings to the irregular stem -ir.

Aller futur simple	English	French example	English
J'irai	I will go	J'irai en France.	I will go to France.
Tu iras (familiar)	You will go	Tu iras au Mexique.	You will go to Mexico.
Il, elle, on ira	He, she, one will go	Elle ira au Japon.	She will go to Japan.
Nous irons	We will go	Nous irons à Chamonix.	We will go to Chamonix.
Vous irez (plural, formal)	You will go	Vous irez en Argentine.	You will go to Argentina.
Ils, elles iront	They will go	Ils iront à Paris.	They will go to Paris.

Conditional

The conditionnel or conditional is used to describe hypothetical or “would” situations. It is formed by adding the conditional ending to the same -ir stem that is used for the futur simple. “J’irais” translates to “I would go”. The conditional is often combined with the imperfect to form “if…then” scenario sentences. For example, “J’irais en France si j’avais assez de temps.” (I’d go to France If I had enough time).

Aller conditional	English	Example sentence	English
J'irais	I would go	J'irais au Canda si la frontière était ouverte.	I would go to Canada if the border were open.
Tu irais (familiar)	You would go	Tu irais au Japon si tu parlais le japonais.	You would go to Japan if you spoke Japanese.
Il, elle, on irait	He, she, one would go	Il irait en Espagne s'il avait plus d'argent.	He would go to Spain if he had more money.
Nous irions	We would go	Nous irions avec vous mais ce n'est pas possible.	We would go with you but it's not possible.
Vous iriez (plural, formal)	You would go	Vous iriez au Québec mais il fait froid en ce moment.	You would go to Quebec but it's too cold now.
Ils, elles iraient	They would go	Ils iraient avec nous mais nous ne partons pas.	They would go with us but we are not leaving.

Imperative

The imperatif or imperative is the tense that’s used for giving both positive and negative commands. In addition to the context of actually “going”, the French use expressions with aller in the imperative to mean “go ahead”, as in “you go first” when speaking in a conversation or waiting in line. We’ll see some example sentences with this usage in the table below. In the examples below “y” means there.

Affirmative imperative

Aller affirmative imperative	English	Example	English
Va! (tu form, familiar)	Go!	Vas-y!	Go ahead!
Allons!	Let's go!	Allons-y!	Let's go
Allez! (plural, formal)	Go!	Allez-y!	Go ahead!

Negative imperative

Aller negative imperative	English	Example	English
Ne va pas!	Don't go!	N'y va pas!	Don't go there!
N'allons pas!	Let's not go!	N'y allons pas!	Let's not go there!
N'allez pas!	Don't go!	N'y allez pas!	Don't go there!

Subjunctive

The subjonctif or subjunctive is used for expressing wish, emotions and doubts. For example, “Je veux que tu ailles” means “I want you to go”. In this sentence, the verb “ailles” appears in the subjunctive form because 1) There are two subjects separated by “que” and 2) The sentence has an element of wish or desire.

Aller subjunctive	English	Example sentence	English
que j'aille	that I go	Il faut que j'aille en France.	I have to go to France.
que tu ailles (familiar)	that you go	Je veux que tu ailles à Paris.	I want you to go to Paris.
qu'il, elle aille	that he, she goes	Il faut qu'elle aille avant nous.	She has to go before us.
que nous allions	that we go	Ils veulent que nous allions avant Noël.	They want us to go before Christmas.
que vous alliez (formal, plural)	that you go	Il faut que vous alliez d'ici la fin de l'année.	You need to go before the end of the year.
qu'ils, elles aillent	That they go	Nous voulons qu'ils y aillent avant nous.	We want them to go there before us.

Reflexive verb s’en aller

The reflexive verb s’en aller means to leave or to be off, or on one’s way. In spoken French, it’s often used in the present tense to announce departure. In the the affirmative imperative s’en aller is used to mean “scram” or “get out of here”. For example, “Va t’en!” is “Scram!” in the familiar form and “Allez vous-en!” is “Scram!” in the plural or formal form.

S'en aller present tense	English	French example	English
Je m'en vais	I'm off, am leaving	Salut tout le monde! Je m'en vais!	Bye everybody! I'm leaving!
Tu t'en vas (familiar)	You're off, are leaving	Pourquoi est-ce que t'en vas?	Whey are you leaving?
Il, elle, on s'en va	He, she, one is off, is leaving	Je pense qu'elle s'en va.	I think she's leaving.
Nous nous en allons	We're off, are leaving	C'est la fin de la soirée. Nous nous en allons.	The evening is over. We're leaving.
Vous vous en allez (plural, formal)	You're off, are leaving	Est-ce que vous vous en allez?	Are you leaving?
Ils, elles s'en vont	They're off, are leaving	Ils s'en vont avant nous.	They're leaving before us.

Plus-que-parfait

The plus-que-parfait (pluperfect) is used to describe a past action that occurred prior to another past action. For the verb aller, the plus-que-parfait is formed by combining the verb être (to be) in the imperfect with the past participle. Hence, “J’étais allé(e)” means “I had gone” or “I’d gone”.

Aller plus-que-parfait	English	French example	English
J'étais allé(e)	I had gone	Je ne suis pas allé hier parce que j'étais allé mardi.	I didn't go yesterday because I'd gone Tuesday.
Tu étais allé(e) (familiar)	You had gone	Tu n'est pas allé à midi parce que tu étais allé ce matin.	You didn't go at noon because you'd gone this morning.
Il, elle, on était allé(e)	He, she, one had gone	Elle n'est pas aller en november parce qu'elle était allée en octobre.	She didn't go in November because she had gone in October.
Nous étions allé(e)s	We had gone	Nous ne sommes pas allés en 2019 parce que nous étions allés en 2018.	We didn't go in 2019 because we'd gone in 2018.
Vous étiez allé(e)(s) (plural, formal)	You had gone	Vous n'êtes pas allé avec Marie parce que vous étiez allé avec Sylvie.	You didn't go with Marie because you'd gone with Sylvie.
Ils, elles étaient allé(e)s	They had gone	Ils ne sont pas allés en 2005 parce qu'ils étaient allés en 2004.	They didn't go in 2005 because they'd gone in 2004.

Futur antérieur

The futur antérieur or past future describes actions that will have occurred in the future. It is a compound tense, formed by combing être (to be) in the futur simple with the past participle of aller. Hence, “Je serai allé(e)” means I would have gone.

Aller futur antérieur	English	Example sentence	English
Je serai allé(e)	I will have gone	Je serai allé avant 18h00.	I will have gone before 6.00pm.
Tu seras allé(e) (familiar)	You will have gone	Tu seras allé d'ici la fin du mois.	You will have gone by the end of the month.
Il, elle, on sera allé(e)	He, she, one will have gone	Il sera allé avant Martin.	He will have gone before Martin.
Nous serons allé(e)s	We will have gone	Nous serons allés avant l'autre famille.	We will have gone before the other family.
Vous serez allé(e)(s) (plural, formal)	You will have gone	Vous serez allés avant tout le monde.	You will have gone before everybody.
Ils, elles seront allé(e)s	They will have gone	Ils seront allés avant Noël.	They will have gone before Christmas.

Past conditional

The passé du conditionnel or past conditional is used to express regrets for actions which did or did not happen. It is formed by combining être in the present conditional as an auxiliary (helping) verb with the past participle of aller.

Hence, “Je serais allé(e)” means “I would have gone” and “Je ne serais pas allé(e)” means “I wouldn’t have gone”. In the example sentences below, we combine the plus-que-parfait with the past conditional to create anteriority.

Aller past conditinal	English	Example sentence	English
Je serais allé(e)	I would have gone	Je serais allé si j'avais eu assez le temps.	I would have gone if I'd had enough time.
Tu serais allé(e) (familiar)	You would have gone	Tu serais allé si tu avais eu assez d'argent.	You would have gone if you'd had enough money.
Il, elle serait allé(e)	He, she would have gone	Il ne serais pas allé s'il avait su la vérité.	He wouldn't have gone if he'd known the truth.
Nous serions allé(e)s	We would have gone	Nous serions allés si avions eu une voiture.	We would have gone if we'd had a car.
Vous seriez allé(e)(s) (formal, plural)	You would have gone	Vous seriez allé si vous aviez eu un billet.	You would have gone if you'd had a ticket.
Ils, elles seraient allé(e)s	They would have gone	Ils seraient allés s'ils avaient plus de temps libre.	They would have gone if they'd had more free time.

Simple past

The passé simple is a literary past tense that equates grammatically to the passé composé. While not necessary to memorize, it’s important to recognize the passé simple when reading. For the purpose of reading literature, it’s important to recognize il/elle alla (he/she went) as well as ils/elles allèrent (they went).

Aller passé simple	English	French example	English
J'allai	I went	J'allai avec vous.	I went with you.
Tu allas (familiar)	You went	Tu allas à Lille.	You went to Lille.
Il, elle alla	He, she went	Elle alla à la banque.	She went to the bank.
Nous allâmes	We went	Nous allâmes au stade.	We went to the stadium.
Vous allâtes (formal, plural)	You went	Vous allâtes au concert.	You went to the concert.
Ils, elles allèrent	They went	Ils allèrent en Pologne.	They went to Poland.

Uses of aller

The verb aller appears in various expressions and circumstances where you would not expect to see the verb “to go”.

Going places

The most basic and common usage of pertains to going places. Here are some examples.

Je vais à la piscine. I’m going to the pool.
Nous allons à la fête. We’re going to the party.
Vous allez au cinéma. You’re going to the movies.

French greetings

Aller is used extensively in French greetings. In English, we use “How’s it going?” as a near equivalent. Here are the most common French greetings which use aller.

Ça va? How’s it going? (infomral)
Comment ça va? How’s it going? (Tiny bit more formal)
Comment vas-tu? How are you? (infomral)
Comment allez-vous? How are you? (formal)

Near future tense

Aller is also used as an auxiliary (helping) verb to form the futur proche, or near future tense. This tense is considered a “compound tense” because it’s comprised of two components: a helping verb verb and an infinitive. The near future tense is the “going to” tense. Here are some examples.