# Aller Conjugation — Every Tense of the French Verb “To Go”

> **Aller** means “to go”. Présent: **je vais, tu vas, il va, nous allons, vous allez, ils vont**. It also builds the near future (*je vais manger* — “I’m going to eat”) and it is the verb French uses for health: *comment allez-vous ?*

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Updated: 2026-09-07

## Présent — an -er verb in name only

The infinitive ends in -er, which promises the easiest pattern in French. It does not deliver. Only nous allons and vous allez keep anything of the infinitive; the rest are built on v-.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je vais | I go |
| tu vas | you go |
| il / elle va | he / she goes |
| nous allons | we go |
| vous allez | you go |
| ils / elles vont | they go |

## The near future — the reason to learn this early

Take the présent of aller, add any verb in its plain infinitive form, and you have the future. That is the whole rule, and it is identical to English “I’m going to…”.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je vais manger | I’m going to eat |
| tu vas partir | you’re going to leave |
| il va pleuvoir | it’s going to rain |
| nous allons voir | we’re going to see |
| vous allez adorer | you’re going to love it |
| ils vont arriver | they’re going to arrive |

**This is what French speakers actually use** — In conversation the futur proche does most of the work the futur simple does on paper. Je vais le faire is far more common in speech than je le ferai. Learn this construction before the futur simple and you can talk about tomorrow with six forms instead of a whole tense.

## How are you? is also this verb

French asks about your health with “to go”, not “to be”. Literally, it asks how you are going.

| French | Register | Means |
|---|---|---|
| comment allez-vous ? | formal | how are you? |
| comment ça va ? | neutral | how’s it going? |
| ça va ? | casual | you OK? |
| ça va, merci | any | I’m fine, thanks |
| ça va bien | any | I’m well |
| ça ne va pas | any | something’s wrong |

Note that ça va works as both the question and the answer, which makes it the single most efficient phrase in French. Said with a rise it asks; said flat it replies.

## Passé composé — with être, and it agrees

Aller is a movement verb, so its past is built with être rather than avoir — and that means the participle agrees with whoever is speaking. The bracketed letters below are the ones you add if the subject is female or plural; they are all silent.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je suis allé(e) | I went / have gone |
| tu es allé(e) | you went / have gone |
| il / elle est allé(e) | he / she went / have gone |
| nous sommes allé(e)s | we went / have gone |
| vous êtes allé(e)(s) | you went / have gone |
| ils / elles sont allé(e)s | they went / have gone |

**Never j’ai allé** — This is one of the most common learner errors in French, because English “I have gone” pushes you straight towards avoir. It is always je suis allé(e).

## Imparfait

Regular for once: from nous allons, drop the -ons, add the endings. J’allais — “I used to go”, or “I was going”.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| j’allais | I used to go / was going |
| tu allais | you used to go / was going |
| il / elle allait | he / she used to go / was going |
| nous allions | we used to go / was going |
| vous alliez | you used to go / was going |
| ils / elles allaient | they used to go / was going |

## Futur simple — a stem out of nowhere

The futur stem is ir-, which shares not one letter with aller. J’irai is “I will go”. It comes from Latin ire, the same root that gave English “itinerary”.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| j’irai | I will go |
| tu iras | you will go |
| il / elle ira | he / she will go |
| nous irons | we will go |
| vous irez | you will go |
| ils / elles iront | they will go |

**Two futures, one verb** — Je vais aller (“I’m going to go”) and j’irai (“I will go”) are both correct. The first is what you will hear; the second is tidier in writing and slightly more distant in feel.

## Conditionnel

Same ir- stem with the imparfait endings. J’irais bien au cinéma — “I’d quite like to go to the cinema”.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| j’irais | I would go |
| tu irais | you would go |
| il / elle irait | he / she would go |
| nous irions | we would go |
| vous iriez | you would go |
| ils / elles iraient | they would go |

## Subjonctif — que j’aille

A fourth stem, aill-, pronounced “eye”. Il faut que j’aille — “I have to go” — is the sentence this form exists for, and it is worth learning whole.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| j’aille | (that) I go |
| tu ailles | (that) you go |
| il / elle aille | (that) he / she go |
| nous allions | (that) we go |
| vous alliez | (that) you go |
| ils / elles aillent | (that) they go |

## Impératif — and the s that comes back

The tu order is va, with no s — the same rule that turns tu parles into parle !

| French | English |
|---|---|
| va ! | go! (to one person you know) |
| allons ! | let’s go! |
| allez ! | go! (formal, or to a group) |

**But vas-y ! puts it back** — Put y or en after the order and the silent s returns, purely so the two words can link: vas-y (“go on!”), manges-en (“have some”). Sound wins over spelling, as usual in French.

Two more you will hear constantly: allons-y (“let’s go”) and on y va (“shall we?” / “let’s go”) — the second is not an imperative at all, but it is what French actually says.

## Plus-que-parfait

The imparfait of être plus the agreeing participle: j’étais allé(e), “I had gone”.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| j’étais allé(e) | I had gone |
| tu étais allé(e) | you had gone |
| il / elle était allé(e) | he / she had gone |
| nous étions allé(e)s | we had gone |
| vous étiez allé(e)(s) | you had gone |
| ils / elles étaient allé(e)s | they had gone |

## FAQ

### How do you conjugate aller in the present tense?

Je vais, tu vas, il / elle va, nous allons, vous allez, ils / elles vont. Despite the -er ending it is irregular, with only the nous and vous forms built on the infinitive.

### How do you form the near future in French?

The présent of aller plus any infinitive: je vais manger (“I’m going to eat”), il va pleuvoir (“it’s going to rain”). It works exactly like the English construction.

### Why is it je suis allé and not j’ai allé?

Because aller is a movement verb, and movement verbs take être in the passé composé. The participle then agrees with the subject: a woman writes je suis allée.

### What is the futur simple of aller?

J’irai, tu iras, il ira, nous irons, vous irez, ils iront. The stem ir- shares no letters with the infinitive — it comes from the Latin verb ire.

### Why does French use aller to ask how you are?

Because it asks how things are going rather than how you are. Comment allez-vous ? is formal; ça va ? is the everyday version, and it doubles as the answer.

### What is the difference between va and vas-y?

Va is the plain order “go”. Adding y brings the silent s back so the words can link: vas-y, “go on”.

### What is the subjunctive of aller?

Que j’aille, que tu ailles, qu’il aille, que nous allions, que vous alliez, qu’ils aillent. The aill- forms are pronounced “eye”.

## Related guides

- Être conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/etre-conjugation
- French verb conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/french-verb-conjugation
- Faire conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/faire-conjugation
- All free French guides: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides