Aller expresses primarily movement toward a place. It is used to talk about a person who sets out, enters a place, or heads somewhere: je vais à l’école, nous allons au marché, elle va chez le médecin. The verb indicates the destination, not just the movement. In everyday language, it is very often used to talk about a concrete trip, on foot, by car, by train or by bike.

Going with common destinations

Idea
We use Aller with à for a precise destination.
We use Aller with en for several countries and feminine regions.
We use Aller with au for a masculine place.
We use Aller with dans to enter the inside of a place.
We use Aller with chez for a person or a professional.

With a place noun, Aller is constructed according to the type of destination. We say à before a city, an event or a specific place: aller à Paris, aller à la piscine. We say dans to enter into a closed or bounded space: aller dans le jardin, aller dans la cuisine. We say chez for a person, a professional or a group: aller chez Paul, aller chez le dentiste. With countries and certain regions, we often use en for feminine nouns and au for masculine nouns: aller en France, aller au Canada. For directions and wider locations, this verb also serves to locate movement toward a place, as in Directions et Localisations.

Subject	Infinitive	Conjugation
tu	aller
je	aller
nous	aller
il	aller
ils	aller
vous	aller

Present irregular of Aller

Subject	Infinitive	Conjugation
je	aller	vais
tu	aller	vas
il	aller	va
nous	aller	allons
vous	aller	allez
ils	aller	vont

Scramble

Le present de aller est irrégulier : je vais, tu vas, il, elle, on va, nous allons, vous allez, ils, elles vont. The first three forms are very short and very common. The radical changes several times, so you must learn the whole series. Allons and allez also appear in the imperative, which makes these forms particularly useful. The present is used to talk about an actual movement, a habit or a near intention.

Aller followed by an infinitive

Idea
We use Aller + infinitive to talk about a near future.
This structure is used when the action is already decided.
It is often used for an immediate project.
It can be used with a personal intention.

Aller + infinitif forms the near future. It is used for an action that will occur in an immediate or certain future: je vais manger, nous allons partir, ils vont arriver. The structure is simple: subject + aller in present + infinitive. It is very common in speech and in daily situations. To express a project already decided or an imminent action, this form is often chosen rather than the future simple. It also appears often with movement or change verbs: je vais dormir, il va pleuvoir. The near future is presented more broadly in Futur Proche.

Aller in figurative senses

Usage	Explanation
General state	We say ça va to ask or say how we feel.
Well-being	We use aller bien to talk about good health or a positive situation.
Discomfort	We use aller mal to express a health or mood problem.
Functioning	We also say that something va when a situation is functioning correctly.

Aller ne sert pas seulement à se déplacer. Dans la langue courante, il décrit aussi l’état général d’une personne ou d’une situation. Ça va ? demande si quelqu’un se sent bien ou si tout se passe correctement. On répond souvent ça va, ça va bien, ça va mal, ça ne va pas. With une personne, aller bien et aller mal parlent de santé, de moral ou de situation personnelle : Marie va bien, les choses vont mal. Le verbe garde une idée de progression ou d’état général, même sans mouvement physique.

Subject	Infinitive	Conjugation
je	aller
vous	aller
nous	aller
il	aller
ils	aller
tu	aller

Irregular imperfect of Aller

Subject	Infinitive	Conjugation
je	aller	allais
tu	aller	allais
il	aller	allait
nous	aller	allions
vous	aller	alliez
ils	aller	allaient

Scramble

The imperfect of aller follows the stem all- : j’allais, tu allais, il allait, nous allions, vous alliez, ils allaient. It serves to describe a habit, a repeated movement or a past context: quand j’étais enfant, j’allais souvent à la mer. It also appears to present an action in progress in the past: j’allais sortir quand il a téléphoné. With this tense, aller does not refer to a precise point, but to a situation established or repeated.

Subject	Infinitive	Conjugation
ils	aller
elle	aller
nous	aller
je	aller
vous	aller

Past perfect with agreement

Subject	Infinitive	Conjugation
je	aller	suis allé
elle	aller	est allée
nous	aller	sommes allés
vous	aller	êtes allées
ils	aller	sont allés

Scramble

In the passé composé, aller is conjugated with être : je suis allé, tu es allé, il est allé, nous sommes allés, vous êtes allés, elles sont allées. The past participle agrees with the subject according to gender and number : allé, allée, allés, allées. This tense is used for a completed movement or a journey viewed as a complete event: je suis allé au bureau ce matin. With a feminine subject, add -e ; with a plural, add -s ; with women, add -es. The construction with être corresponds to the movement verbs system of French.

Subject	Infinitive	Conjugation
vous	aller
ils	aller
je	aller
nous	aller
tu	aller
il	aller

Very irregular future

Subject	Infinitive	Conjugation
je	aller	irai
tu	aller	iras
il	aller	ira
nous	aller	irons
vous	aller	irez
ils	aller	iront

Scramble

The simple future of aller is very irregular : j’irai, tu iras, il ira, nous irons, vous irez, ils iront. The radical ir- does not resemble the present, so it must be learned as an independent series. It is used to talk about a movement or a future state seen as certain or planned: demain, j’irai chez ma sœur. Compared to aller + infinitif, the simple future sounds often clearer, more formal or more distant. It is also used in promises, forecasts and firm decisions.

Subject	Infinitive	Conjugation
que nous	aller
qu ils	aller
que je	aller

Present subjunctive irregular

Subject	Infinitive	Conjugation
que je	aller	aille
que nous	aller	allions
qu ils	aller	aillent

Scramble

The present subjunctive of aller is irregular: que j’aille, que tu ailles, qu’il aille, que nous allions, que vous alliez, qu’ils aillent. It is used after an expression that demands an obligation, a wish, an emotion or a judgment. For example: il faut que tu ailles chez le médecin, je veux que nous allions ensemble, je suis content qu’ils aillent mieux. The forms que nous allions and que vous alliez resemble the present, but the full series must be memorized with the other irregular verbs.

Imperative of Aller and vas y

Usage	Explanation
Direct command	We use va to tell one person to move forward or go there.
Collective invitation	We use allons to suggest an action to several people.
Polite instruction	We use allez to address several people or to be more formal.
Encouragement	We say vas y to encourage someone to continue or to start.

The imperative of aller gives va, allons, allez. It is used to order, advise, invite or permit a movement: va à droite, allons-y, allez chez le directeur. In spoken language, vas-y is extremely common. It can indicate a direction, as in vas-y tout droit, but also push someone to act, to start or to continue: vas-y, parle, vas-y, prends le livre. With a pronominal complement, y often replaces a place already known. The expression works in a wide range of contexts, from road to conversation.

The past participle of aller is allé, with the agreements allée, allés, allées when it agrees with être. It appears in the passé composé, but also as an adjective in a few contexts: une personne allée au marché isn’t natural, but des clients sont déjà allés is. The gerund is formed with en allant and expresses an action that accompanies another action or a means: je l’ai rencontré en allant au travail. The non-conjugated forms of aller are used to recognize the verb in complex sentences and to link movement to another action.