Aller Conjugation in French: The Ultimate Guide and Conjugation Tables

Aller Conjugation in French: Complete Tables, Rules, and Expert Tips

Along with être (to be) and avoir (to have), the verb aller (to go) is among the top three most essential verbs in the French language. Although it ends with -er, do not be fooled: aller is strictly an irregular third-group verb.

Its irregular behavior stems from historical linguistics: modern French merged three distinct Latin roots (ire, vadere, and ambulare) into one single verb. This explains why the stems vary dramatically between je vais, nous allons, and j'irai.

Whether you need to build the futur proche, master past agreements, or avoid pronunciation traps, this guide covers everything you need to conjugate aller like a native.

1. Present Tense (Indicatif Présent)

The present tense of aller is completely irregular. Pay close attention to spelling and spoken liaisons.

> Crucial Audio Tip: Distinguish ils vont (/vɔ̃/ - they go) from ils ont (/il.zɔ̃/ - they have). Confusing the two is a very frequent beginner error.

2. Past Tenses: Passé Composé and Imparfait

The Passé Composé: Always with « Être »

Because aller designates movement, it takes the auxiliary verb être in compound tenses. Consequently, the past participle allé must agree in gender and number with the subject.

• Je suis allé(e) — I went / have gone
• Tu es allé(e) — You went
• Il est allé / Elle est allée — He went / She went
• Nous sommes allés / allées — We went
• Vous êtes allé(e)(s) — You went (depends on formality and number)
• Ils sont allés / Elles sont allées — They went

The Imparfait (Past Continuous / Habitual Past)

The imperfect tense uses the stem all- and adds regular imperfect endings:

• J'allais
• Tu allais
• Il/Elle/On allait
• Nous allions
• Vous alliez
• Ils/Elles allaient

Example: « Quand j'étais enfant, j'allais à la plage chaque été. » (When I was a child, I used to go to the beach every summer.)

3. Future Simple & Present Conditional

In both the future simple and conditional tenses, aller switches entirely to the root ir-.

4. The Subjunctive (Subjonctif Présent)

The subjunctive mood reflects doubts, wishes, and necessities. Notice the stem shift between the singular forms + 3rd person plural (aill-) and nous/vous (all-).

• Que j'aille
• Que tu ailles
• Qu'il / elle / on aille
• Que nous allions
• Que vous alliez
• Qu'ils / elles aillent

Example: « Il faut que vous alliez voir ce film immédiatement ! » (You must go see this movie immediately!)

5. Imperative (L'Impératif) and the « Vas-y » Rule

• Va ! (Go! - singular/informal)
• Allons ! (Let's go!)
• Allez ! (Go! - plural/formal)

The imperative mood expresses commands or suggestions:

The Spelling Trap with Adverbial Pronoun « Y »

• Incorrect: Va-y
• Correct: Vas-y ! (Go ahead! / Go there!)

Normally, singular imperative verbs ending in a vowel do not take an « s » (Va). However, when paired with the pronoun y (there), a euphonic « s » and a hyphen are inserted to maintain smooth pronunciation:

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6. The Superpower of Aller: The Futur Proche

You can bypass complex future conjugations in everyday French conversations by using the Futur Proche (Near Future):

$$\text{Aller (Present Tense)} + \text{Infinitive Verb}$$

• « Je vais apprendre le français. » (I am going to learn French.)
• « Nous allons partir en vacances. » (We are going to go on vacation.)

This makes mastering the present tense of aller an immediate game changer for your spoken fluency.

7. Key French Idioms with Aller

• Comment allez-vous ? / Ça va ? : How are you? / How's it going?
• Ça me va : That works for me / That suits me.
• S'en aller : To leave / go away (Je m'en vais = I'm taking off).

Keep practicing these conjugation patterns with flashcards and spaced repetition drills on My-French.com to build automatic recall!