Using Aller — I can use aller to express going to a place in simple sentences. - French 1

SECTION 1

Historical Context & Motivation

The French verb aller (to go) is one of the most fundamental words in the French language. It traces its roots back to Latin, the language spoken across the Roman Empire that gradually evolved into the Romance languages we know today — French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and Romanian. What makes aller especially interesting is that its conjugation draws from three different Latin verbs, which is why it looks so irregular to modern learners.

~200 CE • Latin Roots

Vulgar Latin speakers use three separate verbs — ambulare (to walk), vadere (to go), and ire (to go) — to express motion toward a place.

~800 CE • Old French Emerges

These three Latin verbs begin merging into a single verb in Old French. The stem all- comes from ambulare, while va- comes from vadere, and ir- comes from ire.

~1200 CE • Preposition à + Article Contractions

The preposition à (to/at) becomes essential with aller. Contractions like au and aux develop to simplify pronunciation.

~1600 CE • Modern French Standardized

The Académie française standardizes French grammar. The conjugation of aller is codified in its modern irregular form, becoming one of the most used verbs in the language.

Understanding why aller is irregular helps you see that its odd-looking forms are not random — they are fossils from three ancient Latin verbs. The question this lesson addresses is straightforward: how do you conjugate aller in the present tense and pair it with the right preposition to say where someone is going?

SECTION 2

Core Principles & Definitions

Before you start building sentences with aller, you need to internalize a few foundational ideas. These principles will guide you through conjugation, preposition choice, and sentence construction every time you want to express motion toward a destination.

Aller Is Irregular

Unlike regular -er verbs such as parler, aller does not follow the standard -er conjugation pattern. You must memorize each form individually.

Destination Requires à

To indicate where you are going, use the preposition à (to/at) after aller. This preposition contracts with certain articles: à + le = au, à + les = aux.

Gender & Number of the Place Matter

French nouns have gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural). The form of the preposition + article changes depending on whether the place is masculine, feminine, or plural.

Subject-Verb Agreement

As with all French verbs, the form of aller must match its subject pronoun. Each of the six subject pronouns (je, tu, il/elle/on, nous, vous, ils/elles) has its own conjugated form.

Sentence Structure: Subject + Verb + Destination

French sentences using aller follow a predictable pattern: Subject + conjugated form of aller + à/au/à la/à l'/aux + place. For example: Je vais au parc.

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KEY TAKEAWAY

Think of aller like a GPS system in a car. The verb itself is the engine that gets you moving, but the preposition à (with its contractions) is the address you type in — without it, the GPS doesn't know where to send you. You always need both parts: the verb to start moving and the preposition to set the destination.

SECTION 3

Visual Explanation — Conjugation Map

This conjugation map shows the six present-tense forms of aller radiating from the infinitive. Notice how the singular forms (left side) share the va- stem, while the nous and vous forms (right side) return to the all- stem that matches the infinitive.

As you study the diagram, focus on the split between singular and plural forms. The singular subjects (je, tu, il/elle/on) all use the va- stem with different endings, while nous and vous switch back to the all- stem. The third person plural ils/elles vont is the only form that breaks both patterns, so give it extra attention when memorizing.

SECTION 4

How It Works — Prepositions & Contractions

Conjugating aller is only half the equation. To express going to a place, you need the preposition à (meaning "to" or "at"). However, à doesn't always stand alone — it contracts with the definite articles le and les to form mandatory contractions. You cannot say "à le" or "à les" — the contractions are required.

The Four Destination Formulas

MASCULINE SINGULAR PLACE

aller + à + le → aller au

Use au before a masculine singular noun. Example: Je vais au parc. (I'm going to the park.)

FEMININE SINGULAR PLACE

aller + à + la → aller à la

No contraction occurs with à la. Example: Tu vas à la bibliothèque. (You're going to the library.)

VOWEL / SILENT H

aller + à + l' → aller à l'

Before a vowel or silent h, use à l' regardless of gender. Example: Elle va à l'école. (She's going to school.)

PLURAL PLACE

aller + à + les → aller aux

Use aux before any plural noun. Example: Nous allons aux magasins. (We're going to the stores.)

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Watch Out!

The contractions au (à + le) and aux (à + les) are not optional. Writing "à le" or "à les" is a grammatical error in French — similar to how you would never say "do not" as "don't not" in English. The contraction is mandatory.

SECTION 5

Detailed Breakdown — Choosing the Right Form

To use aller correctly with a destination, you need to determine three things about the place noun: its gender (masculine or feminine), its number (singular or plural), and whether it starts with a vowel or silent h. The table below shows common destinations organized by which form of "to the" they require.

Follow this decision tree every time you build a sentence with aller. Start at the top and answer each question about your destination noun. The flowchart will lead you to the correct form: au, à la, à l', or aux.

Form	Used With	Example Place	Full Sentence
au	Masculine singular noun	le cinéma (the cinema)	Je vais au cinéma.
à la	Feminine singular noun	la plage (the beach)	Tu vas à la plage.
à l'	Noun starting with vowel or silent h	l'école (the school)	Elle va à l'école.
aux	Any plural noun	les magasins (the stores)	Nous allons aux magasins.

Summary of preposition forms used with aller + destination

SECTION 6

Worked Example — Building a Sentence Step by Step

Let's walk through how to construct a sentence from scratch. Imagine you want to say: "We are going to the restaurant." Here is how you build that sentence piece by piece.

Translating "We are going to the restaurant."

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Step 1 — Identify the Subject

The subject is "we," which translates to the French subject pronoun nous.

Subject: nous
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Step 2 — Conjugate Aller for the Subject

Look up the conjugation of aller for nous. The nous form is allons. So far we have: nous allons.

nous allons
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Step 3 — Identify the Destination Noun

The destination is "the restaurant." In French, "restaurant" is le restaurant — a masculine singular noun that starts with a consonant.

le restaurant (masculine, singular, consonant)
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Step 4 — Choose the Correct Preposition Form

Since "restaurant" is masculine and singular, we need à + le, which contracts to au. Remember, you can never write "à le" — the contraction is mandatory.

au
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Step 5 — Assemble the Complete Sentence

Put all the pieces together in order: subject + conjugated verb + preposition form + place noun.

Nous allons au restaurant.

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Quick Check

Try applying the same five steps to say "She is going to the library" (la bibliothèque — feminine, singular, consonant). You should arrive at: Elle va à la bibliothèque.

SECTION 7

Common Errors & How to Avoid Them

Learning aller involves several moving parts — conjugation, preposition choice, and contractions — so it's natural to stumble at first. The table below lists the most frequent mistakes that French 1 students make, along with explanations of why they happen and how to correct them.

Common Mistake	Why It's Wrong	Correct Version
Je alle au parc.	Aller is irregular — you cannot simply drop -er and add a regular ending. The je form is vais, not alle.	Je vais au parc.
Tu vas à le cinéma.	The preposition à must contract with le to form au. Writing "à le" is never acceptable in French.	Tu vas au cinéma.
Nous allons à les magasins.	Just like à + le = au, the combination à + les must contract to aux.	Nous allons aux magasins.
Elle va au école.	École starts with a vowel, so you must use à l' (elision), not au or à la.	Elle va à l'école.
Ils va au parc.	Va is the il/elle/on form. For ils/elles (they), you need vont.	Ils vont au parc.

Common errors when using aller with destinations

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KEY TAKEAWAY

Think of the aller + destination combination like sending a text message. The conjugated verb is like pressing "send" — it activates the motion — and the preposition + place is the contact you're sending it to. If you misspell the contact name (wrong contraction) or forget to press send (wrong conjugation), the message doesn't go through. Both parts must be correct for communication to work.

SECTION 8

Connection to Advanced Concepts

Once you master aller in the present tense with destinations, you unlock the door to several more advanced structures in French. The same verb appears in one of the most useful constructions in the language: the futur proche (near future), which uses aller + an infinitive to express what someone is going to do. Understanding the present-tense conjugation is the prerequisite for this next step.

Concept	What You Know Now	What's Coming Next
Aller + Place	Je vais au parc. (I go to the park.)	Fully covered in this lesson.
Futur Proche	You know how to conjugate aller in the present tense.	Je vais manger. (I am going to eat.) — aller + infinitive of another verb.
Countries & Regions	You use à/au/à la/aux for specific places like buildings.	For countries, you use en (feminine) or au/aux (masculine/plural): Je vais en France. Je vais au Canada.
Other Tenses	You know aller in the present indicative.	In later courses, you'll learn aller in the passé composé (je suis allé(e)), imparfait (j'allais), and subjunctive (que j'aille).

How aller connects to future French concepts

As you continue in French, you will see that aller is truly a gateway verb. Its conjugation in the present tense is the foundation for the futur proche, its pairing with prepositions introduces the concept of article contractions that you'll encounter again with the preposition de (of/from), and its irregularity prepares you for other common irregular verbs like faire, être, and avoir.

SECTION 9

Practice Problems

Question 1: CONCEPTUAL

Why can you never write "à le" or "à les" in French? Explain in your own words what must happen instead and why.

Show answer

In French, the preposition à must contract with the definite articles le and les. The combination à + le becomes au, and à + les becomes aux. These contractions are mandatory, not optional. They evolved in French to make pronunciation smoother, and leaving them uncontracted is considered a grammatical error. Note that à + la and à + l' do not contract further — only à + le and à + les have mandatory contractions.

Question 2: BASIC

Conjugate aller for each subject pronoun: je, tu, il, nous, vous, elles.

Show answer

The six present-tense forms are: je vais, tu vas, il va, nous allons, vous allez, elles vont. Notice that the singular forms (vais, vas, va) use the va- stem, while nous and vous (allons, allez) use the all- stem. The third person plural vont is unique and must be memorized separately.

Question 3: INTERMEDIATE

Translate the following sentences into French: (a) You (informal) are going to the hospital. (b) They (masculine) are going to the stores. (c) We are going to the beach. Hint: l'hôpital (masc., vowel), les magasins (plural), la plage (fem.).

Show answer

(a) Tu vas à l'hôpital. — Since hôpital starts with a silent h, use à l'. (b) Ils vont aux magasins. — Magasins is plural, so à + les contracts to aux, and ils takes the form vont. (c) Nous allons à la plage. — Plage is feminine singular and starts with a consonant, so no contraction is needed; use à la.

Question 4: APPLIED

Your French exchange student friend sends you a text: "Samedi, Marie et moi, nous _____ (aller) _____ centre commercial, et après, Paul _____ (aller) _____ piscine." Fill in the blanks with the correct conjugation and preposition forms. (le centre commercial = masc. singular; la piscine = fem. singular)

Show answer

The completed text reads: "Samedi, Marie et moi, nous allons au centre commercial, et après, Paul va à la piscine." For the first blank, nous takes allons, and le centre commercial is masculine singular, so à + le = au. For the second blank, Paul is third person singular (il), so the verb is va, and la piscine is feminine singular starting with a consonant, so you use à la with no contraction.

Question 5: CRITICAL THINKING

A classmate writes: "Je vais au école parce que je vais à le gymnase après." Identify all the errors in this sentence, explain why each one is wrong, and rewrite the sentence correctly.

Show answer

There are two errors. First, "au école" is incorrect because école starts with a vowel, which triggers elision; the correct form is à l'école. Second, "à le gymnase" is incorrect because à + le must always contract to au; the correct form is "au gymnase." The corrected sentence is: "Je vais à l'école parce que je vais au gymnase après." This problem highlights two key rules: elision before vowels overrides the gender-based choice, and à + le must always contract to au.

SUMMARY

Lesson Summary

Summary

The verb aller (to go) is an essential irregular verb in French with six present-tense forms: je vais, tu vas, il/elle/on va (using the va- stem), nous allons, vous allez (using the all- stem), and ils/elles vont (a unique form). To express going to a place, pair the conjugated verb with the preposition à and the correct article form.

The four destination forms to remember are: au (à + le, for masculine singular), à la (for feminine singular), à l' (before a vowel or silent h), and aux (à + les, for plural). The contractions au and aux are mandatory — never write "à le" or "à les." Follow the sentence pattern Subject + aller (conjugated) + au/à la/à l'/aux + place, and you'll be able to express any destination in French with confidence.