French Level 1
    Unité 13: Leçon 3b
    Les Verbes:
    Aller
    I told you in the last leçon that there was one verb that was irreguler. You were probably wondering where it was! Well, you will no longer have to wonder because I am now going to introduce it to you! It is the verb, "aller" and it means "to go". As with other "-er" verbs, each French form has three different meanings in English.

Track 44
Le Verb: "Aller"  
EN FRANÇAIS EN ANGLAIS
Je vais
I go
I am going
I do go
Tu vas
You go
You are going
You do go
Il va / Elle va
He goes / She goes
He is going / She is going
He does go / She does go
Nous allons
We go
We are going
We do go
Vous allez
You go
You are going
You do go
Ils vont / Elles vont
They go
They are going
They do go
    Here is the special question: Since there are three different English meanings for one French sentence, how is it that French-speaking people know which of the three English meanings is being expressed? That is easy! It depends entirely on the circumstances, or the "things that are happening" surrounding the time at which the sentence is conveyed. (If you are still condfused as to how this all works, take another look at Unité 8.)

    I want to tell you that I believe that "Aller" is a wonderful verb! It is used quite frequently by French people throughout the world, not only to designate travelling or "going" from one place to another, but to talk about things that you plan to do in the VERY near future. Here, look at the next chart and you will understand what it is that I am trying to explain to you:

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Des Phrases  
EN FRANÇAIS EN ANGLAIS
Je vais arriver à l'école à huit heures. I am going to arrive at school at eight o'clock.
Je vais visiter le Québec. I am going to visit Québec.
Tu vas rentrer à la maison. You are going to return to the house.
Il va rester au cinéma. He is going to stay at the cinema.
Elle va visiter les parcs. She is going to visit the parks.
    Anytime that you want to say that you, and/or someone else is going to do something you simply put the sentence using "aller" in front of the verb that denotes your action, and you keep the letters "-er" on the second verb as you have seen in the chart above. Nice, yes? We have a name in French for using the verb "aller" to show "VERY near future actions". It is called, "futur prôche" (near future).

    Let us hurry on over to the next leçon.