Aller Conjugation in French
aller means “to go” in English, and it is one of the first verbs French learners meet — it sits at number 6 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for French verbs. You use it whenever you talk about going to Paris tomorrow, and because it comes up in everyday conversation so often, learning its forms properly pays off from the very first week. This page gives you the complete conjugation of aller — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Je vais à Paris demain tous les jours.” — “I go to Paris tomorrow every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: aller
- English: to go
- Verb type: Irregular
- Irregular in: present, passe-simple, future, conditional, present-subjunctive, imperfect-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative, gerund, past-participle
- Gerund: allant
- Past participle: allé
- Auxiliary: être (all perfect tenses are formed with être + the past participle)
- Ending: -er verbs; pattern er in the verified tables
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for aller, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Learn the spelling of the forms first, and listen to a native speaker for the sounds rather than trusting an invented transcription. The forms below are the ones that matter: once you can read aller in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about aller
- It is irregular in 10 tense(s): present, passe-simple, future, conditional, present-subjunctive, imperfect-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative, gerund, past-participle. Learn those forms as a set rather than guessing them from the infinitive, because the regular pattern will not produce them.
- The perfect tenses use être: the present perfect is formed with être in the present plus the past participle allé. The tables on this page give the participle in the masculine singular form, exactly as it appears in the verified dump; agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence, not on the verb table.
- The gerund is allant and the participle is allé: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because the gerund appears in progressive constructions and the participle appears in every perfect tense. If you know those two forms and the present tense, you already know the skeleton of the whole conjugation.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for aller. Learn the present tense first, then the passé composé and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | vais |
| tu | vas |
| il/elle | va |
| nous | allons |
| vous | allez |
| ils/elles | vont |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With aller this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Je vais au marché ce matin tous les jours.” — “I go to the market this morning every day.”
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | allai |
| tu | allas |
| il/elle | alla |
| nous | allâmes |
| vous | allâtes |
| ils/elles | allèrent |
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written and literary French. With aller this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Tu allas au marché ce matin hier.” — “You went to the market this morning yesterday.”
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | allais |
| tu | allais |
| il/elle | allait |
| nous | allions |
| vous | alliez |
| ils/elles | allaient |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Il allait au marché ce matin autrefois.” — “He used to go to the market this morning in the past.”
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | irai |
| tu | iras |
| il/elle | ira |
| nous | irons |
| vous | irez |
| ils/elles | iront |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. With aller this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “J'irai au marché ce matin demain.” — “I will go to the market this morning tomorrow.”
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | irais |
| tu | irais |
| il/elle | irait |
| nous | irions |
| vous | iriez |
| ils/elles | iraient |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. With aller this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Tu irais au marché ce matin un jour.” — “You would go to the market this morning one day.”
Present perfect (passé composé)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | suis allé |
| tu | es allé |
| il/elle | est allé |
| nous | sommes allé |
| vous | êtes allé |
| ils/elles | sont allé |
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken French. For example: “Il est allé au marché ce matin cette semaine.” — “He has gone to the market this morning this week.”
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | étais allé |
| tu | étais allé |
| il/elle | était allé |
| nous | étions allé |
| vous | étiez allé |
| ils/elles | étaient allé |
The pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'étais allé au marché ce matin avant la fête.” — “I had gone to the market this morning before the party.”
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | serai allé |
| tu | seras allé |
| il/elle | sera allé |
| nous | serons allé |
| vous | serez allé |
| ils/elles | seront allé |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Tu seras allé au marché ce matin pour demain.” — “You will have gone to the market this morning by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | serais allé |
| tu | serais allé |
| il/elle | serait allé |
| nous | serions allé |
| vous | seriez allé |
| ils/elles | seraient allé |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Il serait allé au marché ce matin hier.” — “He would have gone to the market this morning yesterday.”
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aille |
| tu | ailles |
| il/elle | aille |
| nous | allions |
| vous | alliez |
| ils/elles | aillent |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. With aller this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Il est important que j'aille au marché ce matin.” — “It is important that I go to the market this morning.”
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | allasse |
| tu | allasses |
| il/elle | allât |
| nous | allassions |
| vous | allassiez |
| ils/elles | allassent |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in formal written French for past wishes and hypotheticals after que. With aller this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Il est important que tu allasses au marché ce matin.” — “It is important that you go to the market this morning.”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | va |
| nous | allons |
| vous | allez |
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. With aller this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Va au marché ce matin !” — “Go to the market this morning!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | va |
| nous | allons |
| vous | allez |
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. With aller this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Ne va pas au marché ce matin.” — “Do not go to the market this morning.”
Gerund
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en allant |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, usually after en. For example: “En allant à Paris demain, je passe un bon moment.” — “While going to Paris tomorrow, I have a good time.”
Past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Past participle | allé |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Je suis allé à Paris demain cette semaine.” — “I have gone to Paris tomorrow this week.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with aller, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je vais à Paris demain tous les jours.” — “I go to Paris tomorrow every day.”
- “Tu allas au marché ce matin hier.” — “You went to the market this morning yesterday.”
- “Il allait à l'école tous les jours autrefois.” — “He used to go to school every day in the past.”
- “J'irai à Paris demain demain.” — “I will go to Paris tomorrow tomorrow.”
- “Tu irais au marché ce matin un jour.” — “You would go to the market this morning one day.”
- “Il est allé à l'école tous les jours cette semaine.” — “He has gone to school every day this week.”
- “J'étais allé à Paris demain avant la fête.” — “I had gone to Paris tomorrow before the party.”
- “Tu seras allé au marché ce matin pour demain.” — “You will have gone to the market this morning by tomorrow.”
- “Il est important que il aille à l'école tous les jours.” — “It is important that he go to school every day.”
- “Va à Paris demain !” — “Go to Paris tomorrow!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je aller à Paris demain.”
✓ Right: “Je vais à Paris demain.”
The infinitive aller never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form vais.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Je vont à Paris demain.”
✓ Right: “Je vais à Paris demain.”
vont is the ils/elles form, not the je form. Match the verb to the subject every time: je goes with vais.
3. Using the passé simple for a present habit
✗ Wrong: “Je allai à Paris demain tous les jours.”
✓ Right: “Je vais à Paris demain tous les jours.”
The passé simple allai describes one finished past action. For something that happens every day, use the present vais.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il est important que je vais à Paris demain.”
✓ Right: “Il est important que je aille à Paris demain.”
After il est important que French needs the subjunctive, so use aille here, not the indicative vais.
5. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je ai allé à Paris demain.”
✓ Right: “Je suis allé à Paris demain.”
The passé composé of aller is formed with être plus the past participle allé: the je form is suis allé. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
6. Dropping a written accent
✗ Wrong: “vais” written without its accent
✓ Right: “vais”
Accents are part of the spelling in French. Write the form exactly as it appears in the table, accent included, or it looks like a different word.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on aller. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of aller in the Present indicative?
- A) allons
- B) vais
- C) vas
- D) va
What is the il/elle form of aller in the Passé simple?
- A) allas
- B) allâmes
- C) alla
- D) allai
What is the nous form of aller in the Imperfect?
- A) allait
- B) alliez
- C) allions
- D) allais
What is the tu form of aller in the Future?
- A) irons
- B) iras
- C) irai
- D) ira
What is the je form of aller in the Conditional?
- A) irais
- B) irait
- C) irions
- D) iriez
What is the il/elle form of aller in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) es allé
- B) sommes allé
- C) est allé
- D) suis allé
What is the il/elle form of aller in the Present subjunctive?
- A) alliez
- B) aille
- C) ailles
- D) allions
What is the je form of aller in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) allasses
- B) allât
- C) allassions
- D) allasse
What is the gerund of aller?
- A) en pouvant
- B) en allant
- C) en faisant
- D) en disant
What does aller mean in English?
- A) to do, to make
- B) to say
- C) to be able to, can
- D) to go
Answer key
- B) vais — the je form of aller in the Present indicative is vais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) alla — the il/elle form of aller in the Passé simple is alla. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) allions — the nous form of aller in the Imperfect is allions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) iras — the tu form of aller in the Future is iras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) irais — the je form of aller in the Conditional is irais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) est allé — the il/elle form of aller in the Present perfect (passé composé) is est allé. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) aille — the il/elle form of aller in the Present subjunctive is aille. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) allasse — the je form of aller in the Imperfect subjunctive is allasse. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) en allant — the gerund of aller is en allant; it is used after en for actions happening at the same time as another action. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
- D) to go — aller means “to go” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does aller mean in English?
aller means “to go”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is aller regular or irregular?
aller is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, passe-simple, future, conditional, present-subjunctive, imperfect-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative, gerund, past-participle. The gerund is allant and the past participle is allé.
What are the gerund and past participle of aller?
The gerund is allant — use it after en for an action happening at the same time as another action. The past participle is allé — use it with être for the perfect tenses, as in suis allé.
Which auxiliary does aller take in the passé composé?
aller takes être in the passé composé: the je form is suis allé. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with être plus the past participle allé.
How do I say “I go” in French?
Say “Je vais à Paris demain tous les jours.” — “I go to Paris tomorrow every day.” The je form of the present is vais, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of aller — every tense of aller in one place.
- Aller in the passé composé tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Aller examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Faire conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Dire conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Pouvoir conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- French irregular verbs — every common irregular French verb, grouped by pattern.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Spanish Verb Conjugator — practise aller with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise aller with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise aller with the interactive tool.