Aller: The Verb That’s More Than ‘To Go’

When you first dip your toes into the vast ocean of the French language, the verb aller seems like a friendly, familiar landmark. “It means ‘to go'”, you learn. “Je vais à la plage.” Simple enough. But to stop there is like visiting Paris and only seeing the outside of the Louvre. You’re missing the treasure trove within. Aller is one of the most dynamic, versatile, and essential verbs in French, and its true power lies far beyond simple movement.

This single verb is a grammatical Swiss Army knife. It’s a time machine, a mood ring, and a conversational shortcut all rolled into one. If you only use aller to talk about where you’re going, you’re missing out on the linguistic keys that unlock natural, fluid French. Let’s explore how.

The Foundation: Movement and that Pesky Irregular Conjugation

First, let’s get the basics right. Yes, aller primarily means “to go.” It describes movement from one place to another. The first hurdle every learner must clear is its highly irregular conjugation in the present tense. It doesn’t follow any standard pattern, borrowing forms from different Latin verbs, which is why je vais looks nothing like the infinitive aller.

Here’s a quick refresher of the present tense:

• Je vais – I go / I am going
• Tu vas – You go / You are going (informal)
• Il/Elle/On va – He/She/One goes / is going
• Nous allons – We go / We are going
• Vous allez – You go / You are going (formal or plural)
• Ils/Elles vont – They go / They are going

You’ll almost always see it paired with a preposition to indicate the destination, such as à (to, at), en (to a feminine country), au (to a masculine country), or chez (to someone’s house/place of business).

Nous allons au cinéma. (We are going to the cinema.)

Elle va en France cet été. (She is going to France this summer.)

Tu vas chez le médecin ? (Are you going to the doctor’s?)

Mastering this is step one. But the real magic begins when aller stops moving through space and starts moving through time.

The Time Traveler: Building the ‘Futur Proche’

This is arguably the most important secondary function of aller. The French use it to form the futur proche, or “near future” tense. This tense is used constantly in everyday conversation, often favored over the more formal futur simple (simple future).

The structure is beautifully simple:

Conjugated aller in the present tense + Infinitive verb

That’s it. You take the forms we just reviewed (je vais, tu vas, il va…) and place any other verb in its infinitive (unconjugated) form right after it. This construction translates to “to be going to do something.”

Let’s see it in action:

• Je vais manger. (I am going to eat.)
• Qu’est-ce que tu vas faire ce week-end ? (What are you going to do this weekend?)
• Ils vont arriver en retard. (They are going to arrive late.)
• Nous n’allons pas regarder ce film. (We are not going to watch this movie.)

The futur proche implies a sense of certainty or immediacy. It’s for plans that are already in motion or intentions that feel concrete. While the futur simple (e.g., je mangerai) can feel more distant or hypothetical, the futur proche is the go-to tense for talking about your immediate plans. Listen to any conversation between native French speakers, and you’ll hear it everywhere. Mastering it will make your own French sound instantly more natural.

The Emotional Thermometer: Expressing How You Are

How do you ask “How are you?” in French? The first phrase anyone learns is, of course, Comment ça va ?

Look closely. There it is again: va, the third-person singular form of aller. The literal translation is something like “How does it go?” This reveals a deep, cultural use of the verb. In this context, aller isn’t about physical movement; it’s about the “movement” or state of your life, your health, your general well-being.

The responses also rely on aller:

• Ça va bien, merci. (It’s going well, thank you.)
• Je vais bien. (I am doing well. Literally: I am going well.)
• Tout va bien. (Everything is going well.)

This usage extends to asking about others directly:

• Comment vas-tu ? (How are you doing? – informal)
• Comment allez-vous ? (How are you doing? – formal/plural)

Using aller to describe a state of being is a core part of the language’s fabric. It’s a perfect example of how a word’s meaning can evolve from the physical to the metaphorical.

A Quick Side Trip: S’en aller

Just when you think you have it figured out, French adds another layer. The reflexive form, s’en aller, means “to leave” or “to go away.” It often implies a more definitive departure than just aller.

• Je m’en vais. (I’m leaving / I’m off.)
• Il faut que nous nous en allions. (We have to get going.)

It’s a subtle but common variation you’ll want to have in your toolkit.

Bonus Round: Essential ‘Aller’ Expressions

Beyond these main functions, aller pops up in a host of idiomatic expressions that are essential for fluency.

• Vas-y ! / Allez-y ! – A fantastic phrase of encouragement meaning “Go for it!”, “Go ahead!”, or “Come on!”.
• Allez ! – Used as an interjection, it can mean “Come on!”, “Hurry up!”, or even be used to express mild disbelief.
• Ça te va bien. – This has nothing to do with movement. It means “That suits you well” or “That looks good on you.” Here, aller means to match or suit. (e.g., Ce chapeau te va très bien. – That hat really suits you.)
• On y va ? – A classic for getting a group moving. “Shall we go?” or “Are we off?”

More Than Just a Verb

From a simple direction to a complex emotion, from a future plan to a piece of clothing that suits you, aller is a testament to how language evolves. It shows that the most common words are often the most powerful. They stretch and adapt, taking on new meanings that reflect how we think about the world—whether we’re moving through physical space, time, or our own state of being.

So the next time you use aller, remember its hidden depths. Practice building the futur proche. Ask a friend how they’re going. Encourage someone to go for it. By embracing its full potential, you won’t just be speaking better French—you’ll be thinking in it, too.