How to Teach the French Verb Aller – A French Teacher’s Guide
I like teaching aller early because it gives beginning French students an enormous amount of usable language almost immediately.
Once students know the present-tense conjugation, they can talk about where they’re going, how they’re getting there, and what they’re going to do. That’s why I think of aller as a power verb.
It’s one of those verbs where the amount of language students can produce is much greater than the amount of grammar they’ve actually learned.
French Verb Aller Bundle | Worksheets & Games
Start With the Conjugation
The first thing students need to learn is the present-tense conjugation of aller.
ALLER — to go
je vais
I go / I am going
tu vas
you go / you are going
il / elle / on va
he / she / one goes; we go / are going
nous allons
we go / we are going
vous allez
you go / you are going
ils / elles vont
they go / they are going
I don’t try to convince students that this conjugation makes perfect sense. It doesn’t.
I tell them that aller is irregular and that these forms need to become familiar.
One thing I do emphasize is that students don’t need a separate French verb construction for “I am going.”
Je vais can mean:
I go
I am going
I do go
The context tells us which English translation makes the most sense.
That same idea applies to French verbs in general, and it’s worth reinforcing early.
French Verb Aller – Present Tense – French Grammar Activity
Get Students Talking About Where They’re Going
Once students know the conjugation, I move quickly into places.
This is where aller starts becoming a power verb.
Je vais au parc.
I’m going to the park.
Tu vas en France.
You’re going to France.
Elle va aux États-Unis.
She’s going to the United States.
Nous allons chez une copine.
We’re going to a friend’s house.
Vous allez dans la salle de classe.
You’re going into the classroom.
Ils vont au restaurant.
They’re going to the restaurant.
This gives students an opportunity to review several important prepositions and contractions at the same time:
au = à + le
aux = à + les
chez = at/to someone’s home or place
en is used with many countries and destinations.
I don’t try to teach every possible rule about à, au, aux, en, chez, and dans in the same lesson. I simply use familiar examples and let students start seeing the patterns.
Then I Show Them the Real Power of Aller
This is my favorite part of teaching aller.
I introduce the structure:
SUBJECT + CONJUGATED ALLER + INFINITIVE
This is how students can talk about what they are going to do.
For example:
Je vais manger une pizza.
I’m going to eat a pizza.
Tu vas chanter une chanson.
You’re going to sing a song.
Il va regarder un film.
He’s going to watch a movie.
Nous allons parler français.
We’re going to speak French.
Vous allez voyager au Canada.
You’re going to travel to Canada.
Ils vont travailler ce soir.
They’re going to work tonight.
I love this structure for beginners because students can suddenly say a huge number of things without learning another tense.
They already know how to conjugate aller.
They already know infinitives.
Now they can combine the two.
Je vais + manger.
Je vais + travailler.
Je vais + étudier.
Je vais + voyager.
Je vais + parler français.
It’s incredibly productive.
French Futur Proche – Aller + Infinitive – PowerPoint Jeopardy Game
Make Sure Students Don’t Conjugate the Second Verb
This is one of the mistakes I watch for when students first learn this structure.
They may understand that aller needs to be conjugated, but then they also try to conjugate the second verb.
I make the pattern very visual:
Je vais manger.
Not:
Je vais mange.
The first verb is conjugated.
The second verb stays in its infinitive form.
Once students understand that pattern, I have them create their own sentences.
Je vais regarder…
Tu vas étudier…
Elle va acheter…
Nous allons manger…
Ils vont voyager…
This is where the grammar starts turning into communication.
Use Aller With Transportation
Another useful set of expressions is aller + transportation.
Students can learn these as chunks:
aller à pied — to go on foot
aller à vélo — to go by bike
aller en voiture — to go by car
aller en bus — to go by bus
aller en train — to go by train
aller en avion — to go by plane
aller en bateau — to go by boat
aller en métro — to go by metro
These are particularly useful because students can immediately combine them with destinations.
Je vais au restaurant en voiture.
Nous allons au cinéma en bus.
Ils vont à l’école à pied.
Again, I’m looking for opportunities to let students build longer sentences from grammar they already know.
Teach Aller in Useful Expressions
I also like to introduce aller in everyday expressions rather than treating it only as “to go.”
For example:
aller chercher quelqu’un — to go pick someone up
aller faire les courses — to go grocery shopping
aller à la pêche — to go fishing
aller bien — to be doing well
aller mal — to be doing poorly
allez-y / vas-y — go ahead
s’en aller — to go away
And students will encounter aller + infinitive constantly:
aller jouer — to go play
aller étudier — to go study
aller prendre un bain — to go take a bath
aller prendre le pain — to go get the bread
I don’t expect beginners to memorize every expression at once. I like having a collection of useful examples that we can return to as students’ vocabulary grows.
French Verb Aller Expressions – Present Tense Jeopardy Review Game
A Simple Way to Practice
One of my favorite things about aller is how easy it is to turn into a sentence-building activity.
Give students three pieces:
SUBJECT + ALLER + INFINITIVE
Then let them build.
Je vais + manger + au restaurant.
Tu vas + étudier + ce soir.
Elle va + regarder + un film.
Nous allons + voyager + en France.
Ils vont + travailler + demain.
You can also add a destination or method of transportation:
Nous allons au marché en voiture.
Elle va au cinéma en bus.
Ils vont au Canada en avion.
Students are doing much more than conjugating a verb. They’re actually communicating.
Why I Teach Aller Early
For me, that’s the real reason to teach aller early.
Students don’t just learn another irregular conjugation.
They gain a way to talk about:
where they’re going
how they’re getting there
what they’re going to do
what they’re doing tomorrow
where they’re going this weekend
and much more.
A beginning student who knows je vais can already say an enormous number of things.
That’s why I call aller a power verb.
It gives students a lot of speaking power from a relatively small amount of grammar.
French Aller Resources for Teachers
If you’re teaching aller to beginning French students, I have resources that provide structured practice with the conjugation, everyday uses, and the aller + infinitive structure.
French Verb Aller Bundle – Worksheets & Games
French Verb Aller – Beginner Level Big Bundle
I find that aller is one of those verbs worth returning to again and again. Students can learn the basic conjugation early, and then you can keep adding vocabulary and new structures around it as their French develops.
