Present tense of the French verb aller – to go

Although aller has an -er ending, it’s not a regular verb from the 1st group. It’s an important verb in French, but it’s also highly irregular and it must be learned by heart. The verb aller conjugated in the present tense can express a present action but it can also indicate an action that is to happen in the near future.

What’s the present tense of aller?

Here is the conjugation of the verb aller in the French present tense with its pronunciation.

Useful expressions with aller

Conjugated forms of the verb aller are often used in greetings:

Ça va ? = How are you?

Comment allez-vous ? = How are you?

Comment vas-tu ? = How are you?

Ça va. = I’m OK. / I’m all right.

Je vais bien. =  I’m fine. / I’m all right

Je vais mieux. = I’m better.

Tout va bien. = Everything’s fine.

Here are some other French expressions with aller that are commonly used in French:

Ça va sans dire. = That goes without saying.

Cela va de soi. =  That goes without saying

Non mais ça va pas la tête ! = You’re crazy!

On y va ? = Wanna go?

On y va ! = Let’s go!

aller au dodo (informal) = to go to bed

aller au lit = to go to bed

aller au boulot (informal) = to go to work

aller au travail = to go to work

aller à l’école = to go to school

aller à la bibliothèque = to go to the library

aller faire un tour = to go for a walk

aller trop loin = to go too far

ne pas y aller par quatre chemins = to speak loud and clear / to make no bones about something

ne pas y aller de main morte = not to pull any punches

aller chercher dans les X dollars = to cost about X dollars

aller droit au but = to get straight to the point

aller bien à quelqu’un (talking about a piece of clothes) = to suit someone

Il y va de sa vie. = His/her life is at stake.

Now test yourself with a quiz on the conjugation of aller!