je suis allé nager
In French, "I went swimming" is expressed as je suis allé nager.
This phrase is a statement used to say that you visited a place to swim in the past. The verb nager means "to swim". While you might use J'ai été à la piscine to say "I went to the swimming pool", je suis allé nager specifically emphasizes the action of having gone somewhere to perform the activity of swimming.
What does it mean word for word?
Literally, the phrase translates to "I am gone to swim", which is the standard way to express the completed past action of having gone somewhere to perform an activity.
Which one should you use?
Use je suis allé nager to express a completed past action, whereas je vais nager is used to express the intention or the act of "I am going swimming" in the present or future.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase uses the auxiliary verb être (suis) rather than avoir to form the passé composé. The past participle must agree with the gender of the speaker: use allé if the speaker is male and allée if the speaker is female.
Did you know?
Examples in context
- Je suis allé nager à la mer.I went swimming in the sea.This sentence is useful for practicing saying you went swimming in the sea with je suis allé nager.Tatoeba #14799 by Aiji, translation #256584 by CK
- Je suis allé nager au lac avec Hiroko.I went swimming in the lake with Hiroko.This sentence is useful for practicing saying you went swimming in a lake with je suis allé nager.Tatoeba #6934 by sysko, translation #255499 by CN
- Hier, je suis allé nager dans la rivière.I went swimming in the river yesterday.This sentence is useful for practicing saying you went swimming in a river with je suis allé nager.Tatoeba #9710503 by lbdx, translation #257787 by CK
- J'ai fait de la natation au centre sportif ce matin.I did some swimming at the sports center this morning.
- 3 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Nathan and Emma are talking about their weekend activities.
- NathanQu'est-ce que tu as fait ce matin ?What did you do this morning?
- EmmaJe suis allé nager à la piscine.I went swimming at the pool.
- NathanC'était bien ?Was it good?
- EmmaOui, c'était très relaxant !Yes, it was very relaxing!
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries je, nager, suis, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
