aller à
In French, "to go to" is expressed as aller à.
aller à is used to express moving from one place toward a specific destination. Note that different expressions are used depending on the context: use aller chez when going to someone's house, aller voir when you are going to see a person for social or personal reasons and se rendre à when traveling to a formal or official place like a public institution or administrative office.
Which one should you use?
While aller à is used for cities and specific destinations, you should use aller en when the destination is a feminine country, such as aller en France.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase aller à changes based on the gender and number of the destination noun. When the destination is a masculine noun starting with a consonant, aller à contracts to aller au. If the destination is a plural noun, it contracts to aller aux. For a singular noun starting with a vowel or a silent 'h', use aller à l'.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid the error of saying aller à le or aller à les. Instead, remember to use the contracted forms aller au for masculine singular destinations and aller aux for plural destinations.
Did you know?
- In casual spoken French, people often replace the standard aller with the slang term se casser to mean 'to go' or 'to leave', literally meaning 'to break oneself'.
- The verb aller has a hidden connection to the Latin 'vado', a word that means 'to go' but also serves as the root for the English word 'evade', which implies going away or escaping.
- While aller à describes movement, the phrase ça va aller is used as a common expression of encouragement meaning 'it will be okay'.
Examples in context
- Je veux aller à Tokyo.I want to go to Tokyo.This sentence shows the use of aller à with a city.Tatoeba #6647 by Cocorico, translation #378556 by CN
- Je veux aller à Paris.I want to go to Paris.Tatoeba #7960202 by Micsmithel, translation #4872600 by Gulo_Luscus
- Je veux aller à Kyoto.I want to go to Kyoto.Tatoeba #8703395 by Julien_PDC, translation #378543 by saeb
- Je vais à Paris demain.I'm going to Paris tomorrow.
- Il faut que j'aille à la banque cet après-midi.I need to go to the bank this afternoon.
- Nous sommes allés à la réunion hier soir.We went to the meeting last night.
- Je vais en France cet été.I'm going to France this summer.
- Elle est allée dans un restaurant chic hier soir.She went to a fancy restaurant last night.
- Les étudiants iront à l'université l'année prochaine.The students will go to university next year.
- Je vais me rendre à la mairie pour obtenir un certificat de naissance.I'm going to the town hall to get a birth certificate.
- J'irai chez mon ami demain.I will go to my friend's place tomorrow.
- Nous sommes allés chez mes grands-parents pendant les vacances.We went to my grandparents' house during the holidays.
- J'irai voir ma sœur ce week-end.I will go to see my sister this weekend.
- Il est allé voir son médecin hier.He went to see his doctor yesterday.
- Nous devons monter à la montagne pour cette excursion.We have to go to the mountains for this outing.
- Je pars pour la France demain matin.I'm leaving for France tomorrow morning.
- 269 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are planning their afternoon in the city.
- ChloéTu veux aller à la bibliothèque ?Do you want to go to the library?
- HugoNon, je dois aller à la banque.No, I have to go to the bank.
- ChloéD'accord, on va aller à la banque ensemble ?Okay, shall we go to the bank together?
- HugoOui, c'est une bonne idée.Yes, that is a good idea.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries aller, à, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
