ira
In French, the phrase "will go" is expressed by the future tense of the verb to go, with ira being the default form.
The phrase describes moving toward a place at a later time.
Which one should you use?
For example, you might use Il va aller to say a man will go or Elle va aller to say a woman will go.
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb aller (to go) is irregular in the future tense. It uses the stem ir- instead of the infinitive stem. The full set of future tense conjugations is irai (I will go), iras (you will go), ira (he/she/it will go), irons (we will go), irez (you will go) and iront (they will go). To express a negative, use Je ne vais pas aller (I will not go). To add emphasis, you can use phrases like Je vais certainement aller (I will certainly go) or Il/Elle va sûrement aller (He/She will surely go).
Did you know?
- French has a specific expression ça ira, which uses the form ira but translates to 'that will be fine' or 'it will work out'. In this context, the verb 'to go' describes the state of a situation rather than movement.
- The phrase ça ira is the title of a famous French revolutionary song from the 1790s. The lyrics use the future tense to predict that the revolution 'will go' well and succeed.
- The future stem ir- in ira actually comes from the Latin word ire, which means 'to go'. This is why the French future tense for 'to go' looks completely different from the present tense va.
Examples in context
- J'irai si tu vas.I will go if you go.This sentence is useful for showing the conditional relationship using ira.Tatoeba #2163965 by sacredceltic, translation #2163135 by Source_VOA
- Tu iras à l'école.You will go to school.This sentence shows how to use ira to indicate a destination.Tatoeba #827630 by sacredceltic, translation #497951 by FeuDRenais
- J'irai à la plage.I will go to the beach.This sentence shows how to use ira for a destination like the beach.Tatoeba #6287728 by Aiji, translation #4196266 by LanguageExpert
- Je vais aller à une réunion demain.I will go to a meeting tomorrow.
- Elle va aller en vacances la semaine prochaine.She will go on vacation next week.
- Je vais aller au cinéma ce soir.I will go to the movies tonight.
- Il va aller chez son ami demain.He will go to his friend's place tomorrow.
- Je vais aller à l'école demain matin.I will go to school tomorrow morning.
- Il va aller chez le médecin cet après-midi.He will go to the doctor this afternoon.
- Elle va aller faire les courses ce soir.She will go grocery shopping tonight.
- Nous allons aller au restaurant ce week-end.We will go to the restaurant this weekend.
- Ils vont aller visiter Paris l'année prochaine.They will go visit Paris next year.
- 69 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucas and Chloé are planning their weekend.
- LucasOù ira ton frère ce week-end ?Where will your brother go this weekend?
- ChloéIl ira sûrement à la montagne.He will probably go to the mountains.
- LucasEst-ce qu'il ira seul ?Will he go alone?
- ChloéNon, il ira avec son ami.No, he will go with his friend.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
