LESSON 4A.1 THE VERB ALLER
Objectives
In this lesson, you will learn:
• The verb aller (to go)
• The future proche (immediate
future) with aller
• The preposition à
Il va au travail (he’s going to work)
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OVERVIEW
• -Tverb aller as an irregular verb.
-It is also a very common verb and you must memorize the conjugation.
• Aller, like other verbs of movement, requires the preposition à most of the
time
Example: Je vais à la bibliothèque (I'm going/I go to the library)
• Remember:
Je vais au (=à+le) bureau (with singular, masculine nouns)
Je vais aux (=à+les) cafés (with plural, masculine nouns)
Je vais aux bibliothèques (plural, feminine nouns)
• With feminine nouns there is no change in the singular form:
Je vais à la classe/à la bibliothèque
OVERVIEW
• You do not need à in these cases:
-With other prepositions besides à
Je vais chez-moi/ Je vais avec des copains
-With another verb:
Nous allons manger (We are going to eat)
-In this case the second verb is not conjugated
• This last form is called the immediate future
Elle va travailler cet après-midi (she is going to work this afternoon)
THE IMMEDIATE FUTURE
• There is another form of the future which is more formal and refers to
actions or events that will take place in a not so immediate future. You will
learn this form another semester and you do not need to learn it now.
Example: J’habiterai à Paris en 2025 (I will live in Paris…)
• The difference between both is not so clear at times, and you can also say:
Je vais habiter à Paris en 2025
• The important fact is that with the future proche you have a sense of
immediacy in the future that is sometimes emphasized by dates o
prepositions:
Je vais travailler la semaine prochaine (I’m going to work…)
Nous allons manger après la classe.
• Notice also the negative form:
Nous n’allons pas manger ce soir
Je ne vais pas travailler demain
MORE PRACTICE…
• This is a full exercise about prepositions and the verb aller. Complete the following
sentences with the correct preposition:
sur (in/on), au (at/in the –masculine), à la (at/in-feminine), en ville (to/in
the city). You must know the gender of the noun
1. Vous allez rencontrer vos professeurs_______terrasse (fem) du café.
2. Votre professeur va vous demander d’aller_________ville (fem.)
3. Vous aller déjeuner________restaurant avec d’autres étudiants
4. Le soir vous pouvez (can) aller______cinéma (masc.) ou_________piscine
(fem.)
5. Lundi, vous allez___________kiosque (masc.)
(Notice the expression: en ville, in the city)
Answers:
1.
à la 2. en 3. au 4. au, à la 5. au
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