French 1 / Unit 6: Avoir, Aller and Faire
6.4 Aller + Infinitive
Notes
To say what you are going to do, use a conjugated form of aller + an infinitive. This is the futur proche (near future).
- Je vais manger. (I'm going to eat.) Nous allons étudier ce soir. Elles vont jouer demain.
- The infinitive does not change: only aller changes.
- Negative: wrap aller: Je ne vais pas manger. (not "Je vais ne pas manger" in standard French)
- Time words: demain (tomorrow), ce soir (tonight), ce week-end, la semaine prochaine (next week).
- Question: Qu'est-ce que tu vas faire ce week-end ?
- Example: Demain, il va pleuvoir. (Tomorrow it's going to rain.)
Practice
Which sentence means "We are going to dance"?
Aller is conjugated (allons) and the second verb stays in the infinitive.
Make negative: « Je vais regarder un film. »
Ne...pas surrounds the conjugated verb aller.
Tu dis: « Demain, je vais étudier. » When will you study?
Demain means tomorrow and aller + infinitive is the near future.
Ready for more? Take the Unit 6 test.