Un 5.3
Idiomatic Expressions with ‘aller’ and the Futur Proche
On its own, the verb ‘aller’ corresponds with the English verb ‘to go’, but in other contexts, it can have many other different meanings.
Idiomatic Expressions with the verb ‘aller’ – Expressions idiomatiques avec le verbe ‘aller’
The verb ‘aller’ has several idiomatic uses, including:
|
aller chercher |
to collect; to pick someone up; to fetch |
|
aller de soi |
to be obvious; to go without saying |
|
Allez ! |
Come on!; There you go!; That’s it! |
|
Allez-y ! |
Go ahead. (giving permission/encouragement to do something) |
|
Allons-y ! |
Let’s go! |
|
On y va ! |
Let’s go! |
The Near Future – Le futur proche
The verb ‘aller’ is also used to reference the future. To do so, use a form of ‘aller’ in the present tense, followed by the infinitive form of the verb of the action.
e.g.
|
Nous allons danser. |
We’re going to dance. |
|
Tu vas patiner ce soir ? |
You’re going to skate tonight? |
As the name ‘futur proche’ (‘near future’) suggests, this construction is used to refer to a future action or event that will occur quite soon. That said, this construction is common in spoken French and, when spoken, is sometimes used to describe future events that are not extremely close to the present.
e.g.
|
Je vais réviser samedi. |
I’m going to study on Saturday. |
|
Tu vas manger ? |
Are you about to eat? |
|
Elles vont passer un examen demain. |
They’re going to have an exam tomorrow. |
It is possible to have the verb ‘aller’ as the main action in the sentence in the futur proche.
e.g.
|
Vous allez aller à l’université ? |
You’re going to go to (the) university? |
