Recommended resources
The freely available resources this lesson will direct you to.
- Aller (to go) — Present Tense (French verbs conjugated by Learn French With Alexa)www.youtube.com
- Speak French Fluently, 100+ Essential Aller & Faire (Present Tense + Examples!)www.youtube.com
- Conjugation of Aller - To Go Top 10 French Verbtheperfectfrench.com
- Le présent: the present tense in French grammarfrancais.lingolia.com
Bonjour! Welcome to the fifth and final lesson of our first module.
Introduction
In our last lesson, we focused on être (to be) and avoir (to have), the two most fundamental irregular verbs in French. You learned to recognize their unique conjugations and how they are used in contexts that sometimes differ from their English equivalents.
Today, we will complete our tour of the "big four" irregular verbs by examining aller (to go) and faire (to do/make). These two verbs are incredibly common and versatile, appearing in countless everyday situations. By the end of this lesson, you will be able to recognize their present-tense conjugation patterns from contextual examples, just as we did for être and avoir.
This will solidify your foundation in present tense verbs, preparing you to describe actions and events with greater precision.
1. The Verb Aller (to go)
Let's begin with aller. It means "to go," and although it ends in -er, it is the only -er verb that is completely irregular. Its forms are so different from its infinitive that they must be learned through observation.
To get a clear introduction to its unique nature and pronunciation, let's watch a short video.
Aller (to go) — Present Tense (French verbs conjugated by Learn French With Alexa)
The video 'Aller (to go) — Present Tense' by Learn French With Alexa provides a focused look at this verb's irregularity.
Please watch the following segments: Introduction (00:06 - 00:47): Alexa explains why 'aller' is so important and irregular. Conjugation (00:47 - 02:52): Listen carefully to the pronunciation of each form: je vais, tu vas, il/elle/on va, nous allons, vous allez, ils/elles vont. Examples (02:52 - 04:12): See how these forms are used in simple sentences.\nYour goal here is to simply observe the patterns and hear how they sound.
Now, let's reinforce those patterns with a quick visual summary.
Notice the structure: a subject, a form of aller, and then a preposition (à, au) indicating the destination. This is a very common pattern. For instance:
- Je vais à l'école. (I go to school.)
- Nous allons au zoo. (We go to the zoo.)
2. The Verb Faire (to do / to make)
Next, we'll explore faire. This verb is a workhorse in French, used for everything from doing chores and playing sports to describing the weather. Its meanings ("to do" and "to make") are broad, so recognizing it in context is key.
Because you prefer an example-driven approach, the following video is ideal. It uses repetition to help you absorb the patterns naturally.
Speak French Fluently, 100+ Essential Aller & Faire (Present Tense + Examples!)
The video 'Speak French Fluently, 100+ Essential Aller & Faire' presents a rapid-fire series of examples. We will focus on the first part, which is dedicated to 'faire'.
Watch the first five minutes of the video (from 00:00 to 05:00). You don't need to catch every word. Instead, listen for the changing forms of 'faire' as the subject changes: je fais tu fais il/elle fait nous faisons vous faites ils/elles font \nPay attention to the variety of contexts: 'faire mes devoirs' (to do my homework), 'faire du sport' (to do sports), 'faire un gâteau' (to make a cake), 'il fait beau' (the weather is nice).
This visual summary provides another look at faire in context.
3. Conjugation Summary
You have now seen and heard aller and faire in many different sentences. To consolidate this, here are their conjugation patterns in a simple table format, based on the Lingolia resource.
| Person | aller (to go) |
faire (to do/make) |
|---|---|---|
| je | vais | fais |
| tu | vas | fais |
| il/elle/on | va | fait |
| nous | allons | faisons |
| vous | allez | faites |
| ils/elles | vont | font |
Notice that for both verbs, the nous and vous forms have a certain logic to them (all- and fais-), while the singular forms (je, tu, il) and the ils/elles form are highly irregular. This is a common feature among irregular verbs in French.
Conclusion
Excellent work! You have now been introduced to the present tense of the four most important irregular verbs in French: être, avoir, aller, and faire. Mastering their recognition is a significant milestone.
Key Takeaways:
Aller(to go) is the only irregular-erverb. Its forms (vais,vas,va...) look very different from the infinitive.Faire(to do/make) is highly versatile and used in many idiomatic expressions for activities, chores, and weather.- The conjugation patterns for both verbs are irregular and best learned through exposure to examples. The singular forms and the third-person plural (
ils/elles vont,ils/elles font) are often the most irregular.
This lesson concludes our first module on the foundational structures of French. You've covered sounds, regular verb patterns, and the essential irregular verbs.
In our next lesson, we will begin a new module, "Describing Everyday Life." We'll start by exploring reflexive verbs, which are crucial for talking about daily routines (e.g., se lever - to get up, se laver - to wash oneself).