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FrenchConjugationPassé Composé

Aller (to go) · Passé Composé

By TutorLily Editorial Team · Last updated

Aller in the French passé composé is: je suis allé, tu es allé, il/elle/on est allé, nous sommes allés, vous êtes allé, ils/elles sont allés. The passé composé of aller uses ÊTRE as the auxiliary (not avoir!) plus the past participle 'allé'. 'Je suis allé à Paris' = 'I went to Paris'. The participle agrees with the subject in gender and number (allé/allée/allés/allées).

aller conjugation in the Passé Composé
To GoAller
I went
je suis allé
you went
tu es allé
he/she went
il/elle/on est allé
we went
nous sommes allés
you went
vous êtes allé
they went
ils/elles sont allés
Examples

Aller (to go) in context

Sentences that use aller in the passé composé. Tap each to hear it.

Je suis allé au marché hier.

I went to the market yesterday.

Tu es allé à la fête samedi?

Did you go to the party on Saturday?

Elle est allée voir sa grand-mère.

She went to see her grandmother.

Nous sommes allés au cinéma hier soir.

We went to the cinema last night.

Vous êtes allés en vacances en juillet?

Did you go on vacation in July?

Ils sont allés à la montagne ce weekend.

They went to the mountains this weekend.

Tip

Working with the passé composé

The passé composé is French's dominant past tense — used in almost every spoken past reference ("j'ai mangé" = "I ate" or "I have eaten"). It's a COMPOUND tense formed with an auxiliary (avoir for most verbs, être for ~17 motion/state verbs and all reflexives) plus a past participle. Two things to memorise: which verbs take être (aller, venir, partir, sortir, arriver, monter, descendre, naître, mourir, rester, tomber, devenir, retourner, entrer, rentrer, passer, revenir — the so-called "house of être"), and agreement rules (être verbs agree with the subject; avoir verbs only agree with a preceding direct object).

Questions

Frequently asked questions

How do you form the passé composé of aller?
Use ÊTRE (not avoir!) as the auxiliary + the past participle 'allé': je suis allé, tu es allé, il est allé / elle est allée, nous sommes allés / allées, vous êtes allé(e)(s), ils sont allés / elles sont allées. The participle agrees with the subject in gender and number — an extra rule that English speakers often forget.
Why does aller use 'être' as its auxiliary?
Aller belongs to a small group of motion/state verbs that use être as their passé composé auxiliary — the so-called 'house of être' or 'Dr & Mrs Vandertramp' verbs: aller, venir, partir, sortir, arriver, monter, descendre, naître, mourir, rester, tomber, devenir, retourner, entrer, rentrer, passer, revenir. Plus all reflexive verbs. The pattern reflects an older Romance-language tendency to use 'to be' for intransitive motion verbs.
How does 'allé' agreement work with the subject?
Since aller uses être as its auxiliary, the past participle 'allé' agrees with the subject in both gender and number: il est allé (he went), elle est allée (she went), ils sont allés (they went, masculine or mixed), elles sont allées (they went, all feminine). For nous and vous, the agreement depends on who's actually included. This agreement rule applies to ALL être verbs in the passé composé.
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More tenses of Aller (To Go)

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Aller (to go) · Imparfait

More verbs in passé composé

All tenses
Aller (to go)
passé composé
Être (to be)
passé composé
Avoir (to have)
passé composé
Faire (to do)
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