Français I – Leçon 4A Structures -The verb aller -The preposition à -Interrogative words

Je vais Nous allons Tu vas Vous allez Il va Ils vont Elle va Aller = to go (*Note: this verb is irregular. Even though it ends with “er,” it is NOT a regular –er verb) Je vais Nous allons Tu vas Vous allez Il va Ils vont Elle va Elles vont On va

Aller can also be used with another verb to tell what is going to happen. This is called le future proche. Conjugate aller in the present tense and place the other verb’s infinitive (unchanged) form directly after it. Je vais manger un hot-dog. (I’m going to eat a hot dog) Nous allons aller à l’école. (We’re going to go to school.)

Negation – to make the present tense negative, place ne/n’…pas around the verb aller. To make the future proche negative, you also place ne/n’…pas round the verb aller. Je ne vais pas au café. Nous n’allons pas chanter ce soir.

The preposition à à + le = au à + la = à la à + l’ = à l’ The preposition à contracts with the definite articles le and les. It does not contract with la or l’. à + le = au à + la = à la à + l’ = à l’ à + les = aux

The preposition à can mean several things in English: to, in, at It often indicates a physical location, as with aller à and habiter à. It can also have other meanings depending on the verb used.

Other verbs with the preposition à commencer à [+ infinitive] = to start (doing something) example: Il commence à travailler. (He is starting to work.) parler à = to talk to penser à = to think about téléphoner à = to phone (someone)

In general, à is used to mean at or in, whereas dans is used to mean inside. When learning a place name in French, learn the preposition that accompanies it. à la maison = at home dans la maison = inside the house à Paris = in Paris dans Paris = inside Paris en ville = in town dans la ville = inside the town sur la place = in the square à la/ sur la/ en terrasse = on the terrace

Interrogative words (In Leçon 2A, you learned four ways to ask yes or no questions in French. However, there are other types of questions that can’t be answered with a simple “yes” or “no.”)

Use these words with est-ce que or inversion. À quelle heure? = at what time À quelle heure est-ce que le film commence? À quelle heure commence le film? Combien (de)? = how many/how much Combien est-ce que le billet coute? Combien coute le billet?

These words can also be used with est-ce que or inversion. Comment? = How? What? Où? = Where? Pourquoi? = Why? Quand? = When? Que/Qu’…? = What?

(These words are also used with est-ce que or inversion. ) Quel, Quelle, Quels, Quelles? =Which/What? Quoi? = What? Qui? = Who(m)? À qui? = To whom? Avec qui? = With who? Pour qui? = For who?