aller
Dutch
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈɑ.lər/
Audio (file) - Hyphenation: al‧ler
French
Alternative forms
- vader (Louisiana)
Etymology
A suppletive verb; Latin vādō (“I go”) supplies the present tense and īre, present active infinitive of the synonymous eō, supplies the future and conditional.
The all- forms derive from Middle French aller, from Old French aler, alier (with subjunctive aill- and other forms with all-), from Vulgar Latin *alō (attested in the 7th century Reichenau Glosses). This has traditionally been explained as deriving from Latin ambulāre via or together with ambler (compare Old Occitan amblar, Italian ambiare, Romanian umbla), but this explanation is phonologically problematic; ambler is additionally more likely a borrowing from Old Occitan. Several theories have been put forth since the 17th century to explain how ambulare could have become aller.[1] Since at least the 18th century, some have suggested that aller derives not from Latin but from Celtic,[2][3] Gaulish *aliu, from Proto-Celtic zero grade *ɸal-. Compare Welsh elwyf (“I may go”), Cornish ellev (“I may go”), from full grade *ɸel- (see mynd for more). It is also possible to combine the two theories by proposing that the contraction of ambulāre was reinforced by similar sounding forms in Celtic. Franco-Provençal alar and Friulan lâ (“to go”) (compare lin (“we go”), lât (“gone”)) are from the same source, whatever it may be.
See cognates in regional languages in France: Bourguignon ailai, Champenois aleï, Franc-Comtois ailaie, Gallo aler, Norman allaer, Picard aler, Poitevin-Saintongeais alàe, Franco-Provençal alar.
Pronunciation
audio (file) - IPA(key): /a.le/
Verb
aller
- (intransitive) to go
- Nous devons aller à l’école. ― We must go to school.
- J’irai au magasin. ― I will go to the store.
- (when followed by an infinitive verb) to be going (to); will soon; forms a near-future tense
- Il allait visiter sa famille. ― He was going to visit his family.
- Je vais aller au magasin. ― I will go to the store.
- to be (feeling)
- J'espère que tu vas bien. ― I hope you are well.
- Tout ira bien ― All will be well.
- to go well with (clothes, colors, etc.)
Conjugation
The verb aller has a unique and highly irregular conjugation. The second-person singular imperative va additionally combines with y to form vas-y instead of the expected va-y.
present participle | allant /a.lɑ̃/ | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
past participle | allé /a.le/ | ||||||
infinitive | |||||||
simple | aller | ||||||
compound | être + past participle | ||||||
gerund1 | |||||||
simple | allant /a.lɑ̃/ | ||||||
compound | étant + past participle | ||||||
singular | plural | ||||||
first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
indicative | je (j’) | tu | il, elle | nous | vous | ils, elles | |
(simple tenses) |
present | vais /vɛ/ |
vas /vɑ/ |
va /va/ |
allons /a.lɔ̃/ |
allez /a.le/ |
vont /vɔ̃/ |
imperfect | allais /a.lɛ/ |
allais /a.lɛ/ |
allait /a.lɛ/ |
allions /a.ljɔ̃/ |
alliez /a.lje/ |
allaient /a.lɛ/ | |
past historic2 | allai /a.le/ |
allas /a.la/ |
alla /a.la/ |
allâmes /a.lam/ |
allâtes /a.lat/ |
allèrent /a.lɛʁ/ | |
future | irai /i.ʁe/ |
iras /i.ʁa/ |
ira /i.ʁa/ |
irons /i.ʁɔ̃/ |
irez /i.ʁe/ |
iront /i.ʁɔ̃/ | |
conditional | irais /i.ʁɛ/ |
irais /i.ʁɛ/ |
irait /i.ʁɛ/ |
irions /i.ʁjɔ̃/ |
iriez /i.ʁje/ |
iraient /i.ʁɛ/ | |
(compound tenses) |
present perfect | present indicative of être + past participle | |||||
pluperfect | imperfect indicative of être + past participle | ||||||
past anterior2 | past historic of être + past participle | ||||||
future perfect | future of être + past participle | ||||||
conditional perfect | conditional of être + past participle | ||||||
subjunctive | que je (j’) | que tu | qu’il, qu’elle | que nous | que vous | qu’ils, qu’elles | |
(simple tenses) |
present | aille /aj/ |
ailles /aj/ |
aille /aj/ |
allions /a.ljɔ̃/ |
alliez /a.lje/ |
aillent /aj/ |
imperfect2 | allasse /a.las/ |
allasses /a.las/ |
allât /a.la/ |
allassions /a.la.sjɔ̃/ |
allassiez /a.la.sje/ |
allassent /a.las/ | |
(compound tenses) |
past | present subjunctive of être + past participle | |||||
pluperfect2 | imperfect subjunctive of être + past participle | ||||||
imperative | – | – | – | ||||
simple | — | va /va/ |
— | allons /a.lɔ̃/ |
allez /a.le/ |
— | |
compound | — | simple imperative of être + past participle | — | simple imperative of être + past participle | simple imperative of être + past participle | — | |
1 Only usable with preposition en. | |||||||
2 In less formal writing or speech, the past historic, past anterior, imperfect subjunctive and pluperfect subjunctive tenses may be found to have been replaced with the indicative present perfect, indicative pluperfect, present subjunctive and past subjunctive tenses respectively (Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81). |
Derived terms
Derived terms
See also
References
- 1939, D. A. Paton, On the origin of aller, in Studies in French Language and Mediaeval Literature, page 301: The opinion that ambulare is the origin of aller has been and is held by so many eminent etymologists that it is with some diffidence I venture to suggest another source. [...] By these suggestions I am not attempting to prove that aller and ambler are of different origin, but only to show that such a theory is not only possible, but probable. The real and to my mind insuperable objection to ambulare as the source of aller is the phonetic question, and here we find that the supporters of ambulare, in explaining its unique development, arrive at their common conclusion by entirely different routes. Ducange would take aller as coming from ambler. Schuchardt's reasoning is as follows: – ambulare to *ammulare to *amlare to aller. [...] More recently, Meyer-Lübke's view is that ambulare was simply contracted to *allare, the contraction being particularly natural in the imperative mood. Gammillscheg also points out that ambulate, used in the army as a word of command, would easily be shortened to *alate.
- 1773, Charles Vallancey, A Grammar of the Iberno-Celtic, Or Irish Language, page 84: aill, go thou [...] from hence aller the French verb, to go
- 1873, Louis A. Languellier, H. M. Monsanto, A pratical course with the French language, page 487: "words which [...] belong to the ancient Gallic or Celtic speech [...include] aller, to go"
Further reading
- “aller” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
German
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈalɐ/
Audio (file)
Middle French
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Old French aler.
Conjugation
- Like Modern French aller, highly irregular.
- Middle French conjugation varies from one text to another. Hence, the following conjugation should be considered as typical, not as exhaustive.
simple | compound | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
infinitive | aller | estre allé | |||||
gerund | en allant | Use the gerund of estre followed by the past participle | |||||
present participle | allant | ||||||
past participle | allé | ||||||
person | singular | plural | |||||
first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
indicative | ie (may be i' before a vowel) | tu | il | nous | vous | ilz, elles | |
simple tenses |
present | vays | vas | va | allons | allez | vont |
imperfect | allois | allois | alloit | allions | alliez | alloient | |
past historic | allai | allas | alla | allasmes | allastes | allerent | |
future | iroye, yroie | iras, yras | ira, yra | irons, yrons | irez, yrez | iront, yront | |
conditional | irois, yrois | irois, yrois | iroit, yroit | irions, yrions | iriez, yriez | iroient, yroient | |
compound tenses |
present perfect | Use the present tense of estre followed by the past participle | |||||
pluperfect | Use the imperfect tense of estre followed by the past participle | ||||||
past anterior | Use the past historic tense of estre followed by the past participle | ||||||
future perfect | Use the future tense of estre followed by the past participle | ||||||
conditional perfect | Use the conditional tense of estre followed by the past participle | ||||||
subjunctive | que ie | que tu | qu'il | que nous | que vous | qu'ilz, qu'elles | |
simple tenses |
present | aille | ailles | aille | allions | alliez | aillent |
imperfect | allasse | allasses | allast | allassions | allassiez | allassent | |
compound tenses |
past | Use the present subjunctive of estre followed by the past participle | |||||
pluperfect | Use the imperfect subjunctive of estre followed by the past participle | ||||||
imperative | – | tu | – | nous | vous | – | |
— | va | — | allons | allez | — |
Norman
Etymology
From Old French aler, alier, from Vulgar Latin *alare (see French aller for further etymology).
Pronunciation
Audio (Jersey) (file)
Norwegian Bokmål
Derived terms
Norwegian Nynorsk
Derived terms
Old French
Saterland Frisian
Scots
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Old English alor, from Proto-Germanic *aluz, *alusō (compare Swedish al, Saterland Frisian ällerboom), variant of *alizō, *alisō (compare Dutch els, German Erle), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisos
Pronunciation
- Central Scots
- (West Central Scots) IPA(key): /ˈɛlər/
- Southern Scots
- (Hawick) IPA(key): /ˈɑːlʌɹ/