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Course / Leçon 7 of 40

Aller and the near future

After this lesson you can talk about plans with the near future (je vais partir), use au and aux correctly, pronounce the French r, ch, j and gn, and handle stations, tickets, platforms and delays on French trains.

52 core words · 15 bonus cognates · 15 phrases

Pronunciation

The French r, ch, j, soft and hard g, gn

r = /ʁ/

Good news for German speakers: the French r is basically your German r in rot or Rad, made in the back of the throat (uvular). It is not the English tongue r and not the rolled Italian r.

  • rouge /ʁuʒ/, la route /ʁut/, le train /tʁɛ̃/, rester /ʁɛs.te/

Two things to watch:

  • Pronounce it everywhere, also at the end of a word: pour /puʁ/, le cœur /kœʁ/. Do not turn it into a vowel like German Vater /ˈfaːtɐ/ or British car.
  • Keep it soft: a light friction, not a gargle.

ch = /ʃ/

Like German sch in Schule or English sh in shoe. Never like German ch in Bach or English ch in church.

  • chercher /ʃɛʁ.ʃe/, la chance /ʃɑ̃s/, chez /ʃe/, le chef /ʃɛf/

A few Greek words have /k/: la technologie /tɛk.nɔ.lɔ.ʒi/, l'orchestre, la chorale.

j and g before e, i, y = /ʒ/

The sound in English measure or vision, or the g in German loanwords Garage, Genie. Not English j /dʒ/ as in jam.

  • je /ʒə/, jeter /ʒə.te/, aujourd'hui /o.ʒuʁ.dɥi/
  • général /ʒe.ne.ʁal/, la stratégie /stʁa.te.ʒi/, la technologie

g before a, o, u (and consonants) = /g/

Hard, like German g in gut.

  • le garçon /gaʁ.sɔ̃/, gagner /ga.ɲe/, la galerie /gal.ʁi/, grand /gʁɑ̃/

Spelling tricks: ge + a/o keeps the soft sound (nous mangeons), gu + e/i keeps the hard sound (la guerre /gɛʁ/, la guitare). Same logic as ç in garçon.

gn = /ɲ/

Like ny in English canyon or gn in Italian lasagne, one single sound.

  • gagner /ga.ɲe/, la campagne /kɑ̃.paɲ/, la montagne /mɔ̃.taɲ/, l'Espagne /ɛs.paɲ/

Practice
chance /ʃɑ̃s/ jambe /ʒɑ̃b/ gant /gɑ̃/
rouge /ʁuʒ/ garage /ga.ʁaʒ/ gagner /ga.ɲe/
Grammar

Aller, the near future, au and aux

Aller in the present

Aller (to go) is the most irregular verb in French, and one of the most frequent. Learn it by heart.

Person aller English
je vais I go / am going
tu vas you go
il / elle / on va he / she / one goes
nous allons we go
vous allez you go
ils / elles vont they go
  • Je vais à Bordeaux. I'm going to Bordeaux.
  • On va au café ? Shall we go to the café?
  • Comment allez-vous ? How are you? (literally How do you go?, like German Wie geht's?)

The near future: aller + infinitive

Exactly like English going to + verb: conjugate aller and add an infinitive. This is the everyday way to talk about the future.

  • Je vais partir demain. I'm going to leave tomorrow.
  • Le train va arriver en retard. The train is going to arrive late.
  • Nous allons prendre le TGV. We're going to take the TGV.
  • Ils vont manquer leur correspondance. They're going to miss their connection.
  • Tu vas voir, c'est rapide. You'll see, it's fast.

German uses the present for this (Ich fahre morgen), English uses going to. French uses aller + infinitive in exactly the English spots, and often where English would say will.

Negative: wrap the aller verb

The infinitive stays outside the negation:

  • Je ne vais pas rester. I'm not going to stay.
  • On ne va pas arriver à l'heure. We're not going to arrive on time.

Pronouns go before the infinitive

  • Je vais le prendre. I'm going to take it.
  • Je vais m'asseoir. I'm going to sit down.

à + le = au, à + les = aux

The preposition à (to, at, in) merges with le and les, like German zu dem → zum, in dem → im:

à + article Result Example
à + le au Je vais au guichet. (to the ticket office)
à + la à la Je vais à la gare. (no change)
à + l' à l' Il est **à l'**hôtel. (no change)
à + les aux On va aux toilettes.

The same happens with de: de + le = du, de + les = des (le train du matin, l'heure des départs).

Countries and cities

  • Cities: à → Je vais à Paris, à Bordeaux.
  • Feminine countries (most ending in -e): en → Je vais en France, en Allemagne.
  • Masculine countries: au → Je vais au Portugal, au Canada.
  • Plural countries: aux → Je vais aux États-Unis.

Aller vs partir: aller needs a destination (je vais à Lyon); partir means to leave and can stand alone (le train part). Never say je vais without a place or infinitive: use j'y vais (I'm off / I'm going there).

Cognate pattern

-ie = -y / -ie

The rule

Many French nouns in -ie match English -y and German -ie. They are almost all feminine (la). Typical families: -logie (= -logy), -graphie (= -graphy), -sophie, -cratie (= -cracy), -nomie (= -nomy).

Pronunciation: -ie is /i/; -tie in démocratie is /si/.

French English German
la technologie technology die Technologie
l'économie economy die Wirtschaft, Ökonomie
la philosophie philosophy die Philosophie
la géographie geography die Geografie
la démocratie democracy die Demokratie
la théorie theory die Theorie
la stratégie strategy die Strategie
la catégorie category die Kategorie
la cérémonie ceremony die Zeremonie
l'industrie industry die Industrie
l'énergie energy die Energie
la compagnie company die Gesellschaft, Kompanie
la galerie gallery die Galerie
la copie copy die Kopie
la pharmacie pharmacy, chemist's die Apotheke
la batterie battery, drum kit die Batterie, das Schlagzeug
la garantie guarantee, warranty die Garantie
la biologie biology die Biologie

Traps

  • l'économie also means savings: faire des économies = to save money (German sparen).
  • la pharmacie = German Apotheke, not Pharmazie (the subject is la pharmacie too, but in daily life it is the shop with the green cross).
  • la batterie is both a car or phone battery and a drum kit.
  • la compagnie is mainly an airline or theatre company (compagnie aérienne); a business is usually une entreprise or une société.
  • Words ending -ité (lesson 2) and -ie both often match English -y: la société (society) vs la stratégie (strategy). Gender is feminine in both.