Irregular Verbs: ALLER, VENIR, POUVOIR

Why this matters

These three verbs appear in almost every French conversation. "Where are you going?" "Can you help me?" "Are you coming?" — you can't get through a day in France without them. They're irregular, so you simply need to learn each form. The good news: you'll practice them so much they become automatic.

🦝 Remy says: "Irregular verbs are like celebrities — they don't follow the rules, but everyone knows them. The good news? There aren't many of them, and you'll use these three every single day."

ALLER — To Go

ALLER is completely irregular — it doesn't even look like its own infinitive!

| Pronoun | Form | Example | |

|

|

| | je | vais | Je vais au marché. = I'm going to the market. | | tu | vas | Tu vas où ? = Where are you going? | | il/elle/on | va | Elle va bien. = She's doing well. | | nous | allons | Nous allons au cinéma. = We're going to the cinema. | | vous | allez | Vous allez à Lyon ? = Are you going to Lyon? | | ils/elles | vont | Ils vont à la plage. = They're going to the beach. |

Bonus use — Near future: aller + infinitive = going to do something

• Je vais manger. = I'm going to eat.
• Tu vas regarder le match ? = Are you going to watch the game?

VENIR — To Come

| Pronoun | Form | Example | |

|

|

| | je | viens | Je viens tout de suite. = I'm coming right away. | | tu | viens | Tu viens avec moi ? = Are you coming with me? | | il/elle | vient | Il vient de Lyon. = He comes from Lyon. | | nous | venons | Nous venons à pied. = We're coming on foot. | | vous | venez | Vous venez ce soir ? = Are you coming tonight? | | ils/elles | viennent | Ils viennent en voiture. = They're coming by car. |

Note: venir + de + infinitive = to have just done something. This gets its own lesson on Day 10!

POUVOIR — To Be Able To / Can

| Pronoun | Form | Example | |

|

|

| | je | peux | Je peux t'aider. = I can help you. | | tu | peux | Tu peux répéter ? = Can you repeat? | | il/elle | peut | Elle peut venir demain. = She can come tomorrow. | | nous | pouvons | Nous pouvons essayer. = We can try. | | vous | pouvez | Vous pouvez parler plus lentement ? = Can you speak more slowly? | | ils/elles | peuvent | Ils peuvent rester. = They can stay. |

POUVOIR is always followed by an infinitive. It cannot stand alone.

🦝 Remy's memory trick: "Aller in the present looks nothing like itself: vais, vas, va... Think of it as a completely new word family! And for pouvoir: je peux, tu peux are identical twins — but il peut sneaks in with a 't'. Classic troublemaker."

📝 Exercise 1 — Fill in the blank

1. Je ________ (aller) au marché demain.
2. Tu ________ (venir) à la fête ?
3. Elle ________ (pouvoir) parler français.
4. Nous ________ (aller) au restaurant ce soir.
5. Ils ________ (venir) en train.

✅ Answers:

1. vais
2. viens
3. peut
4. allons
5. viennent

📝 Exercise 2 — Make a sentence

1. (I / go / to the supermarket) → ___
2. (Can you [tu] help me?) → ___
3. (They [m.] / come / from Marseille) → ___
4. (We / be going / to watch a film) → ___

✅ Model answers:

1. Je vais au supermarché.
2. Tu peux m'aider ?
3. Ils viennent de Marseille.
4. Nous allons regarder un film.

📝 Exercise 3 — Multiple choice

1. She goes to school. → Elle ___ à l'école. a) vient b) va c) peut

2. Can you (vous) speak slowly? → Vous ___ parler lentement ? a) allez b) venez c) pouvez

3. They (f.) are coming tonight. → Elles ___ ce soir. a) vont b) viennent c) peuvent

4. We are going to the beach. → Nous ___ à la plage. a) venons b) pouvons c) allons

5. I can eat now. → Je ___ manger maintenant. a) vais b) viens c) peux

✅ Answers: 1-b, 2-c, 3-b, 4-c, 5-c

🎯 Today's challenge

Write a mini-paragraph (3–4 sentences) about your plans for tomorrow using aller + infinitive for the near future. Example: Demain, je vais travailler. Je vais aussi aller au gym. Le soir, mes amis viennent chez moi.

⭐ Key takeaways

• ALLER is completely irregular — vais, vas, va, allons, allez, vont. Memorize them as a group.
• VENIR has a vowel shift: vien- in singular/ils, ven- in nous/vous.
• POUVOIR always pairs with an infinitive and cannot stand alone.