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."

🎯 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.

Irregular Verbs: ALLER, VENIR, POUVOIR