The most "bang for buck" language course
4.7 star rating from 4800+ reviews
One payment for 24/7 lifetime access
60-day money back guarantee
Or until 1000 25 courses sold.
Save 60% Now
Forum Rocket French French Grammar Je suis allé(e) and je vais aller

Je suis allé(e) and je vais aller

Cathy-W

Cathy-W

Je suis allee and je vais aller - Please clarify how they are different. I know that the first is in the feminine form. Maybe I'm tired since it is very late and I have had a long day. My brain is running on empty right now .
toru e

toru e

"Je suis allé(e)" is the passé composé form, meaning it was a repeated or habitual action that you did in the past, i.e.: I went/I used to go/I did go. The *suis* [être] functions as a helping verb here for the main verb *aller*, so you're not translating it verbatim as "am" [to be]" [or if you do, the translation of this structure would be something like "I am went." :) ] "Je vais aller" is like a future tense "cheat". If it's an action that you're going to do in the near future, you could use this structure to avoid having to conjugate *aller* to the future tense. So basically, it's almost equivalent to "J'irai" (I will go) because you're saying "I'm going to go".
Cathy-W

Cathy-W

Thank you very much for clarifying this.toru 25. Je suis allee - I went . Je suis allee au cinema. I went to the movies. Je vais aller I'm going to go. Je vais aller au cinema. I'm going to go to the movies. So another concern of mine. Can I use je suis bien and je vais bien interchangeably? Comment ca va? Je vais bien . Je suis bien (I am fine) I think is correct. either way. Last but not least Can I say je suis de Peurto Rico and je viens de Puerto Rico interchangeably? I am from Puerto Rico (je suis) versus I come from Puerto Rico (je viens) Haven't used my French for 3 years. Am able to read and understand it quite well. The grammar is where I need to really get on track with. Merci beaucoup et a bientot! Cathy W.
toru e

toru e

Pas de problème ! :) "Je suis" and "Je vais" can't be used interchangeably because the salutation questions are based on the verb *aller*: Comment ça *va* ?, Comment *allez*-vous ?, Comment *vas*-tu ?, Tout *va* bien ? So, while in English, we are asking "How are you?, the French are asking "How does it go with you?" [or "All goes well ?" for "Tout va bien ?"] So while they'll likely understand what you mean, the grammar would not be correct. Regarding "Je suis de..." versus "Je viens de...", yes, they can be used interchangeably for the most part. I hear "Je viens de..." more commonly though, and it's more versatile since you use it on other "coming from" situations, where you're hopping from one place to another.
Cathy-W

Cathy-W

Je comprends maintenant! "Je suis" is from etre- to be." I am well." Whereas "Je vais" is from aller to go. Colloquial here. Ca va? "How is it going?" Je vais bien. "I'm going well." Many years ago , I learned to say "Je suis bien" for the question "Comment-allez vous?" (Scouts honor) Reply should be "Je vais bien merci" not "Je suis bien ". Merci autre fois pour la lecon! Enfin, ,je suis tres curieuse ici .Quand j'ai lu ton explication anterieur, j'ai regarde que tu as mis une cedille ( au dessous de la lettre c en" ca") Comment est possible avec un ordinateur des Etats Unis non Europeen? Je voudrais avoir le meme chose..Sera possible? Merci et a tres bientot! Cathy
toru e

toru e

De rien, avec plaisir ! Ah, en ce qui concerne de la cédille, mon ordinateur est un MacBook Pro, et cette technologie de clavier est toujours disponible sur les appareils d'Apple (iPad et iPhone aussi). J'appuie sur une touche un peu plus d'une seconde, et tous les choix pour cette touche apparaissent. Par exemple, j'appuie sur 'e' et je peux voir tous ses choix: è é ê ë ē ė ę. J'appuie sur 'o': ôöòóœøōõ. Et enfin, j'appuie sur 'c', et voilà, la cédille: ç ć č. C'est très simple avec un mac ! ;)
Cathy-W

Cathy-W

Autre fois merci! Je le dirai a mon mari . Il est le "pro" de la technologie chez nous:-) A bientot! Cathy W.

Ask a question or post a response

If you want to ask a question or post a response you need to be a member.

If you are already a member login here.
If you are not a member you can become one by taking the free Rocket French trial here.