This is part of the section Present Tense in French.

French Verbs – Present Tense of Aller and Faire

In this lesson, we cover the present tense of two further irregular verbs, aller (‘to go’) and faire (‘to do, to make’).

What is the present tense of aller (‘to go’)?

Watch the video as many times as you need, until you feel you can give the French translations as we go!

Now we can see what we’ve learned. Look at the English and see if you can provide the French for the following:

I go, I am going

je vais

you go, you are going (informal)

tu vas

he goes, he is going

il va

she goes, she is going

elle va

we go, we are going

nous allons

you go, you are going (formal)

vous allez

they go, they are going (masc. plural)

ils vont

they go, they are going (fem. plural)

elles vont

What is the present tense of faire (‘to do, to make’)?

This is also irregular and is formed as follows:

Now we can see what we’ve learned. Look at the English and see if you can provide the French for the following:

I do, I am doing, I make, I am making

je fais

you do, you are doing, you make, you are making (informal)

tu fais

he does, he is doing, he makes, he is making

il fait

she does, she is doing, she makes, she is making

elle fait

we do, we are doing, we make, we are making

nous faisons

you do, you are doing, you make, you are making (formal)

vous faites

they do, they are doing, they make, they are making (masc. plural)

ils font

they do, they are doing, they make, they are making (fem. plural)

elles font

What are some idiomatic uses of faire (‘to do, to make’)?

Faire is often used in French as part of more idiomatic expressions and everyday phrases, so it’s a really useful verb to know. Here are some examples:

faire attention	to pay attention
faire les courses	to go shopping (i.e. for necessities)
faire les magasins	to go round the shops, go shopping)
faire de la bicyclette	to ride a bicycle
faire du vélo	to go cycling
faire de la voile	to sail, go sailing
faire du camping	to go camping
faire la grève	to go on strike
faire du ski	to go skiing
faire du tricot	to knit
faire le ménage	to do housework
faire la lessive	to do the washing up
faire le lit	to make the bed
faire du sport	to play sports
faire du bricolage	to do some DIY
faire une promenade	to take a walk
faire de son mieux	to do one’s best
faire mal	to hurt

Quick Quiz – Written Recall

Can you fill in the blanks to complete the verbs we learned?

Test Yourself