J'allai (en. I was going)

/ʒa.le/

Meaning & Definition

EnglishFrench

verb

Indicates a movement towards a place or a destination.

Yesterday, I went to the market.

Hier, j'allai au marché.

Expresses an action that took place at a specific moment in the past.

A long time ago, I went to visit France.

Il y a longtemps, j'allai visiter la France.

Can express a past intention or plan.

Before moving, I went to see the apartment.

Avant de déménager, j'allai voir l'appartement.

From the Latin verb 'ire', which means 'to go'.

I went to the beach

I went to the beach.

j'allai à la plage

I went to get

I went to get something.

j'allai chercher

I went to see

I went to see someone.

j'allai voir

to go

To move from one place to another.

aller

come

Indicates an arrival at a place.

venu

left

Indicates a departure from a place.

parti

Go ahead

When I want to encourage someone to leave, I say 'go ahead!'.

Quand je veux encourager quelqu'un à partir, je dis 'allez-y !'.

To walk

We walked together, as in 'I went'.

On a cheminé ensemble, comme dans 'j'allai'.