| Let's look at the sentence pattern. |
| This pattern is the structure that all of our examples will follow. |
| [subject] + aller (present) + [infinitive phrase] |
| "[subject] is going to [infinitive phrase]" |
| This structure is used to talk about something you're going to do in the near future. |
| You start with the subject of the sentence. |
| Next is the verb aller, meaning "to go," conjugated in the present tense to match the subject. |
| Then comes an infinitive verb—this is the action the subject is going to do. |
| The infinitive stays in its base form, like boire, meaning "to drink." |
| So the structure je vais boire means "I'm going to drink," with vais being the present tense of aller and boire as the action. |
| Let's see how a line from the dialogue follows this pattern. |
| Ce soir, je vais boire un verre avec mes amis à la Comtesse. |
| "Tonight, I'm going to have a drink with my friends at La Comtesse." |
| In this sentence: |
| Ce soir means "tonight," giving us the time this is happening, but it's not part of the pattern. |
| Je is the subject, meaning "I." |
| Vais is the present tense form of aller, matching the subject je, and means "am going." |
| Boire is the infinitive verb meaning "to drink." |
| Together, je vais boire means "I'm going to drink." |
| The rest of the sentence gives more detail about what the speaker is going to do. |
| Un verre means "a drink," |
| Avec mes amis means "with my friends," and à la Comtesse tells us the location—"at La Comtesse." |
| So, Ce soir, je vais boire un verre avec mes amis à la Comtesse means |
| "Tonight, I'm going to have a drink with my friends at La Comtesse." |
| Now, you can use this structure to talk about your plans in French! |
| In France, socializing over drinks is an important part of daily life, especially during l'apéro, which is short for apéritif, meaning a pre-dinner drink. |
| In the early evening, friends or family often gather at a café, bar, or someone's home to enjoy light alcoholic beverages like wine, pastis—an anise-flavored spirit popular in the south—or kir, which is white wine mixed with blackcurrant liqueur. |
| These drinks are usually served with small snacks such as olives, nuts, or slices of saucisson, meaning dry-cured sausage. L'apéro isn't just about the food and drink—it's a cherished moment of connection and relaxation that sets the tone for the evening meal. |
| Now let's look at some speaking examples. |
| Je vais étudier à la bibliothèque. |
| "I'm going to study at the library." |
| Can you see how the pattern applies here? |
| Let's break it down: |
| Here, je is the subject, meaning "I." |
| Vais is the present tense form of the verb aller, which means "to go," and it's conjugated to match the subject je. |
| Then we have étudier, which is the infinitive verb meaning "to study." This is the action that the subject is going to do. |
| The rest of the sentence, à la bibliothèque, means "at the library" and tells us where the action will happen. |
| So, that is how Je vais étudier à la bibliothèque. fits the pattern [subject] + aller (present) + [infinitive phrase] — it means "I'm going to study at the library." |
| Here's another example |
| Je vais voir un film au cinéma. |
| "I'm going to see a movie at the cinema." |
| Je vais voir un film au cinéma. |
| "I'm going to see a movie at the cinema." |
| Let's try one more, |
| Je vais faire un gâteau pour la fête. |
| "I'm going to bake a cake for the party." |
| Je vais faire un gâteau pour la fête. |
| "I'm going to bake a cake for the party." |
| Another one. |
| Je vais jouer au football au parc. |
| "I'm going to play football at the park." |
| Je vais jouer au football au parc. |
| "I'm going to play football at the park." |
| One last example. |
| Je vais regarder un film à la maison. |
| "I'm going to watch a movie at home." |
| Je vais regarder un film à la maison. |
| "I'm going to watch a movie at home." |
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