Join Discordallait
was going
used to go (habitual past)
Il allait souvent au ciné à l'époque.
He used to go to the cinema often back then.
was going to
was about to
Il allait partir quand le téléphone a sonné.
He was about to leave when the phone rang.
Notes
GENERAL INFO
Allait is the imperfect tense (past continuous/habitual) of the irregular verb "aller" (to go). It means "was going" or "used to go" for the first-person singular (je) and third-person singular (il, elle, on).
USAGE
It describes past actions that were ongoing, repeated, or habitual. It also sets the scene for past events.
Examples: "Il allait à l'école tous les jours." (He used to go to school every day.) "Tout allait bien." (Everything was going well.)
TRAPS
Don't confuse allait (verb conjugation) with "à l'aide" (to the rescue/help), which sounds similar but has a completely different meaning and function.