aller

"To go" — and, paired with an infinitive, the everyday way to talk about the near future (le futur proche): je vais manger, "I'm going to eat." Wildly irregular in the present tense, which is worth memorizing on its own before touching the rest of the table.

• Je vais au marché. — I'm going to the market.
• Nous allons partir bientôt. — We're going to leave soon.
• Comment allez-vous ? — How are you? (formal)

"Comment allez-vous ?" literally means "how are you going," not "how are you doing" in the English sense of an activity — it's the standard formal greeting, not a question about travel plans, which throws off literal-minded beginners.

• song "Allons enfants de la Patrie" — The opening line of "La Marseillaise," the French national anthem, written by Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle in 1792 — "allons" is the nous-form imperative of aller.
• expression Allez les Bleus ! — The standard rallying chant for French national sports teams ("Bleus" for the blue jersey), used by fans since at least the 1970s and especially since the 1998 World Cup win.