Dont Make This Mistake in French Je vais

In English, you can say Im going, and everyone will understand that youre either leaving your current location or are on your way to a new destination that was previously mentioned. In French, however, simply saying Je vais (Im going) is incomplete. You will need to add to it an adverbial pronoun to make it correct. To that end, you have two options. You can either use Jy vais or Je men vais. J’y vais. Going To a Place The little word y often means â€Å"there† and you should use it when you want to say that someone is going somewhere/leaving to go somewhere previously mentioned. For example, when you have been sent on an errand to the grocery store, after getting ready and upon departure, you would say, Im going now. In English, without any additional specification, everyone understands that you are going to the grocery store. Or if someone asks you, Weren’t you going to the bank? When you reply, Yes, I’m going soon, everyone knows that youre talking about the bank. In French, however, you cannot just say Je vais or Oui, je vais bientà ´t. These sentences need something to complete them. For this purpose, we use y as a brief replacement of the destination that has already been mentioned. Tu vas à   la banque? Oui, jy vais bientà ´t. Are you going to the bank? Yes, Im going (there) soon.(After a conversation about the groceries:) Jy vais. Im going. (And everyone knows that y refers to the grocery store.)Jy vais ce soir. Im going there this eveningJe dois y aller. I have to go.  (In this case, y (there) points at a certain destination, your home or another place, but not necessarily known to others. Also, when you say, Je dois y aller, it means that you have to go because of a specific reason, but your friends don’t necessarily need to know what that reason is.) Je m’en vais. Going Away From a Place En has many different uses, but when used as a pronoun, it often replaces nouns that are preceded by the preposition de (from), as in je mange beaucoup de pommes—Jen mange beaucoup (I eat a lot of apples—I eat a lot of them). Similarly, je men vais, which comes from the pronominal idiom sen aller (to go), means that instead of specifying your destination, you are going away from somewhere. Youre simply announcing that you are leaving your current location. For example, instead of saying Je me vais de là   (I am going from there), which is not a frequent expression, in French you would rather say, Je men vais. Or to say Bye, everyone! Im going now, or Im ready. Im going now. you cannot just say Je vais. That would be very awkward. Instead, it would look like this: Au revoir tout le monde. Je men vais. Bye, everyone! Im going now.Je suis prà ªte maintenant, Je men vais. Im ready. Im going now.Tu devrais partir bientà ´t. Oui, je men vais. You should leave soon. Yes, I’m going.Il sen va. He is leaving. When Je men vais or Jy vais Are Interchangeable Without too much context, both jy vais and je men vais mean essentially the same thing—Im off/Im leaving. Since y can simply be alluding to your home or to any destination other than your current location, and thus to simply express that you are leaving, without any further specifications, you can use either expression. A plus les amis, Je men vais. See you later friends. Im off / Im leaving / Im going home.A plus les amis, Jy vais. See you later friends. Im off / Im leaving / Im going home.Est-ce que tu vas partir un jour? Je m’en vais. Je m’en vais. Are you ever going to leave? Im going. Im going. (as in leaving from here.)Est-ce que tu vas partir un jour? Jy vais. Jy vais. Are you ever going to leave? Im going. Im going. (as in leaving for a place different than here.) In this last case, the person urging you to leave isn’t necessarily alluding to your destination. The only place they are pointing to with the use of y is away from your current location. This is precisely why en works here as well. Your friend is interested in your departure from the current location, and therefore en (from) can be used here as well.   Confusions With Je vais as Going To On a similar note, in English, you can end a sentence with Im going to or Hes going to as an alternate form of the future tense. People usually use it to indicate that they are or someone else is going to do something that was previously mentioned. Again, in French you will have to complete a sentence like that. Instead of saying je vais or il va, you have to add le faire (which means do it) to it, as in je vais le faire or il va le faire. For example: Tu devrais lire ce livre. Je vais le faire. You should read this book. Im going to.Il devrait reculer un peu lorsque le train arrive. Il va le faire.  He should back up a little when the train comes. Hes going to (do it). Other Uses of Je Vais With Location. Current or Near Future Travel Je vais en France. Im going to France. / Im on my way to Paris. Je vais à   Paris. Im going to Paris / Im on my way to Paris. Il va en pà ¨lerinage à   la Mecque. He is going on a pilgrimage to Mecca. / He is on a pilgrimage to Mecca. With Actions. Near Future Je vais partir maintenant. Im going to leave now. Je vais faire la cuisine. I am about to cook. Il va aller au lit. He is going to bed soon. Examples and Expressions with Jy vais, Je men vais y aller Jy vais ce soir.  Im  going there this evening.Quand faut y aller, faut y aller. When youve got to go, youve got to go.Allons-y!  Lets go!  Vas-y! Go on!  On y vas? Are we going?Je dois y aller. I  have  to go.  Ã‚  Tu y vas un peu fort.  Youre going a bit too far.  /  Youre going a bit far.y aller mollo (familiar): to go easy / take it easy  y aller franco: get straight to the point / go right aheady aller franchement: to go at it  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹ s'en aller (pronominal) Il est tard, il faut que je men aille.  Its late; I should go.  Ã‚  Va-t-en!  Go away!  Ã‚  Va-ten de là  Ã‚  ! Get away from there !​Je lui donnerai la clà © en men allant.  Ill give him the key on my way out.Tous les jeunes sen vont du village.  All the young people are leaving the village.Ça sen ira au lavage / avec du savon. Itll come off in the wash / with soap.Leur dernià ¨re lueur despoir sen est allà ©e.  Their last glimmer of hope is gone  / has  vanished.Il sen fut trouver le magicien.  He went off  to find the wizard.Je men vais lui dire ses quatre và ©rità ©s  !  (familiar)  Im going to tell her a few home truths !