ils allaient

were going, were going to

a . l ɛ → aller
all go + aient they were ...ing (imperfect past)
verb · third plural · imperfect indicative Rare #23,265
were going Imperfect tense (past habitual/ongoing).
FR: Ils allaient à l’école à pied tous les jours.
EN: They used to walk to school every day.
Conjugation of aller
Indicative imperfect
SingularPlural
First allais allions
Second allais alliez
Third allait allaient

Je me suis demandé elles allaient.

I wondered where they were going.

— Tigre & Dragon (2000)

Ils ont dit ils allaient?

Did they say where they were going?

Ils allaient ensemble.

They went together.

Ses vêtements ne lui allaient pas bien.

His clothes didn't fit him well.

Elles ne m'allaient pas très bien.

They didn't suit me very well.

— Crime 101 (2026)

Je pensais que les Murphy allaient en Floride.

I thought the Murphys were going to Florida.

— Maman, j'ai raté l'avion ! (1990)

Les mots allaient et venaient.

Words came and went.

— Le Facteur (1994)

Elles allaient ensemble.

They went together.

Ils ont dit qu'ils n'allaient pas à terre.

They said they weren't going ashore.

allaient-ils?

Where were they going?

Et, à ce moment-là, les choses allaient plutôt bien.

And, at that time, things were going pretty well.

— L'Ultime Héritier (2026)

Tous les arguments allaient dans la même direction.

All the arguments pointed in the same direction.

Elles allaient à un rendez-vous, mais je ne m'en souviens pas.

They were going to an appointment, but I don't remember.

— The Chaser (2008)

auxiliary · third plural · imperfect indicative Rare #29,818
were going to Used as an auxiliary with an infinitive to talk about something that was going to happen (near future in the past).
FR: Ils allaient partir quand le téléphone a sonné.
EN: They were going to leave when the phone rang.
Conjugation of aller
Indicative imperfect
SingularPlural
First allais allions
Second allais alliez
Third allait allaient

Par moments, j'ai cru que les sables allaient envahir et m'avaler.

At times, I thought the sands were going to engulf and swallow me.

Je savais que Tom et Mary n'allaient pas dire non.

I knew Tom and Mary weren’t going to say no.

Je pensais pas que ces deux crétins allaient y arriver.

I didn't think those two idiots were going to succeed.

— Cold Storage (2026)

Allaient-ils nous rôtir?

Were they going to roast us?

— Le Seigneur des anneaux : La Communauté de l'anneau (2001)

Elles allaient arrêter le travail.

They were going to stop work.

— Article 15 (2019)

Carotte et Manu allaient pouvoir affronter Petit Zé.

Carotte and Manu were going to be able to face off against Petit Zé.

— La Cité de Dieu (2002)

Comme si toutes les femmes allaient tomber folles de vous.

As if all women were going to fall madly in love with you.

— Picnic (1955)

J'ai cru que les flics allaient y passer la nuit.

I thought the cops were going to spend the night there.

— La Cité de Dieu (2002)

Des pros qui n'allaient pas merder.

Pros who weren't going to screw up.

— Bullet Train (2022)

Les Etats-Unis allaient devenir une terre de tolérance.

The United States was to become a land of tolerance.

Sounds similar to