ils allaient

they were going to

→ il

phrase Rare #30,746

they were going to Usually followed by an infinitive to express a planned or imminent action in the past, equivalent to “they were going to” or sometimes “they were about to.”

FR: Ils allaient partir quand le téléphone a sonné.

EN: They were going to leave when the phone rang.

Ils allaient lui tirer dessus.

They were going to shoot him.

Ils allaient partir.

They were about to leave.

— Huit et demi (1963)

Je savais qu'ils allaient camper, alors je suis venue aujourd'hui.

I knew they were going camping, so I came today.

— Parasite (2019)

Nous avons fait ça parce que ils allaient parler.

We did that because they were going to talk.

— Bacurau (2019)

Ils allaient fuguer à Las Vegas.

They were planning to elope to Las Vegas.

— Mystic River (2003)

Osman était sûr qu'ils allaient mourir.

Osman was sure they were going to die.

— Le prisonnier du Caucase (1996)

Mais ils allaient s'en prendre à vous, il fallait les payer.

But they were going to come after you, so you had to pay them off.

— Drive (2011)

Ils allaient le trouver !

They were going to find him!

— Les Affranchis (1990)

Chaque vendredi soir ils allaient se bourrer la gueule.

Every Friday night they would go and get drunk.

Tom et Mary m'ont dit qu'ils allaient apprendre le français l'année prochaine.

Tom and Mary told me they were going to learn French next year.