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What's the noun corresponding to the verb aller?

Should we say: “une allure”, or what?

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What is it in english? – mouviciel Oct 9 '13 at 10:53

4 Answers 4

up vote 11 down vote accepted

There are various substantives.

allée : narrow passage, usually pedestrian, between two walls or rows of trees ; it used to mean also "the fact of aller", but survives only in "les allées et venues" (= comings and goings)

aller : usually a ticket (bus, train, plane) ; aller simple (a single), aller et retour (a return) ; it used to be "the fact of aller", but survives only in "le pis-aller" (= stopgap)

allure :

a) = speed or pace ; "la voiture roulait à vive allure" = the car was running fast

b) = walk, gait ; "son allure était hésitante" = his walk was hesitant/not sure

c) = appearance ; "il avait mauvaise allure" = He had a bad appearance or his look was not engaging.

d) = ways ; "il choque par sa liberté d'allure" = his unconventional behaviour is shocking ou He shocks by his liberty of ways.

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I'd say it's simply un aller, like in un aller-retour or un aller simple.

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Dans le sens go/no go à propos de la décision ou non de démarrer un projet, on peut dire feu vert: J'ai obtenu le feu vert de ma hiérarchie pour réaliser cette action.

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You could also use "une promenade", depending on what you want to express.

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