aller à visiter VS aller visiter

Question

Translate: "He went to visit a house."Correct: Il est allé visiter une maison.Incorrect: Il est allé à visiter une maison.Can someone explain please? Thanks

Accepted Answer

Hi Gio,
Just to add to the excellent answers you would never say 
Aller à visiter quelquechose 
You do not require the à just plain -
aller visiter 
Just be aware that the verb visiter in French is used differently from its use in English.
You cannot ' visiter une personne' but use 'rendre visite à quelqu'un'.
Take a  look at this lesson for further information -
How to say to visit someone or a place in French

Answer

Gio, 'aller' doesn't take the preposition 'à' before an infinitive (in most cases - see added information below), and 'est allé à visiter...' is not grammatically correct here.

In French, the translation of 'went to visit (somewhere)' is simply the past tense of aller, followed directly by the verb infinitive 'visiter'.

English uses the preposition 'to' as part of the infinitive - 'to visit'. French does not use a preposition as part of an infinitive verb form. Whether 'à' or 'de', or no preposition, is needed depends on the preceding verb, not the following infinitive.

https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/verbs-with-a/

Answer

Aller à is reserved for places: aller au cinéma, aller à Paris, etc. Aller + infinitive: aller visiter mes parents, aller faire du shopping, etc.

Answer

For completeness, there are many expressions that use ‘aller à….’, with various meanings, not restricted just to places.

The list includes at least one fixed expression with an infinitive -“ aller à ravir (à quelqu’un) “, which derives from the expression “ aller à (quelqu’un) “.

The exceptions in French !

Aller à = to suit someone (French Expressions with aller)

https://www.lawlessfrench.com/expressions/aller-expressions/

https://www.wordreference.com/fren/aller%20à

Answer

Hi Maarten, thanks for that clarification. Of course you are correct. I was only thinking in the limited context of the question.