Routine du matin : sœur motivée vs sœur flemmarde

Why do French speakers say “allez” to one person?

Allez looks like the vous form of aller, but as an encouragement it is frozen in place: you use it on a child, a friend, a whole team, or yourself. That is why allez, viens is ordinary French despite apparently mixing vous and tu — allez has stopped telling anyone to go anywhere. Its job is to hurry someone along: allez, lève-toi !

The same frozen allez closes conversations — allez, salut !, allez, bonne journée — where it works like “right then,” signalling that you are wrapping up. It is also the shout from the stands: allez les Bleus ! Keep it apart from the literal instruction allez-y (“go ahead”) and its informal twin vas-y.