Andare Conjugation
Andare Conjugation is one of the most important things to learn in Italian, since andare translates to go (or to travel) and it’s used when you want to talk about movement from one point to another by any means of transport – on foot or else.
For example:
Vado a Roma in aereo, poi vado alla stazione in treno e vado a piedi all’hotel.
I go to Rome by plane, then I go to the station by train and I go to the hotel by foot.
Because andare is irregular in many tenses, it is very important to learn how to conjugate andare, so you’ll feel more comfortable using it.
So… Andiamo! Let’s go!
Andare Conjugation – Modo Indicativo
First of all, let’s start by conjugating andare in the finite mood, indicative (indicativo) which is used to express certainty of an action. It has four simple tenses (made of one word) and four compound tenses (i.e. it’s made of two components: an auxiliary verb – essere or avere depending on the verb – and the past participle of the verb – participio passato). Each of these tenses indicate the time when the action, or event, takes place.
Andare in Presente
| io vado | I go |
| tu vai | you go |
| lui/lei va | he/she/it goes |
| noi andiamo | we go |
| voi andate | you go |
| loro vanno | they go |
For example:
Vado a scuola in autobus.
I go to school by bus.
Carla va dal dottore tutti i mesi.
Carla goes to the doctor every month.
Domani i tuoi amici vanno in pizzeria, vuoi andare anche tu?
Tomorrow your friends will go to a pizza place, do you also want to go?
As you can see from the last example, Italian uses the present tense to describe current actions, or events, but also to express future ones. However, you understand you are talking about something that will happen in the future thanks to the presence of time adverbs, in this case tomorrow (domani).
Andare in Passato Prossimo
Furthermore, andare is an intransitive verb, as most movement verbs, meaning it cannot take a direct object and is used with essere in compound tenses (i.e. tenses with auxiliary essere or avere + past participle of the verb) such as passato prossimo (past tense). Its past participle is andato.
When you encounter a verb which requires essere as auxiliary verb, the past participle agrees with the subject of the sentence in number – singular or plural – and in gender – masculine or feminine – therefore you have four forms: andato (masculine singular), andata (feminine singular), andati (masculine plural), andate (feminine plural).
| io sono andato/a | I went/have gone |
| tu sei andato/a | you went/have gone |
| lui/lei è andato/a | he/she/it went/has gone |
| noi siamo andati/e | we went/have gone |
| voi siete andati/e | you went/have gone |
| loro sono andati/e | they went/have gone |
Use the conjugation of andare in passato prossimo to talk about something you have started and completed in the past. That’s usually an action, or event, which happened only once. For example:
Giulia, sei mai andata al mare in Italia?
Julia, have you ever gone to the beach in Italy?
Stamattina Marco è andato al bar a comprare le brioche.
This morning Marco went to the coffee shop to buy croissants.
Dove siete andate in vacanza tu e tua figlia quest’estate?
Where did you and your daughter go on vacation this summer?
Andare in Imperfetto
| io andavo | I went/used to go |
| tu andavi | you went/used to go |
| lui/lei andava | he/she/it went/used to go |
| noi andavamo | we went/used to go |
| voi andavate | you went/used to go |
| loro andavano | they went/used to go |
Unlike passato prossimo, the imperfetto is used to talk about recurring or habitual actions of the past, or to describe something or someone of the past. You can even use this tense to describe what happened while another action was in progress.
For example:
Da bambina andavo sempre a giocare al parco.
As a child I always went to play at the park.
Bruno andava a casa di mia nonna dopo scuola.
Bruno used to go to my grandmother’s house after school.
Mentre andavo al supermercato, ho incontrato i miei colleghi.
While I was going to the supermarket, I met my colleagues.
Andare in Trapassato Prossimo
| io ero andato / andata | I had gone |
| tu eri andato / andata | you had gone |
| lui/lei era andato / andata | he/she/it had gone |
| noi eravamo andati / andate | we had gone |
| voi eravate andati / andate | you had gone |
| loro erano andati / andate | they had gone |
Trapassato prossimo is a compound tense used to describe an action which happened before another action happened in the past. Because of this, it’s rarely used by itself.
For example:
Erano già andati a casa, quando li hanno chiamati per tornare in ufficio.
They had already gone home when they called them to return to the office.
Non ero mai andata a teatro, prima di conoscerti.
I had never gone to the theatre, before I met you.
Andare in Passato Remoto
| io andai |
| tu andasti |
| lui/lei andò |
| noi andammo |
| voi andaste |
| loro andarono |
Passato remoto is mostly used in formal written language, like school books or novels, when referring to an event happened in a distant past. Consequently, it’s barely used in spoken language (usually substituted by passato prossimo), so you just learn it in order to recognize it.
For example:
Nel 1777 LaFayette andò negli Stati Uniti.
In 1777 LaFayette went to the United States.
Andare in Trapassato Remoto
| io fui andato/ andata |
| tu fosti andato/ andata |
| lui/lei fu andato/ andata |
| noi fummo andati/ andate |
| voi foste andati/ andate |
| loro furono andati/ andate |
Trapassato remoto is used to talk about an action happened before another one in the past. Actually, you use it only if the other verb is conjugated in the passato remoto. For this reason, this is the less common tense in Italian.
Andare in Futuro Semplice
| io andrò | I will go |
| tu andrai | you will go |
| lui/lei andrà | he/she/it will go |
| noi andremo | we will go |
| voi andrete | you will go |
| loro andranno | they will go |
As you may notice, Italians tend to avoid using the future in favor of the present tense – if the context makes clear that you are talking about a future action. Nonetheless, you can use this tense also to talk about expectations, assumptions or uncertainty.
For example:
A settembre andremo/andiamo in vacanza in Sicilia.
In September we will go on vacation in Sicily.
Forse Lucia andrà a festeggiare dopo il suo diploma.
Maybe Lucia is going to celebrate after her diploma.
Andare in Futuro Anteriore
| io sarò andato / andata | I will have gone |
| tu sarai andato / andata | you will have gone |
| lui/lei sarà andato / lei sarà andata | he/she/it will have gone |
| noi saremo andati / andate | we will have gone |
| voi sarete andati / andate | you will have gone |
| loro saranno andati / andate | they will have gone |
The futuro anteriore is an uncommon tense, but you need it when you talk about a future action which will only occur after something else has happened. To clarify, the action that will take place first is in futuro anteriore, the one that follows in futuro semplice.
For example:
Ti inviterò a cena, appena i miei saranno andati in campagna.
I’ll invite you for dinner, as soon as my parents go to the countryside.
Andare Conjugation: Modo Congiuntivo
Secondly, there is the subjunctive mood, modo congiuntivo, of andare conjugation. This mood is used when you want to express doubts, opinions, wishes, hopes and hypotheses. It follows verbs that express these meanings (ex. volere, credere, sperare, pensare, etc.) or after certain conjunctions (ex. nonostante, benché, sebbene, a condizione che, etc.), and it rarely stands by itself. The congiuntivo has two simple and two compound tenses.
Here it is the modo congiuntivo of andare conjugation, ready?! Andiamo!
Andare in Congiuntivo Presente
| (che) io vada |
| (che) tu vada |
| (che) lui/lei vada |
| (che) noi andiamo |
| (che) voi andiate |
| (che) loro vadano |
For example:
Voglio che almeno oggi tu vada a casa presto.
I want that at least today you go home early.
Nonostante andiate sempre fuori a giocare, non siete mai stanchi.
Even if you always go out to play, you are never tired.
Andare in Congiuntivo Passato
| (che) io sia andato/andata |
| (che) tu sia andato/andata |
| (che) lui/lei sia andato/andata |
| (che) noi siamo andati/andate |
| (che) voi siate andati/andate |
| (che) loro siano andati/andate |
For example:
Tutti pensano che ieri siate andati a ballare.
Everyone thinks that you went dancing yesterday.
Andare in Congiuntivo Imperfetto
| (che) io andassi |
| (che) tu andassi |
| (che) lui/lei andasse |
| (che) noi andassimo |
| (che) voi andaste |
| (che) loro andassero |
For example:
Temevo i tuoi amici non andassero più via.
I was afraid your friend would never leave.
Andare in Congiuntivo Trapassato
| (che) io fossi andato/andata |
| (che) tu fossi andato/andata |
| (che) lui/lei fosse andato/andata |
| (che) noi fossimo andati/andate |
| (che) voi foste andati/andate |
| (che) loro fossero andati/andate |
For example:
Non sapevate che fossimo andati a Cannes?
Didn’t you know that we went to Cannes?
Andare Conjugation – Modo Condizionale
Furthermore, another mood of andare conjugation is the condizionale . It is mostly used to form hypotheses in combination with the congiuntivo.
Andare in Condizionale Presente
| io andrei |
| tu andresti |
| lui/lei andrebbe |
| noi andremmo |
| voi andreste |
| loro andrebbero |
For example:
Andrei al mare tutti i giorni, se potessi.
I would go to the beach every day, if I could.
Andare in Condizionale Passato
| io sarei andato/andata |
| tu saresti andato/andata |
| lui sarebbe andato/andata |
| noi saremmo andati/andate |
| voi sareste andati/andate |
| loro sarebbero andati/andate |
For example:
Se avessi avuto più tempo, sarei andato anche al museo.
If I had had more time, I would have gone to the museum too.
Andare Conjugation – Imperativo
In this paragraph, you’ll learn the last finite mood of andare conjugation, the imperativo mood, which is mainly used to give orders. That’s why the first-person singular form doesn’t exist.
| va’/vai (tu) |
| vada (lui/lei) |
| andiamo (noi) |
| andate (voi) |
| vadano (loro) |
For example:
Vai subito dentro casa!
Go inside the house right away!
Andare Conjugation – Modi Indefiniti
Last but not least, here are the indefinite mood forms of the verb andare conjugation. They are impersonal and they only have two forms: present and past.
Andare in Infinito
| Presente (Present tense) | Passato (Past tense) |
| andare | essere andato/andata/andati/andate |
For example:
Dobbiamo andare a trovare i nonni.
We have to go visit the grandparents.
Andare in Participio
| Presente (Present tense) | Passato (Past tense) |
| andante | andato/andata/andati /andate |
As we mentioned in the passato prossimo paragraph, the past participle is used in compound tenses.
For example:
Sono andato in Italia l’anno scorso.
I went to Italy last year.
Andare in Gerundio
| Presente (Present tense) | Passato (Past tense) |
| andando | essendo andato/andata/andati/andate |
For example:
Andando in macchina, puoi fermarti quando vuoi.
Driving you can stop whenever you want.
And you are ready to go!
Vai a parlare in italiano! And tell everyone where you go, where you have gone and will go in Italy!
And, to conclude, if you want to practice Italian Grammar and tenses here is a list of useful books for you:
