To go in Italian – All the uses of Andare

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The verb to go in Italian is one of the first verbs you want to learn, thanks to its versatility. In Italian we go everywhere, we don’t need to switch to verbs like to drive or to fly depending on the means of transportation as you do in English.

To go in Italian translates into andare.

But, that’s not only it. Before to see all the very important uses of andare let’s refresh the conjugation of the verb to go in Italian.

To go in Italian – Andare Conjugation

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

As you can see from the chart, it is an irregular verb. Not completely though, since the subjects noi and voi act like regular verbs. Check the full conjugation of to go in Italian here.

Examples

Andiamo! – Let’s go!

Vado a fare la spesa – I go grocery shopping

Dove andate? – Where are you all going?

Uses of the verb to go in Italian

The Italian movement verb andare is versatile thanks to its multiple meanings and uses. As a result, it has literal and figurative senses, too.

Keeping in mind its conjugation, we’ll discover its most common meanings together!

To travel, to drive

The verb to go in Italian is used also as to travel or to drive when it means to proceed with a vehicle or to go somewhere to visit.

Examples:

Stai andando troppo veloce!

You’re driving too fast!

Se continui, andrai fuori strada.

If you keep going, you’ll drive off the road.

Per favore, vai a 50 km all’ora.

Please, travel at 50 km per hour.

Mi piacerebbe andare 500 anni indietro nel passato.

I’d like to travel 500 years back into the past.

Non dovresti andare in Messico.

You should not travel to Mexico.

To fit

In this case, go in Italian it’s used with the meaning of how something fits you. The thing that fits is the subject and the person is in the form of an indirect object pronoun (mi – to me, ti -to you, gli – to him, le – to her, ci – to us, vi – to you all, gli – to them).

Examples:

Questi pantaloni ti vanno bene?

Do these pants fit you?

Penso che la gonna non mi vada.

I think that the skirt won’t fit me.

To function, to work

As in the examples below when you say that something is, or is not, working, you can use andare.

Examples:

La televisione non va.

The television is not working.

Non vanno le lampadine.

The light bulbs aren’t working.

To go away, to leave

Examples

Devo andare.

I must go.

Vado via.

I go away.

To feel

We use go in Italianto ask and express how someone, or something, is doing.

Example:

Come va? Va tutto bene, e tu?

How do you do? All good, and you?

Come vanno le vacanze?

How is vacation going?

To get along, to agree

Further, if you want to say that you get along with someone, you’ll need to use to go in Italian in the expression andare d’accordo.

Examples:

Per fortuna, andiamo tutti d’accordo.

Luckily, we all get along.

Non vado d’accordo con il mio capo.

I don’t get along with my boss.

To be ok with, to feel like

Finally, you can use andare in the third person, singular and plural, when you talk about desires, wanting to do or have something. The subject, in this use, is the thing you do or do not feel like doing, and the person is in the form of an indirect object pronoun (mi, ti, gli, le, ci, vi, gli).

Examples:

Vi va un gelato?

Do you all feel like an ice cream?

Ti va bene?

Is it ok with you?

Mi va di guardare un film stasera.

I feel like watching a movie tonight.

Note that by adding the preposition DI before the infinitive of the verb, you are talking about actions you would like to do.

And these were the main uses of the verb to go in Italian.

One thing to remember is that we don’t use to go in Italian to talk about the future (I’m going to do something).

Vado in Italia domani

I’m going to Italy tomorrow

Prepositions to use with to go in Italian

Same as in English, the verb to go in Italian is followed by prepositions. Andare sometimes wants the preposition A, some others IN or DA but when and how to use them correctly? To use prepositions properly, it’s not an easy task in any language, and Italian is no exception. Below you will find the most common cases with andare and prepositions.

A with the verb to go in Italian

The verb to go in Italian is often followed by the preposition a. Let’s see together all the cases.

Andare a + città

Use this preposition with the name of cities (ex. Roma, Parigi, Londra, New York, etc.) with no articles.

Andiamo a Parigi per il nostro anniversario.

We go to Paris for our anniversary.

Andare a + places

Use a with some names of places in the city (ex. casa, letto, teatro, scuola, una festa, etc.) with no articles

Example:

Quando vado a teatro, vado sempre a letto tardi.

When I go to the theatre, I always go to bed late.

Andare a + meals

Use this preposition with names of the meals (colazione, pranzo, cena) with no articles

Example:

Dove andate di solito a colazione?

Where do you usually go for breakfast?

Andare a + infinitives

To go in Italian uses this preposition before the infinitive verbs that follow (ex. studiare, ballare, fare la spesa, giocare, correre, etc.) with no articles.

Example:

Giorgio e Marco vanno a studiare a casa, mentre io vado a fare la spesa.

Giorgio and Marco go home to study while I go grocery shopping.

Andare a piedi

A follows to go in Italian to indicate the action of walking (a piedi)

Example:

Vai a piedi a scuola?

Do you go by foot to school?

Andare a + cardinal directions

Use this preposition with cardinal directions (sud, nord, est, ovest)

Example:

Lucia va a sud della città per correre.

Lucia goes to the south of the city to run.

Andare al + specific places

Use al (a + il = al) and other articulate preposition with some names of places, events and geographical names (ex. cinema, ristorante, bar, matrimonio, ricevimento, congresso, mare, lago, etc.)

Examples:

Possiamo andare al mare?

Can we go to the beach?

Domani vado al matrimoniodella mia migliore amica.

Tomorrow I’ll go to my best friend’s wedding.

IN with the verb to go in Italian

In follows to go in Italian in the situations below.

Andare in + nations, regions, continents

Use this preposition with names of nations, regions and continents (ex. Italia, Spagna, Costa Azzurra, Asia, etc.) with no articles.

Per il mio compleanno andiamo in Franciae in Belgio.

For my birthday we go to France and Belgium.

Andare negli + plural names of nations

Use this preposition with definite articles (aka preposizione articolata – in + def. art.) when used with nations or regions names in the plural (ex. gli Stati Uniti, gli Emirati Arabi, etc.)

Example

Marco va negli Stati Uniti da solo.

Marco goes to the United States by himself.

Andare in + means of transportation

Use this preposition to indicate the means of transport (ex. autobus, macchina, treno, etc.) with no articles

Example

Mio figlio va a scuola in autobus tutti i giorni.

My son goes to school by bus every day.

Andare in + places in town

Use IN with to go in Italian followed by some places in the cities, like shops and also places ending in -IA (ex. città, centro, ufficio, banca, piscina, giardino, farmacia, libreria, birreria, etc.) with no articles.

Example

Stasera andiamo in centro in pizzeria e dopo andiamo in birreria.

Tonight, we’ll go downtown to a pizza place and after that we’ll go to a brewery.

Andare in vacanza

Quest’anno Andrea va in vacanza in montagna.

This year Andrea goes on vacation in the mountains.

Andare in pensione

To go in Italian is also used to say to retire.

Mio padre va in pensione domani.

My father will retire tomorrow.

Da with to go in Italian

Andare + DA

Use this preposition to indicate the person where someone goes or stays (ex. un amico, il dottore, Maria, etc.) with or without articles depending on the person (ex. with personal names no articles, articles with names of professions)

Papà, oggi vado da Luca, la mamma va dal dottore e tu vai dal parrucchiere, va bene?

Dad, today I’ll go to Luca’s, mum will go to the doctor and you’ll go to the hairdresser, ok?

Expressions with to go in Italian

Let’s conclude with some very useful expressions you may use and hear with to go in Italian.

Andare a genio

It doesn’t mean to go to the genius or genie, as it may sound like, but to have the desire or to like.

Example

Non mi va a genio

It doesn’t appeal to me

Andare a monte and Andare in fumo

We use to go in Italian in these expressions to say that something went wrong.

Examples

Il piano è andato a monte

The plan blew up

Tutto andrà in fumo

Everything will go up in smoke

Andare a ruba

This expression means to fly off the shelf.

Example

La nutella va sempre a ruba

Nutella flies always off the shelf

Andare a letto con i polli

To go to bed with chickens means to go to bed early.

Example

Tu vai a dormire a letto con i polli

You go to sleep so early

Andare a gonfie vele

To go in Italian is used also to say that something is going very well. Same as to be on a roll.

Example

Il lavoro sta andando a gonfie vele

Work is going very well

Andare alla grande

Same as the expression above.

Example

Come vanno le cose? Va tutto alla grande!

How are things going? Everything goes perfectly!

Andare di matto

Example

Sto andando di matto!

I am getting crazy!

Andare di moda

The verb to go in Italian followed by di moda means to be a trend.

Example

I jeans sono sempre di moda

Jeans are always a trend

Andare di corpo

Sorry about this one, it means to move the bowels. But the finer way to say to go to the bathroom is andare in bagno.

Andare di + infinitive

Example

Ti va di andare al parco?

Would you like to go to the park?

Congratulations! You made it through this very long guide of andare, and its main uses! Now, you just need to andare a praticare (go practice)!

Italian irregular verbs – everything you should know

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Italian irregular verbs

Italian irregular verbs belong to a particular category of verbs which don’t have any regularity in their construction. For this reason, they have to be learned by heart.

Examples of Italian irregular verbs in the present tense:

Apparire – to appear

I fantasmi appaiono nei luoghi in cui hanno trovato la morte.

Ghosts appear where they have been killed.

Morire – to die

Vedi Napoli e poi muori.

See Naples and then die.

As we will see, Italian irregular verbs usually present spelling and stem changes when conjugated in the present tense. Some verbs just add the consonant G to the first person singular (io) and the third plural person (loro), while others can be identified as contracted infinitives.

In this article we will go over the most common Italian irregular verbs in the present tense of the indicative mood.

Italian irregular verbs – essere and avere conjugation

First of all, we introduce auxiliary or helping verbs essere and avere.

Here is their conjugation:

Essere – to be

Io sono
Tu sei
Lui/Lei è
Noi siamo
Voi siete
Loro sono

Examples:

Se stai cercando Michael, in questo momento non è qui. Tornerà più tardi!

If you are looking for Michael, he is not here right now. He’ll come back later!

I ragazzi che hanno prenotato una stanza nell’hotel più costoso di Amalfi sono di Abu Dhabi.

The guys who reserved a room in the most expensive hotel in Amalfi are from Abu Dhabi.

Avere – to have

Io ho
Tu hai
Lui/Lei ha
Noi abbiamo
Voi avete
Loro hanno

Examples:

Hai per caso una penna da prestarmi? Temo di aver perso la mia!

Do you have a pen I can borrow? I’m afraid I lost mine!

Mi dispiace, ma non ho idea di dove si trovi tua sorella in questo momento!

I’m sorry, but I have no idea where your sister is right now!

Italian irregular verbs – Modal verbs conjugation

Following, the most used Italian irregular verbs are modal verbs volere (to want), potere (can), dovere (to have to / to need to / must) and sapere (can / to be able to) which are mainly used paired with another main verb in the infinitive form.

Here you have their conjugation:

Volere – to want

Io voglio
Tu vuoi
Lui/Lei vuole
Noi vogliamo
Voi volete
Loro vogliono

Examples:

Vuoi vedere come ho sistemato la mia stanza dopo la ristrutturazione?

Do you want to see how I fixed up my room after the renovation?

Stiamo andando a fare una passeggiata nel bosco. Volete unirvi a noi?

We are going for a walk in the woods. Do you want to join us?

Potere – can / to be able to

Io posso
Tu puoi
Lui/Lei può
Noi possiamo
Voi potete
Loro possono

Examples:

Mi ha già detto come stanno le cose, però io cosa posso farci?

He already told me where things stand, but what can I do about it?

Se ti va possiamo ordinare del cibo cinese per cena questa sera.

If you want, we can order some Chinese food for dinner this evening.

Dovere – to have to / to need to / must

Io devo
Tu devi
Lui/Lei deve
Noi dobbiamo
Voi dovete
Loro devono

Examples:

Mi sa che dobbiamo prendere l’ombrello… sta cominciando a piovere!

I guess we need to take the umbrella… it’s starting to rain!

Non può andare a sciare perché questo weekend deve lavorare purtroppo.

He can’t go skiing because, unfortunately, he has to work this weekend.

Sapere – can / to be able to

Io so
Tu sai
Lui/Lei sa
Noi sappiamo
Voi sapete
Loro sanno

Examples:

Non ci crederai ma mio fratello sa cantare, ballare e suonare il pianoforte!

You won’t believe this but my brother can sing, dance and play the piano!

Quel bambino è davvero un genio! Ha 3 anni e già sa contare fino a 30 in spagnolo.

That kid is kind of a genius! He is 3 and he already can count to 30 in Spanish.

Probably, you already know that the verb sapere has a double meaning: to know something and to be able to do something.

 

Have a look at the following examples:

Sentence Meaning
Sa a che ora arriveremo alla Stazione Centrale?

 

Do you know what time we arrive at the Central Station?

 Someone is asking if you know what time the train arrives at the Central Station
Non è vero che solo le donne sanno cucire e stirare… anche gli uomini lo fanno!

 

It is not true only women can sew and iron… men can do that, too!

 In this case, it is said men like women are able to sew and iron, too!

Italian irregular verbs – Stem changes

Next, we find andare (to go), uscire (to go out) and stare (to stay), the most common Italian irregular verbs presenting stem changes in their conjugation.

Andare – to go

Io vado
Tu vai
Lui/Lei va
Noi andiamo
Voi andate
Loro vanno

Examples:

Vado spesso al cinema e poi in pizzeria con gli amici quando ho tempo libero.

I often go to the cinema and then to eat pizza with my friends when I have free time.

Non so se Sara e Lara questa sera vanno al club o restano a casa.

I don’t know if Sara and Lara go to the club or stay at home this evening.

Uscire – to go out

Io esco
Tu esci
Lui/Lei esce
Noi usciamo
Voi uscite
Loro escono

Examples:

Escono quasi tutte le sere perché si annoiano a casa.

They almost go out every night because they get bored at home.

Uscite questo pomeriggio? Dove avete intenzione di andare?

Do you go out this afternoon? Where are you going?

Stare – to stay

Io sto
Tu stai
Lui/Lei sta
Noi stiamo
Voi state
Loro stanno

Examples:

È incredibile! Stanno calmi solo quando dai loro qualcosa da fare.

It’s unbelievable! They stay calm only when you give them something to do.

Ogni volta che Giovanni sta fuori casa tutta la notte, si sente in colpa.

Every time Giovanni stays out all night, he feels guilty.

 

As you can see, stem changes don’t occur in Noi and Voi conjugations in this type of irregular verbs in Italian.

Italian irregular verbs – Spelling changes

Now, it’s time to talk about the verbs tacere and piacere, clear examples of spelling changes.

They are conjugated as follows:

Tacere – to shut up

Io taccio
Tu taci
Lui/Lei tace
Noi tacciamo
Voi tacete
Loro tacciono

Examples:

Siamo davvero dei codardi! Tacciamo tutte le volte che ci danno fastidio per paura di essere picchiati!
We are all cowards! We shut up every time they bother us because we are scared to be hit!

Tacciono sempre quando gli vengono chieste informazioni in merito al progetto.
They always shut up when they are asked to give some information about the project.

Piacere – to like 

Io piaccio
Tu piaci
Lui/Lei piace
Noi piacciamo
Voi piacete
Loro piacciono

Examples:

Mi piacciono le lunghe passeggiate sulla spiaggia e le gite in barca.

I like long walks on the beach and boat trips.

Non ho mai capito perché piaccio sempre molto alle persone stravaganti!

I never understood why eccentric people always like me a lot!

As you may have noticed, the double consonant –cc– appears in the first person singular, and in the first and third person plural in both verbs.

Instead, as regards the use of the verb piacere, make sure you are using it properly with indirect pronouns, because you can get confused easily!

Italian irregular verbs – Add a ‘’g’’

Meanwhile, Italian irregular verbs venire (to come), rimanere (to remain) , accogliere (to welcome) and tenere (to hold) require in their stem the consonant G at the first person singular (io) and the third person plural (loro).

Here is their conjugation:

Venire – to come

Io vengo
Tu vieni
Lui/Lei viene
Noi veniamo
Voi venite
Loro vengono

Examples:

Vengono anche Nick e Jasper stasera al compleanno di Kathy?

Do Nick and Jasper come to Kathy’s birthday this evening, too?

Se viene Clara alla festa stasera, io non ci sarò perchè mi sta antipatica.

If Clara comes to the party tonight, I won’t be there because I don’t like that girl.

Rimanere – to remain

Io rimango
Tu rimani
Lui/Lei rimane
Noi rimaniamo
Voi rimanete
Loro rimangono

Examples:

Rimango senza parole ogni volta che assisto alla nascita di un bambino.

I remain speechless every time I attend the birth of a child.

Cosa accadde quella mattina rimane ancora un mistero.

What happened that morning still remains a mystery.

Accogliere – to welcome

Io accolgo
Tu accogli
Lui/Lei accoglie
Noi accogliamo
Voi accogliete
Loro accolgono

Examples:

Ogni anno i nostri hotel accolgono più di 600 ospiti stranieri.

Every year our hotels welcome more than 600 foreign guests.

Mia nonna accoglie sempre tutti a braccia aperte.

My grandmother always welcomes everyone with open arms.

Tenere – to hold

Io tengo
Tu tieni
Lui/Lei tiene
Noi teniamo
Voi tenete
Loro tengono

Examples:

Tiene sempre il bambino tra le sue braccia

She always holds the baby in her arms

Una volta all’anno tengono provini per giovani attori che vogliono unirsi alla compagnia teatrale.

Once a year, they hold auditions for young actors who want to join the theatre company.

You should know that the verb tenere is often used in place of the auxiliary verb avere in colloquial language (especially in some dialects of southern Italy).

Examples:

Oggi tengo un mal di testa terribile! E pure mal di stomaco!

Today I have a terrible headache! Even stomach ache!

Tenete un bel po’ di cose da fare oggi, eh?

Do you have a lot of things to do, don’t you?

Italian irregular verbs – contracted infinitives

Lastly, we end with Italian irregular verbs bere (to drink), dire (to say), dare (to give), fare (to do). This type of verbs has an infinitive which is very short, while the conjugated forms are basically longer. That’s why we talk about contracted infinitives.

Let’s see how to conjugate them:

Bere – to drink

Io bevo
Tu bevi
Lui/Lei beve
Noi beviamo
Voi bevete
Loro bevono

Examples:

Prima di andare a dormire, i bambini bevono di solito un bicchiere di latte.

Before going to bed, kids usually drink a glass of milk.

Mi hanno detto che beve tanto quando è sola. Per caso è depressa?

They told me she drinks a lot when she’s alone. Is she depressed at all?

Dire – to say

Io dico
Tu dici
Lui/Lei dice
Noi diciamo
Voi dite
Loro dicono

Examples:

Dice che vorrebbe fare un viaggio negli Stati Uniti non appena andrà in ferie ad agosto.

He says he would like to take a trip to the United States as soon as he goes on holiday in August.

Perché non dite quello che vi è successo la scorsa notte? Su, coraggio!

Why don’t you say what happened to you last night? Come on!

A thing to remember is that the consonant C followed by the vowels E and I has CH sound in the present tense. Otherwise, it sounds like K.

Dare – to give

Io do
Tu dai
Lui/Lei dà
Noi diamo
Voi date
Loro danno

Examples:

Ti do 5 giorni di tempo per lasciare questa casa. È chiaro?

I give you 5 days’ time to get out of this house. Is that clear?

Dà importanza alle cose materiali perché non vuole ammettere di sentirsi solo.

It could happen you may not be able to distinguish the preposition da (from/by) and the word danno (damage) from the third person singular and the third person plural of the verb dare because they are written in the same way. For this reason, it is recommended to put an accent mark on dà. No one puts it on the word dànno, but the context will help you understand if it means they give or damage.

Fare – to do

Io faccio
Tu fai
Lui/Lei fa
Noi facciamo
Voi fate
Loro fanno

Examples:

Fa del suo meglio per non sembrare troppo prepotente con i suoi colleghi.

She does her best to avoid appearing too bossy with her colleagues.

Faccio tutto quello che posso per renderti facile ma pare che tu sia incontentabile!

I do everything I can to make you happy but it seems you are hard to please!

Italian irregular Verb Conjugations online

Any problems memorizing Italian irregular verbs? Don’t worry about it! You don’t need to remember them all! If you forget something, use : it is very useful to find all the irregular forms of the present tense… and not only that!

Eventually, you could check some lists of the most common and unusual Italian irregular verbs available on the Internet.

In case you are so brave to learn them all by heart, then give it a try and good luck!

In conclusion, we can say that it is important to know the present tense conjugations of irregular verbs not just because they’re used a lot, but also because they form the basis for other conjugations, such as the Imperative and the Subjunctive.

If you want to practice Italian Grammar and tenses here is a list of useful books for you: