How to Use the Verb Andare || Italian Conjugation Guide

Q: What other meanings does "andare" have?

Besides "to go" Andare can also mean "to function", "to be going well", and many other things. Find them all in our free lesson.

Home A1 How to use the verb "Andare"

THE ITALIAN VERB “ANDARE” (TO GO)

The Italian irregular verb “andare” is one of the most common in the Italian language. In this article, we will look at its irregularities, we’ll learn how to use it in a sentence and we will also look at the meanings it can have when paired with other expressions or words.

Here’s our complete guide to using the verb “andare”, with lots of real-life examples.

IRREGULARITIES & CONJUGATION GUIDE

Andare (to go) is an irregular verb with two different roots: some forms are regular, using the root “and” (and + are = andare, and + assi = andassi). Other forms, however, use the root “vad” (vad+o = vado, and not “ando”).

Here’s the complete conjugation of “andare”. Pay attention to the forms in bold: those are irregular.

While learning by repeating the conjugation is an essential first step, the best way to get familiar with the irregular forms is by reading, listening, and speaking in Italian.

INDICATIVO

Presente	Passato prossimo
io vado	io sono andato
tu vai	tu sei andato
lui va	lui è andato
noi andiamo	noi siamo andati
voi andate	voi siete andati
loro vanno	loro sono andati

Imperfetto	Trapassato prossimo
io andavo	io ero andato
tu andavi	tu eri andato
lui andava	lui era andato
noi andavamo	noi eravamo andati
voi andavate	voi eravate andati
loro andavano	loro erano andati

Passato remoto	Trapassato remoto
io andai	io fui andato
tu andasti	tu fosti andato
lui andò	lui fu andato
noi andammo	noi fummo andati
voi andaste	voi foste andati
loro andarono	loro furono andati

Futuro semplice	Futuro anteriore
io andrò	io sarò andato
tu andrai	tu sarai andato
lui andrà	lui sarà andato
noi andremo	noi saremo andati
voi andrete	voi sarete andati
loro andranno	loro saranno andati

CONDIZIONALE

Presente	Passato
io andrei	io sarei andato
tu andresti	tu saresti andato
lui andrebbe	lui sarebbe andato
noi andremmo	noi saremmo andati
voi andreste	voi sareste andati
loro andrebbero	loro sarebbero andati

CONGIUNTIVO

Presente	Passato
che io vada	che io sia andato
che tu vada	che tu sia andato
che lui vada	che lui sia andato
che noi andiamo	che noi siamo andati
che voi andiate	che voi siate andati
che loro vadano	che loro siano andati

Imperfetto	Trapassato
che io andassi	che io fossi andato
che tu andassi	che tu fossi andato
che lui andasse	che lui fosse andato
che noi andassimo	che noi fossimo andati
che voi andaste	che voi foste andati
che loro andassero	che loro fossero andati

IMPERATIVO

Presente
–
vai
vada
andiamo
andate
vadano

INFINITO

Presente	Passato
Andare	Essere andato

PARTICIPIO

Presente	Passato
Andante	Andato

GERUNDIO

Presente	Passato
Andando	Essendo andato

STRUCTURES & EXAMPLES

The main meaning of the verb “andare” is “to go“. This verb can be followed by the simple prepositions a (to) and in (in), as well as by the articulated prepositions al, alla, alle, agli, ai (to the) and nel, nello, nella, negli, nei, nelle (in the).

The best way to learn to use a, in and their variations properly is to read or listen in Italian as much as possible. Obviously, this is a time-consuming process! In the meantime, there are some rules that you can keep in mind, and that you need to know to form sentences with the verb “andare”.

With those rules in mind, let’s now look at some examples with the verb “andare”.

PREPOSITION:	BEFORE:	EXAMPLE WITH “ANDARE”
A	– Cities and towns – Verbs in the infinitive form – Meals – Left and right	Andiamo a Roma per il weekend. We are going to Rome for the weekend. Vado spesso a camminare. I often go walking. Andiamo a cena fuori stasera? Are we going out to dinner tonight? Vai a sinistra dopo lo stop. Go left after the stop sign.
IN	– Nations/ countries/ regions/ continents – Places ending in -ia – Means of transportation – Addresses – Rooms – Many feminine nouns	Sono andato in Europa l'estate scorsa. I went to Europe last summer. La mamma è andata in pasticceria a comprarti la torta. Mom went to the bakery to buy you cake. Andiamo in treno, è più comodo. Let’s go by train, it’s more convenient. Ieri sono andato in piazza Verdi a fare aperitivo. Yesterday I went to Verdi Square to have an aperitif. Vado un attimo in bagno, torno subito. I’m going to the bathroom for a moment, I’ll be right back. Per fare un bonifico devi andare in banca. To make a transfer you have to go to the bank.
AL/ALL’/ALLO	– Many masculine nouns	Domenica sono andata al mare. I went to the beach on Sunday.
DA	– People’s first names or pronouns (meaning at someone’s house/office)	Andiamo da Marco sabato. Let’s go to Marco’s house on Saturday. Andiamo da me. Let’s go to my place.
DAL/DALL’/DALLO/DALLA/DAI/DAGLI/DALLE	– Common nouns referring to people (meaning at someone’s house/office)	Andare dallo psicologo mi ha aiutata molto. Seeing a therapist helped me a lot. Andiamo dalla nonna. We are going to grandma’s.
NO PREPOSITION	– Adverbs of place	Vai via! Go away! Sono andati fuori. They went outside.

When referring to people’s houses or offices, we use the simple preposition “da” or its corresponding articulated prepositions, as you can see in the last two examples.

Another important meaning of the verb “andare” is similar to the verb “to go” as in “to go well”. Look at the following examples:

ITALIAN	ENGLISH
Come va?	How is it going?
Come vanno le cose?	How are things going?
Va tutto bene.	Everything’s fine.

Another meaning of “andare” is “to function“, “to work”.

ITALIAN	ENGLISH
Il Wi-Fi non va.	The Wi-Fi isn’t working.
Ho cambiato le pile al telecomando e adesso va.	I changed the batteries in the remote control and now it’s working.

OTHER MEANINGS & EXPRESSIONS

Just as the English “to go,” the verb “andare” is used in many expressions, with many different meanings.

In the table below you will find some of the most popular ones and examples of how to use each of them in a sentence.

EXPRESSION	MEANING	EXAMPLE
Andare a male	to go bad	Il latte è andato a male, buttalo via. The milk has gone bad, throw it away)
Andare bene (a qualcuno)	to be ok (for someone)	Ti va bene mangiare a casa stasera? Is it ok for you to eat at home tonight?
Andare sul sicuro	to play safe	Per andare sul sicuro gli ho comprato una gift card. To play it safe, I got him a gift card.
Andare d’accordo	to get along	Anna e sua sorella vanno molto d'accordo. Anna and her sister get along very well.
Andare in palla	to get confused/to freeze	Aveva studiato per l'esame, ma per l'emozione è andato in palla. He had studied for the exam, but due to emotion he got confused.
Andarci di mezzo	to get pulled into something	Non voglio andarci di mezzo! I don’t want to get involved!
Andare per la maggiore	to be the most popular choice	Questa è l'idea che va per la maggiore tra i giovani. This is the idea that is popular among young people.
Andare per gradi	to take it step by step	Bisogna andare per gradi, non puoi pretendere di saper fare tutto subito. You need to take it step by step, you can’t expect to know how to do everything right away.
Andarci piano	to take things slow	È meglio andarci piano. It’s better to take things slow.
Andare pazzo/matto per…	to be crazy about…	Anna va matta per il gelato. Anna is crazy about ice cream.
Andare di moda	to be trendy	Ultimamente i jeans a vita bassa vanno molto di moda. Low-rise jeans have been very fashionable lately.
Andare a braccio	to improvise	Ho dimenticato il discorso, quindi sono andato a braccio. I forgot my speech, so I improvised.
Andare a buon fine	to be concluded successfully	Il pagamento non è andato a buon fine. The payment didn’t go through.
Andare a gonfie vele	to go very well	Gli affari stanno andando a gonfie vele. Business is going very well.
Andare per le lunghe	to take long	Qui la cosa va per le lunghe... non so quando sarò a casa. It’s taking a long time here… I don’t know when I’ll get home.
Non andare giù (a qualcuno)	to be intolerable (for someone)	Questa cosa non mi va giù. I can’t tolerate this thing.

When paired with a verb in the participio tense, “andare” can mean “it needs to be”:

There are also some fixed expressions with the verb “andare”:

ITALIAN	MEANING
È andata	It is used after completing something that you have been stressing over for a long time, even if you don’t know what the outcome may be. For example, you can say “è andata” after a written exam, or after an important meeting.
È andata così	It is similar to “It is what it is”. This expression is used after something unlucky or negative happens, to talk about a situation that cannot be changed and must be accepted. It can be paired with a more encouraging “Andrà meglio la prossima volta” (It will go better next time.)
E andiamo!	It is an expression used to express exultation, for example when your favorite team scores a goal.

These expressions are not easy to master, but they will help you sound more natural and native-like, so don’t be scared to try them out!

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FAQs

Why is the verb “andare” difficult?

The verb “andare” is difficult simply because it’s irregular, having two different roots (and- and vad-) resulting in irregular forms that need attention during conjugation.

What other meanings does “andare” have?

Besides “to go” Andare can also mean “to function”, “to be going well”, and many other things. Find them all in our free lesson.

Do I need to learn the whole conjugation?

Not necessarily. Not all verbal tenses are used in everyday life. The most used ones are Indicativo presente, passato prossimo, imperfetto and futuro, along with Condizionale presente and passato.

Is it “andare a” or “andare in”?

Both are correct, depending on the following word. Learn more in the article.

What does “va bene” mean?

It means “it’s ok”.

How can I learn Italian irregular verbs?

First of all, look at the conjugations, then speak with an Italian teacher or listen to Italian music: “andare” is one of the most used verbs and you will hear it it all the time.

Italian Grammar Bank