Andare (to go) is one of the most frequently used Italian verbs, and it’s very important to master its use. It’s an irregular verb, and has many idiomatic uses. So let’s start with the basics and take a look at its most common uses:

1. Talking about the present

il presente (the present tense): 

io vado = I go: vado a Milano tutti i giorni (I go to Milan every day)

tu vai = you (informal) go: vai a Milano tutti i giorni, vero? (you go to Milan every day, don’t you?)

now follow the examples given above for the following conjugations:

lui/lei/Lei va = he/she/you (formal ) go/goes …

noi andiamo = we go …

voi andate = you (plural) go …

loro vanno = they go …

N.B.  In Italian we very often use the present tense to express a future action, hence:

io vado = I am going:  oggi vado a Milano (I’m going to Milan today)

tu vai = you (informal) are going:  vai al Milano oggi? (are you going to Milan today?)

lui/lei/Lei va = he/she/you (formal ) is/are going …

noi andiamo = we are going …

voi andate = you (plural) are going …

loro vanno = they are going …

For a more detailed explanation about the use of the present and future tenses check this old post: Presente o Futuro? N.B. It s important not to confuse the above examples, in which ‘going’ expresses an action which will take place in the future, with il presente progressivo (the present progressive tense). Il presente progressivo  is used to talk about events still in the progress of happening, and is formed with the verb stare (to be) and il gerundio (equivalent to the English – ing ending) of andare which is andando:

in questo momento sto andando verso Milano (at the moment I’m going towards Milan)

stai andando troppo velocemente (you (informal) are going to fast)

sta andando alla stazione ora (he/she/you (formal) is/are going to the station right now)

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2. Talking about the past

a. il passato prossimo (the present perfect). N.B. for more information about using the past tense see this blog: Imperfetto e passato prossimo, quale devo usare?

The passato prossimo  is formed with the verb essere (to be) and the past participle of andare = andato/a/e/i.  N.B. the ending of the past participle changes according to gender and number as indicated in the following examples:

if you are male you would say: ieri sono andato a Milano (yesterday I went to Milan)

if you are female you would say: ieri sono andata dal dentista (yesterday I went to the dentist)

if you are talking about something that you did as a couple or a group which was composed of males, or a mixture of males and females you would say: la settimana scorsa siamo andati in Sardegna (last week we went to Sardinia). If everyone was female you would say: … siamo andate in Sardegna

The same rule applies to voi (you plural): siete andati/e alla partita? (did you (plural) go to the match?), and loro (they): sono andati/e in Inghilterra (they went to England).

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More about the verb andare to follow in part 2.