Andare (to go) is one of those must know verbs in Italian.
Here, you’ll learn how to use it in different tenses so you can chat about your past, present and future plans.
A quick heads-up: andare is irregular, so it doesn’t follow the usual rules. All that means is that you might have to practice it a little more to get the hang of it.
Andare in the present tense
You use the present tense in Italian to talk about things you’re doing right now, or things you do regularly.
For example:
Dove vado per prendere il treno? - Where do I go to catch the train?
Dopo il lavoro, vado al pub - After work, I go to the pub
| Io* | vado | I go | Vah-doh |
| Tu | vai | You go | Vy |
| Lui / Lei | va | He / She goes | Vah |
| Noi | andiamo | We go | Ahn-dyah-moh |
| Voi | andate | You (plural) go | Ahn-dah-teh |
| Loro | vanno | They go | Vah-noh |
But there’s also something even better in Italian! You can use the present tense to talk about the future.
Here’s how it works:
Dove vai domani? - Where are you going tomorrow?
Domani vado a Firenze - Tomorrow, I’m going to Florence
*A little reminder: we normally leave out pronouns like “I” and “you” in Italian because the verb ending already makes it clear who we’re talking about.
Andare for things you’re doing right now (the present continuous)
This tense works really similarly to the English. It’s like saying “I’m going”. It’s used when you’re highlighting that you’re going right now, rather than in general or at some point in the future.
For example:
Stiamo andando al ristorante -We’re going to the restaurant
Sto andando verso il centro -I’m going towards the center
This tense works by using the Italian verb “stare” and then adding “ andando ” to it.
| Io | Sto andando | I’m going | Stoh ahn-dahn-doh |
| Tu | Stai andando | You’re going | Sty ahn-dahn-doh |
| Lui / Lei | Sta andando | He / She is going | Stah ahn-dahn-doh |
| Noi | Stiamo andando | We’re going | Stee-ah-moh ahn-dahn-doh |
| Voi | State andando | You (plural) are going | Stah-teh ahn-dahn-doh |
| Loro | Stanno andando | They’re going | Stahn-noh ahn-dahn-doh |
Andare in the past tense (passato prossimo)
When you talk about what you’ve done recently, or any one-off action in the past, you’ll need this tense.
For example:
Ieri siamo andati a Pompei - Yesterday, we went to Pompeii
Sono andati al mare -They went to the seaside
| Io | sono andato/a* | I went | Soh-noh ahn-dah-toh/tah |
| Tu | sei andato/a | You went | Say ahn-dah-toh/tah |
| Lui / Lei | è andato/a | He / She went | Eh ahn-dah-toh/tah |
| Noi | siamo andati/e | We went | See-ah-mo ahn-dah-tee/teh |
| Voi | siete andati/e | You (plural) went | See-eh-teh ahn-dah-tee/teh |
| Loro | sono andati/e | They went | Soh-noh ahn-dah-tee/teh |
*If you’re wondering why there are different options for the “andato” part, it depends on the gender and number of the person you’re talking about. For example:
Sono andato – I went (masculine singular)
Sono andata – I went (feminine singular)
Siamo andati – We went (masculine plural)
Siamo andate – We went (feminine plural)
Andare in the imperfect (imperfetto)
This tense is tricky as it lacks a direct English equivalent, but it's often similar to "used to", for actions repeated in the past.
For example:
D’estate andavamo in Italia -In the summer, we used to go to Italy
Da bambino andavo sempre in montagna -When I was a kid, I always went to the mountains
| Io | andavo | I used to go | Ahn-dah-voh |
| Tu | andavi | You used to go | Ahn-dah-vee |
| Lui / Lei | andava | He / She used to go | Ahn-dah-vah |
| Noi | andavamo | We used to go | Ahn-dah-vah-mo |
| Voi | andavate | You (plural) used to go | Ahn-dah-vah-tay |
| Loro | andavano | They used to go | Ahn-dah-vah-noh |
Andare in the future tense
You’ve seen how you can use the present tense to talk about the future. But there’s also a future tense. It’s like saying “will go” in English.
For example:
Quando andrai a Roma? -When will you go to Rome?
Andrò al museo nel pomeriggio -I’ll go to the museum in the afternoon
| Io | andrò | I will go | Ahn-droh |
| Tu | andrai | You will go | Ahn-drai |
| Lui / Lei | andrà | He / She will go | Ahn-drah |
| Noi | andremo | We will go | Ahn-dreh-moh |
| Voi | andrete | You (plural) will go | Ahn-dreh-teh |
| Loro | andranno | They will go | Ahn-drah-noh |
Common mistakes with andare
Andare mostly works like the verb “go” in English, so there aren’t too many differences to worry about.
There are just two main mistakes that learners might make with this verb:
1. Trying to create the future with “ sto andando a”
In English, we can say “going to” to talk about the future, like “Next summer, I’m going to Italy” or “tonight, we’re going to the restaurant”.
In Italian, if you want to talk about the future, you have to use the present or future tense.
So not:
❌ La prossima estate sto andando in Italia -Next summer, I’m going to Italy
❌ Stasera stiamo andando al ristorante -Tonight, we’re going to the restaurant
But instead:
✅ La prossima estate vado in Italia -Next summer, I’m going to Italy
✅ Stasera andremo al ristorante -Tonight, we’re going to the restaurant
2. Andare with in or a ?
You might have learnt that a means “to” in Italian, like:
Vado a Bologna -I’m going to Bologna
Andiamo a un ristorante famoso -We’re going to a famous restaurant
But it’s not as simple as that.
Instead, use in :
With places that are larger, like countries or regions.
For example:
Vado in Italia -I’m going to Italy
Andate in Toscana -You’re going to Tuscany
And use a :
With smaller places, like towns or cities
For example:
Vanno a Monza -They’re going to Monza
Andare Italian verb: Review
You’ve seen that andare is the perfect verb to chat with Italians about your travel plans. Or to boast to friends back home about where you went (we wouldn’t blame you!)
Let’s see andare in its most useful forms again:
| Presente | Gerundio | Passato Prossimo | Imperfetto | Futuro | |
| Io (I) | Vado | Sto andando | Sono andato/a | Andavo | Andrò |
| Tu (you) | Vai | Stai andando | Sei andato/a | Andavi | Andrai |
| Lui / Lei (he / she) | Va | Sta andando | È andato/a | Andava | Andrà |
| Noi (we) | Andiamo | Stiamo andando | Siamo andati/e | Andavamo | Andremo |
| Voi (you plural) | Andate | State andando | Siete andati/e | Andavate | Andrete |
| Loro (they) | Vanno | Stanno andando | Sono andati/e | Andavano | Andranno |
K: Ciao a tutti e benvenuti! Hi everyone and welcome to “Learn Italian with Joy of Languages”.
M: Before we get going, we have a little favour to ask. If you’re listening to this on your podcast app, could you hit the subscribe or follow button? This way you’ll get notified when we release a new episode and you’ll help our podcast grow so we can keep making free lessons like this. Grazie!
K : There’s something important you should know about andare. Although it mostly works like “go” in English, it's irregular, so it doesn't follow the usual rules.
M: Since it’s a bit tricky, hearing it in context a few times really helps it click.
K: In this conversation, you’ll hear me asking Matteo where he’s going. I tend to get completely absorbed in what I’m doing and lose track of everything else, Matteo calls it “the hole”.
M: It’s nearly impossible to get Katie out of the hole, so I’ve learned to adapt :) Here’s a typical conversation we have on Friday evenings. You’ll hear lots of different forms of the Italian verb andare . How many can you hear?
K: Dove vai?
M: Vado al pub con Ced, vieni?
K: Andiamo insieme dopo, no? Perché andate così presto?
M: Perché non è presto: Ced va sempre alle sei. Tutti i nostri amici vanno sempre alle sei!
K: I asked Matteo:
M: Dove vai? - where are you going? Literally: Dove - where
Vai - you go
K: So in Italian, “you go” is vai .
M: Vai - (x 2)
K: In some ways, Italian is simpler than English, because instead of saying something long and complicated like “where are you going”, we just say “where” (dove) “you go” (vai).
M: Dove vai? (x2)
K: Then Matteo replied:
M: Vado al pub con Ced, vieni? - I’m going to the pub with Ced, are you coming?
Vado - I go
Al - to the
Pub – pub
Con - with
Ced – that’s the name of our friend who lives around the corner
Vieni? - you come?
K: So you’ve just heard vado for “I go”.
M: vado (x2)
K: And earlier you heard vai for “you go”.
M: Vai (x2)
K: Here’s where Italian does it differently to English. In English, it’s just “go” for almost everything: I go, you go, we go, they go... But in Italian, the verb changes depending on who’s doing the action.
M: Because the verb changes so much for each person, it’s really clear who we’re talking about. This means that in Italian, we don’t normally use the Italian version of “I”, “you”, “he”, “she”, “we” etc. because we don’t need them.
K: Yeah, in English, if I just say “go”, you’ll be thinking “who?”. But in Italian, if I say vai, you know I’m saying “you go”. If I say vado , it can only mean “I go”.
K: Ced is one of our good friends, so we often see him for a drink at the pub before dinner. Only as usual I’d lost track of time, so I asked Matteo:
M: Andiamo insieme dopo, no? - We’re going together later, no?
Andiamo - we go
Insieme - together
Dopo - after
No - no
K: You just heard andiamo, which means “We go”.
M: Andiamo (x2)
For example: Andiamo a Roma - we’re going to Rome.
K: Andiamo also means “let’s go” or “shall we go”. To say “let’s go”, we just say it with the “let’s go” tone of voice:
M: Andiamo!
K: The same with “shall we go”? We just say andiamo with a question tone:
M: Andiamo?
K: Then I asked Matteo:
M: Perché andate così presto? - Why are you going so early?
Perché - why
Andate - you go
Così - so
Presto - early
K: Here you heard andate (x2). In Italian, there’s a plural “you” for two or more people. A bit like “you both” or “you guys”. Before, when I was talking to Matteo as one person, leaving the house, I used the singular “you go”, which is:
M: vai (x2)
K: Now I’m talking about Matteo and our friend Ced going to the pub together, the two of them, so I use the plural you version of andare, which again is:
M: andate (x2)
K: As usual I’ve been caught up with other things and haven’t noticed the messages on the group chat, or the fact that it’s late already. That’s why Matteo says:
M: Perché non è presto - Because it’s not early
Perché - because
Non - not
È - is
Presto - early.
Ced va sempre alle sei - Ced always goes at six
Va - He goes
Sempre - always
Alle – at
Sei – six
K: If you want to learn more about how to tell the time in Italian, you can check out episode 31. Coming back to andare, to go, you heard va, which you can use for anyone in the third person. It means “he goes”, “she goes” or “it goes”.
M: Va - x 2
K: Then Matteo added:
M: Tutti i nostri amici vanno sempre alle sei! - All our friends always go at six
Tutti - all
I nostri - our
Amici - friends
Vanno - they go
Sempre - always
Alle – at
Sei – six
K: Did you hear the form of andare that Matteo used here? To say “they go”, we say:
M: Vanno - x 2
K: Basically everyone is a better timekeeper than I am. So they arrive roughly at the same time after work and I tend to arrive a bit later.
M: Yeah, what was that stereotype again about Italians always being the late ones? In this case it’s the British one who arrives last!
K: So now you’ve seen all the different forms of andare, to go in Italian. Bringing them all together, that’s:
M: Vado - I go
Vai - you go
Va - he or she or it goes
Andiamo - we go
Andate - you go
Vanno - they go
K: Let’s do a little quiz to see what you can remember. How would you say I go?
[...]
M: Vado (x2)
K: And you go?
[...]
M: Vai (x2)
[...]
K: And he or she or it goes?
[...]
M: Va (x2)
[...]
K: We go?
[...]
M: Andiamo (x2)
[...]
K: You (plural) go?
[...]
M: Andate (x2)
[...]
K: They go?
[...]
M: Vanno (x2)
K: Let’s hear how those were used by listening to the conversation again:
K: Dove vai?
M: Vado al pub con Ced, vieni?
K: Andiamo insieme dopo, no? Perché andate così presto?
M: Perché non è presto: Ced va sempre alle sei. Tutti i nostri amici vanno sempre alle sei!
M: Of course, this is just the present tense for andare - to go. Maybe you want to talk about where you went in the past. Or where you’ll go in the future.
K: You can see the different ways to use andare on our blogpost. You get to focus on one verb, but by seeing the different tenses, you can express a lot of different meanings.
M: We also share a couple of common mistakes with andare . Can you guess what they are? You might have already come across a couple!
K - See you next time or as we say in Italian.
Alla prossima!
Time to check your understanding and remember everything you just learned! Below you’ll find a mini-quiz and some vocabulary cards to help it all go in.
Quiz
How much did you learn? Find out in the quiz!
Click here to take the quiz for this episode: Andare (To go): Learn This Important Italian verb
Vocabulary
Dove vai domani? = Where are you going tomorrow?
Andiamo a un ristorante famoso = We’re going to a famous restaurant
Sto andando verso il centro = I’m going to towards the center
D’estate andavamo in Italia = In the summer, we used to go to Italy
Sono andati al mare = They went to the seaside
Vado = I go
Vai = You go
Va = S/he goes
Andiamo = We go
Andate = You plural go
Vanno = They go
Vado al pub = I’m going to the pub
Andiamo a Roma = We’re going to Rome
Flashcards: Andare (To go)
Not sure how it works? Click here to watch the tutorial
