Andare (to go) is one of the most frequent verbs in Italian — top-ten in any frequency list — and one of the most consequential to memorise correctly. It is irregular in the presente, where the stem suddenly shifts to va- in four out of six forms, and it has a famously truncated imperative va' (with apostrophe) that triggers consonant-doubling when clitics attach: vacci, vammi, vattene.
In compound tenses andare takes essere as its auxiliary — the past participle therefore agrees with the subject in gender and number: sono andato, è andata, siamo andati, sono andate. Outside the presente and the imperative, the verb is well-behaved: imperfetto, passato remoto, congiuntivo imperfetto, and gerundio all follow the regular -are pattern; the futuro and condizionale use a contracted stem andr-.
Indicativo presente
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | vado |
| tu | vai |
| lui / lei / Lei | va |
| noi | andiamo |
| voi | andate |
| loro | vanno |
The presente shows the classic boot pattern: the four forms outside noi/voi share the suppletive stem va- (vado, vai, va, vanno), while noi and voi keep the regular stem and- (andiamo, andate). Drawing this paradigm and noticing the boot-shaped highlight is the standard teaching trick — and it's accurate.
In Tuscany and parts of central Italy you'll hear the colloquial alternative vo for the io form, but vado is the standard.
Vado al mercato il sabato mattina.
I go to the market on Saturday mornings.
Vai a piedi o prendi l'autobus?
Are you walking or taking the bus?
Mio figlio va a scuola da solo da quest'anno.
My son has been walking to school by himself since this year.
Andiamo a cena fuori stasera?
Shall we go out for dinner tonight?
Dove andate per le vacanze?
Where are you guys going for the holidays?
I miei amici vanno spesso in montagna nel weekend.
My friends often go to the mountains on the weekend.
Imperfetto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | andavo |
| tu | andavi |
| lui / lei / Lei | andava |
| noi | andavamo |
| voi | andavate |
| loro | andavano |
Fully regular — uses the regular stem and- with the standard -are imperfetto endings. This tense is the workhorse for narrating routines and habitual past actions: Andavo a scuola in bicicletta ("I used to go to school by bike").
Da bambino andavo al mare ogni estate con i nonni.
As a child I went to the sea every summer with my grandparents.
Andavamo a quel ristorante almeno una volta al mese.
We used to go to that restaurant at least once a month.
Passato remoto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | andai |
| tu | andasti |
| lui / lei / Lei | andò |
| noi | andammo |
| voi | andaste |
| loro | andarono |
Regular -are passato remoto. Note the grave accent on andò (third-person singular) — without it you'd be writing ando, which doesn't exist as a verb form. This is a common spelling slip among learners.
Nel 1492 Colombo andò alla scoperta di nuove terre.
In 1492 Columbus went off to discover new lands.
Andarono via senza salutare.
They left without saying goodbye.
Futuro semplice
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | andrò |
| tu | andrai |
| lui / lei / Lei | andrà |
| noi | andremo |
| voi | andrete |
| loro | andranno |
The futuro contracts to andr- — the unstressed e of andare drops out before the future endings. Don't write anderò; that's a learner non-form. The same contracted stem powers the condizionale.
Andrò a Firenze il prossimo fine settimana.
I'll go to Florence next weekend.
Andremo tutti insieme se il tempo lo permette.
We'll all go together if the weather allows.
Condizionale presente
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | andrei |
| tu | andresti |
| lui / lei / Lei | andrebbe |
| noi | andremmo |
| voi | andreste |
| loro | andrebbero |
Same contracted stem as the futuro. Note the double m in andremmo versus single m in the futuro andremo — the same trap as avremo / avremmo and saremo / saremmo.
The condizionale is the standard polite way to make suggestions: Andrei volentieri al cinema ("I'd happily go to the movies").
Andrei volentieri, ma sono già impegnata.
I'd happily go, but I already have plans.
Andremmo a trovarli più spesso, se vivessero più vicino.
We'd visit them more often if they lived closer.
Congiuntivo presente
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| (che) io | vada |
| (che) tu | vada |
| (che) lui / lei | vada |
| (che) noi | andiamo |
| (che) voi | andiate |
| (che) loro | vadano |
Same boot pattern as the presente: va- stem in the singular and third-plural, and- stem in noi and voi. The three singular forms are identical (vada) — explicit subject pronouns or context disambiguate.
È meglio che tu vada a casa a riposarti.
It's better that you go home and rest.
Voglio che andiate a salutare la zia.
I want you guys to go say hi to your aunt.
Congiuntivo imperfetto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| (che) io | andassi |
| (che) tu | andassi |
| (che) lui / lei | andasse |
| (che) noi | andassimo |
| (che) voi | andaste |
| (che) loro | andassero |
Fully regular -are congiuntivo imperfetto. Heavy use in hypothetical sentences with se: se andassi al mercato ("if I went to the market").
Se andassimo a vivere all'estero, mi mancherebbe la mia famiglia.
If we went to live abroad, I'd miss my family.
Imperativo
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | va' (or vai) |
| Lei (formal) | vada |
| noi | andiamo |
| voi | andate |
| loro (formal pl.) | vadano |
The tu form has two acceptable shapes: the truncated va' (with apostrophe — historically a clipped form of vai) and the longer vai. Both are correct; va' is more traditional and slightly more common in writing.
When a clitic pronoun attaches to the truncated va', the initial consonant of the clitic doubles:
| va' + clitic | Result | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| va' + ci | vacci | go there |
| va' + mi | vammi | go for me / fetch me |
| va' + ti + ne | vattene | get out / go away |
| va' + lo | vallo (a prendere) | go (get) it |
This consonant-doubling is the same rule that produces fammi, dammi, dimmi, stammi, and applies after every truncated monosyllabic imperative — a quirk that makes Italian feel sing-songy when you string clitics on commands.
Va' a letto, è già mezzanotte!
Go to bed, it's already midnight!
Vacci tu, io non ho voglia.
You go (there) — I don't feel like it.
Vattene! Non voglio più vederti.
Get out! I don't want to see you anymore.
Vada pure avanti, signora.
Please go ahead, ma'am. (formal)
Forme non finite
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Infinito presente | andare |
| Infinito passato | essere andato/a/i/e |
| Gerundio presente | andando |
| Gerundio passato | essendo andato/a/i/e |
| Participio passato | andato/a/i/e |
The participle is regular: andato, with feminine andata, plural andati / andate. Because the auxiliary is essere, the participle always agrees with the subject.
Andando in centro ho incontrato Marta.
On the way downtown I ran into Marta.
Compound tenses (with essere)
Andare always takes essere as its auxiliary — it is an intransitive verb of motion. The past participle therefore agrees with the subject in gender and number.
| Tense | io (m.) | io (f.) | noi (m./mixed) | noi (f.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passato prossimo | sono andato | sono andata | siamo andati | siamo andate |
| Trapassato prossimo | ero andato | ero andata | eravamo andati | eravamo andate |
| Futuro anteriore | sarò andato | sarò andata | saremo andati | saremo andate |
| Condizionale passato | sarei andato | sarei andata | saremmo andati | saremmo andate |
| Congiuntivo passato | sia andato | sia andata | siamo andati | siamo andate |
| Congiuntivo trapassato | fossi andato | fossi andata | fossimo andati | fossimo andate |
Ieri sera siamo andati al concerto di Vasco.
Last night we went to the Vasco concert.
Maria è andata in Spagna per un anno.
Maria went to Spain for a year.
Se foste andati prima, non avreste trovato fila.
If you'd gone earlier, you wouldn't have found a queue.
Useful constructions with andare
Andare a + infinitive expresses purpose of going: vado a comprare il pane ("I'm going to buy bread"). Don't use it for the English near-future "I'm going to..." — that's not how Italian builds the future.
Andare via = to leave; andare a trovare = to visit (a person); andare bene/male = to go well/badly.
Vado a prendere i bambini a scuola.
I'm going to pick up the kids from school.
Come va? — Va benissimo, grazie.
How's it going? — Going great, thanks.
Andiamo a trovare la nonna domenica.
We're going to visit grandma on Sunday.
Common mistakes
❌ Io andiamo al cinema.
Incorrect — io takes vado, not andiamo.
✅ Io vado al cinema.
Correct — singular io always pairs with vado.
❌ Ho andato al supermercato.
Incorrect — andare takes essere, not avere, in compound tenses.
✅ Sono andato al supermercato.
Correct — masculine speaker uses sono andato.
❌ Maria è andato a casa.
Incorrect — with essere, the participle must agree with the subject. Maria is feminine.
✅ Maria è andata a casa.
Correct — andata agrees with feminine singular.
❌ Va a letto!
Acceptable but ambiguous in writing — looks like the indicative 'he/she goes to bed'.
✅ Va' a letto!
Correct as imperative — the apostrophe marks the truncated form.
❌ Vai-ci tu.
Incorrect — clitics are not separated by hyphens, and va' is the truncated base for clitic attachment.
✅ Vacci tu.
Correct — va' + ci, with consonant doubling.
❌ Anderò domani.
Incorrect — the future stem contracts to andr-.
✅ Andrò domani.
Correct — contracted stem andr- + ò.
Key takeaways
Andare is irregular in three places: the presente and congiuntivo presente (boot pattern with va- stem), the futuro/condizionale (contracted stem andr-), and the truncated imperative va' with consonant-doubling on clitics. Everywhere else it follows the regular -are pattern.
Three points to internalise:
Boot pattern in presente/congiuntivo: vado/vai/va/vanno share the va- stem; noi and voi keep and-.
Contracted future stem andr-: andrò, andrai, andrà, andremo, andrete, andranno. Same for the condizionale: andrei, andresti, andrebbe, andremmo, andreste, andrebbero.
Andare takes essere — the participle agrees with the subject in gender and number: sono andato, è andata, siamo andati.
Drill andare alongside venire, the other major motion verb. The two verbs map directionality onto the speaker: andare moves away from the speaker, venire moves toward the speaker (or toward the addressee in some dialects).
Now practice Italian
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Open the Italian course →Related Topics
- Venire: Full ConjugationA1 — Complete paradigm of venire (to come) — irregular -ire verb with -g- forms in the presente, double consonants in passato remoto and futuro, and a second life as the venire-passive auxiliary.
- Essere: Full ConjugationA1 — Complete paradigm of essere (to be) across every tense and mood — the most irregular and one of the two most-used verbs in Italian.
- Fare: Full ConjugationA1 — Complete paradigm of fare (to do/make) — irregular -are verb with the hidden Latin stem fac-, the truncated imperative fa', and the high-frequency causative construction faccio fare.
- Presente: Andare (to go)A1 — How to conjugate andare and how to choose the right preposition for every destination — cities, countries, transport, people, public places.
- Auxiliary Selection: Essere vs Avere (The Critical Decision)A1 — The single grammatical decision that determines how every Italian compound tense works — when to use essere, when to use avere, and how to predict the right answer for any verb.