Italian has a third passive auxiliary that English speakers rarely expect: andare. When you say la porta va chiusa, you are not saying "the door goes closed" — you are saying "the door must be closed." This construction packs an obligation, an instruction, or a norm into a passive voice, and it is everywhere in Italian: on signs, in recipes, in legal text, and in the formal advice your Italian colleague slides into a conversation.
The construction is simple to form but conceptually loaded. Andare + past participle means "must be (done)" or "should be (done)" — a passive equivalent of deve essere + participle, but tighter and more idiomatic.
The form
Conjugate andare in a simple tense, then add the past participle of the main verb. The participle agrees in gender and number with the grammatical subject, exactly as it does in any passive.
| Subject | andare | Participle | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| la porta | va | chiusa | must be closed |
| i compiti | vanno | fatti | must be done |
| questa lettera | va | spedita | must be sent |
| queste regole | vanno | rispettate | must be followed |
La porta va chiusa a chiave la sera.
The door must be locked in the evening.
Questi compiti vanno fatti subito.
These assignments must be done immediately.
La pasta va cotta per dieci minuti.
The pasta must be cooked for ten minutes.
Le mascherine vanno indossate all'interno dell'edificio.
Masks must be worn inside the building.
What it really means: obligation, not motion
This is not the verb andare "to go" being used metaphorically — it is a separate grammatical construction that happens to share the auxiliary's form. Native speakers do not feel any sense of motion in la porta va chiusa. The meaning is purely deontic: it expresses what should or must happen.
You can almost always paraphrase va chiusa as deve essere chiusa without changing the meaning. The two are interchangeable in obligation — but the andare-version is more concise, more idiomatic in instructional registers, and slightly more impersonal.
Il modulo va compilato in stampatello.
The form must be filled out in block letters.
Il modulo deve essere compilato in stampatello.
The form must be filled out in block letters. (same meaning, more verbose)
Where you'll see it
This construction lives in specific registers. Recognizing the register tells you instantly whether to expect it.
| Context | Why andare-passive fits |
|---|---|
| Recipes | Step-by-step normative instructions |
| Public notices and signs | Impersonal mandatory rules |
| Legal and bureaucratic texts | Prescriptive, no agent specified |
| Manuals and instructions | "This is how it must be done" |
| Formal advice | "This needs to be addressed" |
Le verdure vanno lavate accuratamente prima dell'uso.
The vegetables must be washed thoroughly before use.
I rifiuti organici vanno gettati nel bidone marrone.
Organic waste must be thrown in the brown bin.
Il problema va affrontato con urgenza.
The problem must be addressed urgently.
Andare-passive vs venire-passive: the key contrast
These two passives look similar but mean very different things. Venire + participle is purely descriptive — it tells you what happens. Andare + participle is normative — it tells you what should happen.
| Sentence | Auxiliary | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| La porta viene chiusa alle otto. | venire | The door is (in fact) closed at eight. (description) |
| La porta va chiusa alle otto. | andare | The door must be closed at eight. (rule) |
| I libri vengono spediti il lunedì. | venire | The books are shipped on Mondays. (factual) |
| I libri vanno spediti il lunedì. | andare | The books must be shipped on Mondays. (instruction) |
In questa azienda gli stipendi vengono pagati il 27 del mese.
At this company salaries are paid on the 27th of the month. (this is what happens)
Gli stipendi vanno pagati entro il 27 del mese.
Salaries must be paid by the 27th of the month. (this is the rule)
For more on the descriptive passive, see venire-passive.
The tense restriction: simple tenses only
This is the construction's biggest limitation. Andare-passive exists only in simple (non-compound) tenses — presente, imperfetto, futuro semplice, condizionale presente, congiuntivo presente, congiuntivo imperfetto. It cannot be conjugated in any compound tense.
| Tense | Allowed? | Example |
|---|---|---|
| presente | yes | la porta va chiusa |
| imperfetto | yes | la porta andava chiusa |
| futuro | yes | la porta andrà chiusa |
| condizionale | yes | la porta andrebbe chiusa |
| passato prossimo | no | (not possible — see below) |
| trapassato | no | (not possible — see below) |
The reason: andare in compound tenses (è andato, era andato) means the verb of motion "to go." If you wrote la porta è andata chiusa, an Italian would parse it as "the door went closed" — nonsense. To express obligation in the past, you must switch to the dovere + essere + participle construction.
La porta andava chiusa ogni sera.
The door had to be closed every evening. (imperfetto — habitual past obligation, allowed)
La porta avrebbe dovuto essere chiusa ieri sera.
The door should have been closed yesterday evening. (past obligation — must use dovere + essere + participle)
Quel documento andrebbe firmato entro venerdì.
That document should be signed by Friday. (condizionale — softer obligation, allowed)
No agent allowed
Like the venire-passive, the andare-passive cannot include an agent phrase. You cannot say la porta va chiusa da Marco — the construction is inherently impersonal. If you need to specify who must do the action, switch to an active sentence with dovere:
❌ La porta va chiusa da Marco.
Incorrect — andare-passive cannot take an agent.
✅ Marco deve chiudere la porta.
Correct — use active voice with dovere when the agent matters.
This restriction is actually a feature: the construction's whole point is to express a norm that holds regardless of who carries it out. The instruction "la pasta va cotta per dieci minuti" applies to anyone who happens to be cooking — a chef, a tourist, a child. Naming an agent would defeat its purpose.
Recipe register: a worked example
Italian recipes are saturated with this construction. Reading one is the fastest way to internalize the pattern.
Le cipolle vanno tritate finemente.
The onions must be finely chopped.
L'olio va scaldato a fuoco basso.
The oil must be heated on low flame.
Il riso va aggiunto poco alla volta.
The rice must be added a little at a time.
Il brodo va mescolato continuamente.
The broth must be stirred continuously.
Il piatto va servito caldo.
The dish must be served hot.
Notice how each step uses va/vanno + participle. An English-speaking learner translating these literally as "is chopped, is heated, is added" would lose the instructional force entirely.
Common mistakes
❌ La lettera è andata spedita ieri.
Incorrect — andare-passive cannot occur in compound tenses.
✅ La lettera avrebbe dovuto essere spedita ieri.
Correct — for past obligation, use dovere + essere + participle.
❌ I documenti va firmati oggi.
Incorrect — andare must agree with the subject in number. Subject is plural, so vanno.
✅ I documenti vanno firmati oggi.
Correct — vanno (plural) + firmati (plural masculine).
❌ La pasta va cotto per dieci minuti.
Incorrect — the participle must agree with the subject. La pasta is feminine singular.
✅ La pasta va cotta per dieci minuti.
Correct — feminine singular agreement on the participle.
❌ Il modulo va compilato dal candidato.
Incorrect — andare-passive cannot include an agent phrase.
✅ Il candidato deve compilare il modulo.
Correct — switch to active voice with dovere when an agent must be named.
❌ La porta va chiusa, ma ieri non è andata chiusa.
Incorrect — the second clause uses andare in compound form, which reverts to motion meaning.
✅ La porta va chiusa, ma ieri non è stata chiusa.
Correct — for the past, use the regular essere-passive without the obligation reading.
Key takeaways
The andare-passive is a uniquely Italian way to compress "must/should be done" into two words. It lives in instructional and prescriptive registers: recipes, signs, manuals, and formal advice.
Three things to remember:
- It means obligation, not motion. Va chiusa = "must be closed," not "goes closed."
- Simple tenses only. No è andato + participle — for past obligation, switch to avrebbe dovuto essere + participle.
- No agent allowed. The construction is inherently impersonal. If you need to name who must act, use active voice with dovere.
Once you can hear the difference between viene chiusa (descriptive) and va chiusa (normative), Italian instructions and notices become much easier to read — and your own writing in formal registers will sound dramatically more natural.
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Open the Italian course →Related Topics
- Passive with EssereB1 — The all-purpose Italian passive: essere + past participle, with the participle agreeing with the subject. Works in every tense and mood, including the tongue-twisting 'è stata scritta' double-essere compound.
- Si Passivante: The Passive SiB1 — The construction behind 'si vendono libri' and every Italian shop window. How a tiny clitic creates a passive without an auxiliary — and why the verb agrees with what looks like the object.
- Passive Voice: Complete ReferenceB1 — All four Italian passive constructions side by side — essere, venire, andare, and si-passivante. When to use each, what they really mean, and how to choose between them.