The verb andare (vado, vai, va)

The irregular verb "andare"

The verb andare means "to go." Like many common Italian verbs, it is irregular in the present tense. Here are the singular forms:

Going to cities

To express going to a destination, Italian generally uses the preposition a (to / at). When going to a city, use a by itself.

Going to places around town

When going to a specific place like a store or a building, the preposition a combines with the definite article (the word for "the").

• a
  • il = al (masculine locations like il supermercato or il cinema)
• a
  • la = alla (feminine locations like la posta)

Special destinations

Some everyday locations don't use articles. For example, use a scuola to say you are going "to school."

Another common exception uses the preposition in instead of a. To say you are going "downtown," use in centro.

Here is how you can use these different forms together to talk about daily plans: