Breakdown of Mio figlio va a scuola.
il figlio
the son
mio
my
andare
to go / to be fine / to work out
a
to / at
la scuola
the school
Questions & Answers about Mio figlio va a scuola.
Why is the verb va? I thought the verb for 'to go' was andare.
Andare (to go) is highly irregular in the present tense. Instead of following the normal -are ending rules, its forms change completely for most pronouns. For 'he/she/it goes', the correct form is va. So, Mio figlio va means 'My son goes' or 'My son is going'.
Why is there no il (the) before mio figlio?
Why is it a scuola and not alla scuola?
In Italian, certain common daily destinations just use the simple preposition a (to or at) without combining it with the word for 'the' (la). Andare a scuola is a fixed phrase meaning 'to go to school'. You will also see this with home (a casa) and bed (a letto).
The translation says 'is going', but doesn't va just mean 'goes'?
It means both! Italian does not use a separate 'is happening right now' tense as strictly as English does. The simple present tense va translates perfectly to both 'he goes' (as a daily routine) and 'he is going' (right this minute).
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