Learn Italian: Siamo andati in gita al lago. - We went on a trip to the lake.

Siamo andati in gita al lago.

We went on a trip to the lake.

Breakdown of Siamo andati in gita al lago.

essere

to be

in / made of (material)

andare

to go / to be fine / to work out

to the / at the

Questions & Answers about Siamo andati in gita al lago.

Why do we use siamo andati instead of abbiamo andato?

Because andare (to go) is a verb of motion. In the past tense (passato prossimo), verbs that describe moving from one place to another use essere (to be) as their helper verb instead of avere (to have). So, Italians literally say "we are gone" rather than "we have gone".

Why does andati end in -i here?

Whenever a past tense verb uses essere as its helper, the action word (the past participle) has to match the subject, almost like an adjective. Since "we" is plural, the default singular form andato changes to the plural andati. If the group consisted entirely of women, it would be siamo andate.

Why is it in gita without a word for "a" or "the"?

In gita is a set phrase that means "on a trip" or "on an outing". Italian often uses just the preposition in without an article for travel-related activities, similar to how we say "on vacation" (in vacanza) in English.

How does al lago translate to "to the lake"?