Learn Italian: L'edicola è qui vicino, ci vado a comprare il giornale. - The newsstand is nearby, I am going there to buy the newspaper.

In this sentence, ci means "there" and replaces the need to say "to the newsstand" again. In Italian, this type of location word (a locative pronoun) almost always goes directly before the conjugated verb. So, instead of saying "I go there" like in English, Italians say ci vado (literally: "there I go").

Why do we need the a in vado a comprare?

When you use the verb andare (to go) immediately followed by another action, you must connect them with the preposition a. Whenever you want to say "to go do [something]," the pattern is always andare + a + an infinitive verb (like comprare, mangiare, etc.).

Why say qui vicino instead of just vicino?

While è vicino simply means "it is close," the phrase qui vicino translates directly to "close to here" or "nearby." It is a very natural, common expression used to point out that a location is a short distance from your current spot.

The translation says "I am going," but the Italian is just vado. Why isn't it translated as "I go"?

Italian uses the simple present tense (vado) much more broadly than English. It covers both general habits ("I go") and actions happening right now or in the near future ("I am going"). The context of this sentence tells us you are heading to the newsstand right now.