Breakdown of La merce vietata va sequestrata.
vietato
forbidden
la merce
the goods / the merchandise
andare
must be (+ past participle)
sequestrare
to confiscate / to seize
Questions & Answers about La merce vietata va sequestrata.
Why is va used here instead of deve essere?
This is the passive of necessity. Using the verb andare in a simple tense followed by a past participle indicates that an action must or needs to be done. Va sequestrata means exactly the same as deve essere sequestrata (must be confiscated), but it is highly preferred in Italian for rules, instructions, or formal warnings.
Why do both vietata and sequestrata end in -a?
They are both past participles behaving like adjectives in this sentence (from vietare, to forbid, and sequestrare, to confiscate). In Italian passive structures and when used as adjectives, they must agree in gender and number with the subject. Because la merce (the merchandise) is a feminine singular noun, both end in -a.
Is merce always singular in Italian, even if we are talking about a lot of goods?
Can I use this andare + past participle structure in past tenses?