Learn Italian: Durante il naufragio, il carico d'oro è andato perduto. - During the shipwreck, the cargo of gold was lost.

Durante il naufragio, il carico d'oro è andato perduto.

During the shipwreck, the cargo of gold was lost.

Breakdown of Durante il naufragio, il carico d'oro è andato perduto.

Questions & Answers about Durante il naufragio, il carico d'oro è andato perduto.

Why use è andato instead of è stato here to mean "was"?

This sentence uses the passive of loss. In Italian, verbs dealing with loss, destruction, or scattering (like perdere, distruggere, or bruciare) often take andare as their auxiliary verb instead of essere. This emphasizes the negative outcome and the finality of the loss.

I usually see perso as the past participle of perdere. Why use perduto here?

Both perso and perduto are correct and mean the exact same thing. However, perduto is slightly more formal and literary, which perfectly suits the dramatic context of a shipwreck. Furthermore, andare perduto is a very common fixed phrase.

Does the past participle need to agree with the subject when using andare in the passive voice?

Yes, absolutely. Because this is a passive construction, the past participle behaves like an adjective describing the subject. Perduto is masculine singular to match il carico (the cargo). If the subject were feminine plural, like le monete (the coins), it would be sono andate perdute.

Why does di become d' in d'oro?