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Le porcellane sono andate distrutte con il mercantile.

Le porcellane sono andate distrutte con il mercantile.
The porcelains were destroyed with the merchant ship.
From Lesson 384:The passive of loss and destruction (andare + past participle)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Le porcellane sono andate distrutte con il mercantile.

Why do we use andate here instead of just saying sono state distrutte?
Using andare as the auxiliary verb instead of essere specifically emphasizes a tragic sense of loss or destruction. This special passive voice is only used with a few specific verbs, most commonly perdere (to lose), smarrire (to misplace), sprecare (to waste), and distruggere (to destroy).
Why do both andate and distrutte end in -e?
They both must agree with the feminine plural subject, le porcellane. Because andare takes essere in compound tenses, its own past participle (andate) agrees with the subject. Furthermore, since this is a passive construction, the main verb's past participle (distrutte) also agrees with the subject.
What is the infinitive of distrutte?
The infinitive is distruggere (to destroy). It is an irregular verb, which is why its past participle is distrutto (adjusted here to the feminine plural distrutte).
Is mercantile an adjective or a noun in this sentence?
It is functioning as a masculine noun meaning "merchant ship" or "freighter." It comes from the phrase nave mercantile (merchant ship), but the feminine noun nave is frequently dropped in everyday use, creating the masculine noun il mercantile.

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