Andare Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

andare — to go — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Italian. It is a non-reflexive, irregular -are verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It is the verb of movement, and it also appears in expressions for how things are going and in the near future with the infinitive. It takes essere in the passato prossimo, and its present and future forms are irregular, with the stem changing completely in the singular. On this page you will find andare in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself. The full conjugation tables are on the andare conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the andare passato prossimo tense page.

Example sentences with andare

In the present tense

  • “Io vado a scuola ogni giorno.” — “I go to school”
  • “Tu vai a scuola ogni giorno.” — “You go to school”
  • “Lui va a scuola ogni giorno.” — “He goes to school”
  • “Noi andiamo a scuola ogni giorno.” — “We go to school”
  • “Voi andate a scuola ogni giorno.” — “You go to school”
  • “Loro vanno a scuola ogni giorno.” — “They go to school”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io sono andato a scuola questa settimana.” — “I have gone to school”
  • “Tu sei andato a scuola questa settimana.” — “You have gone to school”
  • “Lui è andato a scuola questa settimana.” — “He has gone to school”
  • “Noi siamo andato a scuola questa settimana.” — “We have gone to school”
  • “Voi siete andato a scuola questa settimana.” — “You have gone to school”
  • “Loro sono andato a scuola questa settimana.” — “They have gone to school”

In other tenses

The same verb in the imperfect, the future, the conditional, the present subjunctive and the imperative — the tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “Io andavo a scuola una volta.” — “I used to go to school”
  • “Tu andrai a scuola domani.” — “You will go to school”
  • “Lui andrebbe a scuola un giorno.” — “He would go to school”
  • “È importante che noi andiamo a scuola.” — “It is important that we go to school”
  • “Vai a scuola!” — “Go to school!”

How andare is used

The first thing to know about andare is its core meaning: to go. It is the verb of movement, and it also appears in expressions for how things are going and in the near future with the infinitive. It takes essere in the passato prossimo, and its present and future forms are irregular, with the stem changing completely in the singular. In everyday speech it appears most often in the present and the passato prossimo, the two tenses on this page, because most of what we say is either what we do every day or what we have just done. Learn those two tenses first and the rest of the conjugation becomes a matter of adding forms one at a time. The second thing to know is the company andare keeps. The present io form is vado, and it pairs naturally with the time words ogni giorno and sempre for habits, and with adesso for what is happening right now. The passato prossimo io form is sono andato, and it pairs with ieri and questa settimana for finished actions. When you learn a verb form, learn its time words with it, and choosing the tense becomes automatic. The third thing to know is what andare does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need vado, never andare. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is sono andato, built with essere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle andato is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Andare in context

Io vado a scuola ogni giorno. Tu vai a scuola ogni giorno. Lui va a scuola ogni giorno. Noi andiamo a scuola ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of andare is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — vado, vai, va, andiamo — while the meaning stays the same: to go. Io sono andato a scuola questa settimana. Tu sei andato a scuola questa settimana. Lui è andato a scuola questa settimana. Noi siamo andato a scuola questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of andare appears constantly: a finished action, a precise moment, and the story goes on. Compare these sentences with the present ones above: the verb changes tense, but the basic meaning — to go — does not change. That is the difference between a habit and a finished event.

Common mistakes

1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Io andare a scuola.”

✓ Right: “Io vado a scuola ogni giorno.”

The infinitive andare never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form vado.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io vai a scuola.”

✓ Right: “Io vado a scuola ogni giorno.”

vai is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is vado — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io vado a scuola ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io sono andato a scuola questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo sono andato here, not the present vado.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io ho andato a scuola.”

✓ Right: “Io sono andato a scuola questa settimana.”

andare takes essere in the passato prossimo. The io form is sono andato — the other auxiliary never belongs with this verb.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on andare across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.

  1. What is the tu form of andare in the Present indicative?

    • A) vado
    • B) vai
    • C) va
    • D) andiamo

  2. What is the io form of andare in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) sei andato
    • B) è andato
    • C) sono andato
    • D) siamo andato

  3. What is the lui/lei form of andare in the Imperfect?

    • A) andavo
    • B) andavi
    • C) andavamo
    • D) andava

  4. What is the noi form of andare in the Future?

    • A) andremo
    • B) andrò
    • C) andrai
    • D) andrà

  5. What is the tu form of andare in the Conditional?

    • A) andrei
    • B) andresti
    • C) andrebbe
    • D) andremmo

  6. What is the io form of andare in the Passato remoto?

    • A) andasti
    • B) andò
    • C) andai
    • D) andammo

  7. What is the noi form of andare in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) vada
    • B) andiate
    • C) vadano
    • D) andiamo

  8. What is the gerund of andare?

    • A) andando
    • B) andato
    • C) andare
    • D) vado

  9. What is the past participle of andare?

    • A) andando
    • B) andato
    • C) andare
    • D) vado

  10. What does andare mean in English?

  • A) to be
  • B) to have
  • C) to go
  • D) to do, to make

Answer key

  1. B) vai — the correct form is vai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) sono andato — the correct form is sono andato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) andava — the correct form is andava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) andremo — the correct form is andremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) andresti — the correct form is andresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) andai — the correct form is andai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) andiamo — the correct form is andiamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) andando — the correct form is andando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) andato — the correct form is andato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to go — the correct form is to go. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does andare mean in English?

andare means “to go”. You use it whenever you talk about to go in Italian, in the present, the past and the future.

Is andare regular or irregular?

andare is irregular. andare is irregular in present, future, conditional, future-perfect, conditional-perfect, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative — learn those forms as a set.

What are the gerund and past participle of andare?

The gerund is andando and the past participle is andato. The perfect tenses use essere + andato.

Where can I see the full conjugation of andare?

On the andare conjugation page — every tense, every person, with tables. The andare passato prossimo tense page goes deeper into its most practised tense.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for andare, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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